I start my fruitcakes the weekend before Thanksgiving on a Friday night after everyone's gone to sleep. I usually make 3 batches, which will yield 4 large loaves and 7 small ones, plus a large festive ring shape that I keep for the house. I'll sip a hot buttered rum or 2, maybe a shot of rum before I get started to make sure it's acceptable, and put on some Christmas CDs. I usually finish by 2 or 3 AM, let the cakes cool all the next day on a rack and then I brush them with rum using a pastry brush. I then wrap them in cheese cloth, REALLY soak them and do an over wrap of plastic. I let them sit quietly in the fridge for a week and then I unwrap the plastic and brush the cheesecloth with another dose of rum. Back into the fridge they go for another week and then, you guessed it, ANOTHER rum treatment. I let them sit for 3 more weeks and send them as gifts. The cost of postage is staggering! I think I spent close to $90 last year on postage alone, but my gosh they sure are good. I'm told by people my father's age (69) that they're better than their grandmothers used to make. Now, THAT is a compliment!