Some Happy Scribbles: On Christmas Magic

...and Santa's Helpers

Hello and happy Friday! With only two days until Christmas, how are you feeling?

We’ve had a quiet week: with Sadie (16) and Teddy (12) off school, and Jim and I working from home, we’ve all been sleeping in, puttering around the house, reading, watching TV, baking (and eating) cookies, while planning our Christmas Day feast and discussing what to pack for our family trip to the beach next week.

It’s been surprisingly lovely! Surprising, because we haven’t done any of the holiday things I used to feel must happen at this time of year: like throwing a big party and hustling the kids into the city to shop, ice-skate, see the big tree, and go to shows.

Until the pandemic hit, we did all of the above, plus decorating every flat surface in the house (and the stair rail) with garland; honoring the age-old tradition of secreting gifts in hiding spots around the house, then wrapping them in a cranky frenzy late on Christmas Eve; and the newer “tradition” of Elf on the Shelf performance art. It was exhausting (and at least one of us always had a bad cold) but it felt worth it to see the delighted awe on the children’s faces at the sight of the Rockefeller Centre tree; the synchronized kicks of the Rockettes; and the miraculous arrival of gifts on Christmas morning.

Teddy’s very first Christmas - he looks like a doll!

If you had told me back then that in just a few years, on the morning of Christmas all through the house, not a creature would stir (not even a mouse) until well after 9 am, I wouldn’t have believed you!

For our family, the combination of pandemic shutdowns and Teddy’s realization (at age 9) that “You and Dad are actually Santa, right?” combined to shift us into slower, more casual Christmases. And as the former organizer of much of the “holiday magic,” it has been a relief. All the planning and decorating and cooking and shopping and wrapping and mailing that went into our family’s holiday season had begun wearing on me, and like the women in this short piece, I was ready to take things down a notch:

“…some women…have adopted a Marie Kondo approach: relinquishing rituals that no longer bring them joy.”

“Rather than fussing over garlands, she leaves out a box of decorations and lets her children hang them (or not).”

Ever since the great unmasking of Santa (and the Elf), we all now participate in our Christmas rituals, and it certainly feels more magical for me - we’ve stopped doing things that had become more work than fun, but kept the things we love: Jim handled our holiday cards; I decorated the Christmas tree; Sadie gleefully picked out stocking stuffers; and both kids have gotten into gift-wrapping.

Santa’s Helpers

We have warm memories of the “busy” years – and I am looking forward to seeing the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center again one day – but one of my most treasured recent Christmas memories was seeing the appreciation evident on Sadie’s face when she turned to Jim and I and said, “So you guys have been buying all the presents for us every year? Not Santa? Wow! Thank you!”

Not that Santa has been forgotten entirely: we still leave cookies, carrots (for the reindeers!), and something festive to drink out on Christmas Eve!

Speaking of food, how adorable does this Boursin Christmas tree look? Boursin might just be my favorite cheese, and this looks easy enough for even a retired “holiday magic organizer” to pull off!

And what have we been watching together while snuggling on the couch in front of the fire each night? We’re all into the clever humor and twisty plotlines of Slow Horses, a British spy show (there is some violence). Next up, I want to watch 7 Days Out as a family: it’s a documentary series that chronicles the week leading up to big events, like a Chanel fashion show, the Kentucky Derby, the League Of Legends Championship, a NASA mission, and a restaurant opening. Documentaries can be so good for a range of ages - if you’re looking for ideas, here’s a great list to check out.

Changing gears: if you happen to still be suffering from White Lotus withdrawal, may I suggest this strangely addictive and hilarious video using the theme song that made Sadie laugh out loud, which as anyone with a teenager knows, is high praise. Who are those guys and why were they doing this?!

On the reading front, I just finished Signal Fires, which was very good, and have been looking for a beach read for our vacation next week. Because we’ve been watching Slow Horses, I was considering the books the show is based on, when I discovered that there are two books I haven’t yet read in the Cormoran Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (a pen-name for JK Rowling), so I’ve downloaded those. I love this series: the plots are intricate, and the main character is an unconventional but brilliant and magnetically attractive (natch!) British private detective with a complicated background and tortured personal life. Perfect beach reads!

That’s it from me this week! I hope your weekend is filled with wonder, joy and the people you love most, doing only things you truly enjoy.

We’ll be on vacation next week, so there won’t be a newsletter next Friday - I’ll be back again on January 6!
xoxo
Amelia

P.S.: I love giving and receiving candles, but note to self: never peach!