A Resolution to Embrace the Madness of the Holidays

Down in the kitchen, making a very necessary cup of coffee before setting off on a day of errands, my mother declared, “If it weren’t for Christmas, I would just stay in bed and hibernate.”

When the days become miserably short and cold, most of us would happily snuggle under the covers rather than rise and face the day. Forcing us to get out of bed, however, and race around are the winter holidays and the endless to-do list that they generate. There are gifts to be bought and wrapped, food to be prepared, cards to be sent, trees to be decorated, menorahs to be set up, living quarters to be cleaned, tablecloths to be pressed, and countless other tasks to be preformed.

Often, at the height of juggling the obligations and expectations of the holidays, we curse them, wishing for them to be over or vowing to make them more simple the following year--fewer presents, fewer people, less food, more time in pajamas.

I, however, relish the rush of the holidays, and am now sad that they have come and gone. Despite being short on sleep and patience in the days leading up to Christmas, as I try to jam everything into a busy schedule, I encourage myself to embrace the demands of the season, reminding myself that it happens but once a year. For us all, if we don’t dive right in, letting the craziness rush over us, almost drowning us, then this special time of year vanishes and we are left with the regret that we didn’t do more. Or we might still be lying in bed, awaiting spring and missing out.

The chief way by which I try to maximize the joys of the demanding holidays is to maintain a series of traditions, chiefly food based. These are not ones that my family has kept for years, but ones that I have adopted over the past decade or so to ensure that December 25 is not just another cold winter's day to suffer through.

Here is what I aim to do each year. Not until December 1, do I allow myself to replace autumnal decorations of winter squash with homemade pomanders, fresh oranges studded with cloves, and gingerbread men, hung from windows and doorways at home. During the next few weeks, I put the finishing touches on goody bags that I distribute to friends on my birthday on December 23. For the past few years, they have contained Italian mincemeat cookies, strips of candied orange peel, and a cordial or cocktail (see my blog from October 2010).  

And then the holidays begin. For the winter solstice, I take a walk at sunrise or sunset to mark the shortest day of the year and bake lussekatter, Swedish saffron buns eaten on Saint Lucy’s Day. The next day is my birthday and I bake myself a cake (this year it was chocolate stout) and distribute those goody bags. The menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas change a bit every year, but there are some constants: celery bisque with Stilton toasts or slick and garlicky vermicelli with raisins and pine nuts to start the meal on the 24th and a layered green and red polenta torta as my main vegetarian meal at Christmas. Since I come from an English family, we like to have friends over for Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. We don’t go to a great fuss with food to keep things easy, but I do make a boozy Jamaican black cake and glögg, Swedish mulled wine.

These traditions certainly do require time and effort and hours that I could be sleeping. What helps ease things a bit is keeping a binder full of the recipes that I return to each year, along with notes about how the dishes turned out the previous year. In the binder, I also insert recipes that I come across during the course of the year that I would like to try during the next round of holidays. This means that I don’t have to add extra stress, trying to find the recipes from the previous year or rack my brain thinking what to cook.

At this time of making new year's resolutions, I suggest buying a binder and printing out recipes and ideas that you would like to try in December 2012 and then allowing yourself to embrace the madness that brings a cheerful light to the dark days of winter. There's plenty of winter remaining after the holidays to hibernate! 

Happy New Year!

Diana Pittet, the sometimes organized cheesemonger