We love everything about Christmas, including the café chaos: the cheer, the mayhem, the magic. We are the types who put up our tree the minute after Thanksgiving. We buy eggnog as soon as it appears. We play holiday music ad nauseam. December has become, thanks to Persephone, our busiest month, so the days of yore spent decorating and gift-wrapping are no more. Now, the 25th finds us flopped on our couch under a pile of dogs, blaring Bing Crosby. Merriment now means a day to relax with friends and family.
So, on the eve of our Christmas respite, we offer some of our favorite features of the holiday, simple things that suddenly feel special because they fall on December Twenty Fifth.
- Stoking a fire all day long.
- Watching “Elf” for the umpteenth time.
- Emptying our stockings slowly.
- Walking the dogs in our PJs (wrapped in warm accoutrements).
- Nibbling on a panettone.
- Leafing through our record collection (even though we’ve catalogued it by heart).
- Wandering over to friends’ houses, cookie bags in hand.
- Leaving elated messages for relatives.
- Roast aromas wafting through the house.
- Opening a bottle of wine from our wedding cellar.
- Cheersing the day, the year, all of our blessings.