3. Baking
Usually I enjoy baking at this time of year. I like going to cookie exchanges and making my favorite recipes, many of which were my mother’s. Yet this year due to schedule conflicts I couldn’t attend the events I was invited to and certainly wouldn’t be having any visitors. So why bake? Precisely.
Yet one still craves Christmas cookies, so what to do? Here’s a great short-cut that will give you the best of both worlds. The grocery stores are loaded with pre-made Christmas cookies they normally don’t carry at any other time of the year. BUY a few of your favorite varieties. Add to your selections one or two Nestle or Pillsbury “break and bake” cookie packages and pop those in the oven for fifteen minutes. There you go, plenty of variety, fresh-baked goodness, and minimal time spent in the kitchen. That’s a treat if you ask me.
4. Christmas Cards & the Inevitable Holiday Newsletter
I love having sent holiday cards, but hate the process of doing them. Luckily I have above average computer and administrative skills which have come in handy for automating this somewhat dreaded task. I’ve essentially reduced this into a labeling and envelope-stuffing process by computerizing the Christmas card address list, then computer-printing all return and address labels. I personally sign the cards, but of course you could order pre-printed ones to streamline things further.
Yet in being faithful to doing only what I love, I didn’t want to skip the cards this year. They’re the chance to reach out and touch the many friends and family I seldom have the opportunity to see. It was important to let them know they’re in my thoughts even though they’re not in my ZIP Code.
Rather than the often overdone (or self-serving) annual holiday newsletter and consistent with my intention to flex my writer’s muscle more often, I penned a short Christmas story and included it with the cards. A simple gesture, nothing Pulitzer-quality, but it’s the thought that counts. (And, for those of you artistically so inclined, is another alternative to a gift).
