As I started preparing for my board certification exam in mid-2017, I declared the next 12 months my "Year of No." No: extra volunteer duties, ridiculous craft projects, or involvement in anything that is remotely extracurricular. Exceptions: regular exercise classes (hey, I gotta maintain it), occasional weekend travel, and evening outings that include real talk with friends. So when Christmas came around, I reminded myself of my goals and priorities and kept my Christmas cray in check-- that meant walking to the neighborhood tree lot to purchase a tree rather than trekking 3 hours round trip to cut one down.
I thought my inner Martha Stewart would die inside, but something surprising happened on the walk home. I felt no guilt and no one seemed the least bit disappointed. In fact, walking down Market Street with our perfectly sized tree was novel, fun, and memorable. Tree-- check.
After studying in the mornings I squeezed in compulsory pepparkakor baking. Our double batch is so big it almost overflows from my Kitchenaid, but every year it doesn't seem big enough. This year Linus was truly helpful in cutting and baking, while the other boys shat royal icing onto finished cookies.
Mattias and I are not really into buying and exchanging gifts, as we are much of the rest of the year, but we do want to instill the joy of giving during this season. I've found that the best gifts are ones that are useful or consumable, handmade, and given as a complete surprise. The best gifts to make are inexpensive and easy to make in bulk-- this year we chose to make granola and all natural lip balm. As expected, most of our friends and coworkers were surprised and delighted to receive our gifts. Our boys loved giving them out, and Linus experienced the joy of receiving a handmade gift from a friend at school. Giving-- check.
Living in the city, there's no need to drive to a special neighborhood or pay for an extravagant light display. Our neighbors are all we need, and these houses are close enough to swing by on the way home from school. For brighter lights and extravagant displays, Union Square is a mere 3 stops away. Linus came out with us one night to see the SF SPCA/Macy's windows and Union Square tree by night. Wonder-- check.
By the time Christmas Eve came around, I was relaxed and relieved that I did all the Christmas things. We focused on the traditions, like making knäck, a Swedish Christmas caramel. Only this year we went wild and flavored one batch with salt licorice. I was also proud to devise a method to make sure the little wrappers didn't tip while the caramel was poured. Genius-- check.
The julbord was set and filled by farmor. After eating full plates and a few shots of aquavit, jultomte came to visit our boys. Presents-- check.
By night's end we had met all expectations for an excellent Christmas. Did I feel the joy and spirit of Christmas? If that spirit is tired and bloated, then yes.
Christmas Day was celebrated with my family, the Filipino way. Along with a buffet of multiple meats, we made traditional ube candies and sang karaoke.
All of the Christmas, minus the cray. It can be done, even by me.
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