Holidays leave us lots to like
There are so many things to love about the holiday season: time spent with family, hot buttered rum and, of course, loads of presents. As we were counting our seasonal blessings, it occurred to us that many of the things we hold particularly dear during the holidays are – for whatever reason – only things that we indulge in at this time of year.
We’ve made a list (the copy editor checked it twice), and present to you our seasonal roundup of What We Like: Extreme Holiday Edition.
Cranberry relish
It wasn’t until I had moved out of my parents’ house that I realized that cranberry sauce didn’t necessarily spring, quivering and cylinder-shaped, from a tin can. Freed from that abomination, I uncovered my own recipe, an easy, no-cook medley of fresh berries, oranges, ginger and sugar (lots of sugar), and each year it’s the part of my holiday dinner that I absolutely cannot do without. It’s quick and cheap to make, so there’s no reason I couldn’t whip it up throughout the year as a garnish for pork or poultry dishes. But by reserving it for a few special meals each year (Thanksgiving, Christmas and occasionally New Year’s), it gives me a taste of the holidays I can call my own – with no quivering involved.
–Kim Harwell
Christmas lights
Sometimes, when I’m driving around during December, oohing and aahing and barely keeping my eyes on the road because there are so many festively decorated houses to admire, I wish we could have Christmas lights all year round. The twinkling trees! The candy-colored light strings! The flickering bulbs! Why wouldn’t we want to experience this magical beauty all the time? Then, when I’m driving around in early January barely noticing the decorations that remain, I realize that the dazzle just can’t last. That’s what makes those few winter weeks so special.
–Ellen Henderson
Scarves
I hate, hate, hate cold weather. My skin gets dry, and my nose is always bright red. However, I love winter scarves. There is the obvious feature of keeping me warm, (and sheltering my nose if cleverly wrapped), but they’re also great accessories. I love the way they look, whether carefully tucked under the collar or carelessly thrown around the neck. I own several in shades of my favorite color, purple, but my current favorite is this long, skinny blue-green thing that looks more like a boa or a lei.
–Gretchen Perrenot
Holiday newsletters
I like reading the holiday letters that people include in their Christmas cards. It’s great to get a “year in review” from old friends and, in some cases, people I don’t remember. In the letters, the year has always been outstanding. The lords are leaping, the swans are swimming, the ladies are dancing finer than ever and, oh yes, their 4-year-old is doing long division. You can’t find fiction that fabulous at Barnes & Noble.
–Matt Wixon
Holiday TV
From Frosty to The Grinch, the same specials draw us back again and again. Each year, as the Thanksgiving turkey is digested, holiday TV lovers start scanning the TV Guide for their favorites – and I’m right among them. There is something soothing about settling in for “Miracle on 34th Street” with a cup of cocoa. In a time of hurry and scurry, holiday specials on television force a respite; you’re doing the seasonal thing, but it is relaxing. The appeal for me lies in the primitive claymation of Rudolph, Jimmy Stewart’s shaky voice and Linus’ delivery of the Nativity story. Even though I can quote the script word for word and I own the soundtrack, these specials are too good ever to outgrow.
–Jodi Leese
Green bean casserole
Has there ever been a tastier way to eat a green vegetable? All right, so green beans are actually legumes, but they still seem remotely healthy, even when smothered in creamy sauce and topped with fried onions. It’s a tasty way to feel moderately virtuous during the season of excess.
–E.H.
Pumpkin-scented candles
The scent is warm, spicy and comforting. Although the rest of the world seems to think it’s a Halloween or October-only scent, I burn them throughout fall and winter. The stores generally start selling them in September, and you can usually find them on clearance in November and December – that’s when I stock up.
–G.P.
Gingerbread
Whether moist and cake-like or shaped into crisp little men and women, nothing whips my taste buds into a seasonal frenzy faster than the flavor of gingerbread. There’s just something about the mixture of sweet and savory, sugar and spice that perfectly complements the holiday spirit. One June a couple of years ago, on a whim, I bought a bag of Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Men, and while the flavor was, technically, just fine, something about munching them in the heat of summer struck me as fundamentally wrong. Since then, I confine my gingerbread noshing to the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
–K.H.
Peanut blossom cookies
I’m not sure why these delicious but simple-to-make cookies are so holiday-centric. Maybe it’s because they’re so decadent – a peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar and topped with a Hershey’s Kiss – that we can only contemplate them at the most overindulgent time of the year. Whatever the reason, in my family, they only make appearances in December, and they’re always a familiar favorite.
–E.H.
Ming cheese and ritz crackers
Once a year, my mom makes her fabulous Ming Cheese. It’s basically Velveeta and cream cheese mixed together with chili powder, paprika and pecans. Once I start eating it, I can’t stop. I vividly remember going through a “log” of cheese a day during the holidays. This year, I told my mom “no” when she asked if she should make it. But I really hope she does anyway.
–G.P.