"How do you like them?" Jeff asked me as I completed icing what seemed like my ten thousandth cookie.
"Eh. My heart's not in it," I said.
Jeff and I won't be visiting my hometown this Christmas--some family members were concerned about our flu last week, so we are taking one for the team and staying here instead. And I will really miss seeing everybody, especially my sister. We have so many Christmas Eve traditions, including cookie decorating, Poof's melodramatic, hilarious version of "O Holy Night," playing holiday music all night long, and just being us.
So I'm having a blue Christmas, but I had already cut out and baked lots of sugar cookies. I was going to save some for Jeff's daughter and parents, who will be here Saturday, but most of them were going to my side of the family (we have a lot more people). But I iced them all anyway. I gave a dozen or so to my friend L., whom I was happy to see yesterday, and will freeze the ones that Jeff's family doesn't eat.
And here's what I'll be saving them for: Birthmas. After a certain amount of feeling sorry for myself (and especially Poof), the problem solving part of my brain kicked in and, along with Jeff, I came up with a new holiday: Birthmas. Birthmas will happen at our house during Martin Luther King weekend. Since most of my family members celebrate birthdays in December through January, and since these birthdays are always overlooked due to inconvenience/timing, we are now in the process of developing a combination birthday/Christmas celebration. I'm thinking mini birthday cakes, presents for all, culinary wizardry, general gluttony, self-indulgence, and possibly some games. Nigella Lawson views the Christmas season as "a light in the darkness," but to me December is not the problem. It's JANUARY. January is bleak, awful, and endless, and Birthmas would give us all something to live for during the worst month of the year.
As for Jeff and me, we fully plan to have a lot of romantic fun tonight and tomorrow. Jeff has spent the day creating what we hope will be some amazing pulled pork--the house smells absolutely divine--and we'll see movies, eat Chinese food, look out at the gloomy weather and feel happy and snug in our house, play with kitties...
...sit by the fire, read, plan our trip to New Orleans next week, and generally be completely in love. So while we will miss my family terribly, do not worry about us too much.
Ok i just got to this. Phooey! (do people still say that?) to those who were unneccessarily worried about your flu and kept you away for Christmas, of all things. (OK reason for my angst, I have a sis & an aunt "like that" and they're total kill-joys every holiday, every birthday, every Christening, every graduation, every whatever.)
I do not know you, but you have a great blog and I totally love your attitude about this whole situation.
Posted by: bj | January 11, 2010 at 11:40 AM