December Thaw

My tree is up, lit and decorated and has been for a week. If you are a Christmas-celebrator, yours is probably up, too, and you might wonder, “What’s the big deal?” I’ve been a humbug, a scrooge, opposite of in-the-holiday-spirit for a couple of years and even the years the tree went up, I often found it a chore.

I used to have an annual cookie party that has been on a two- or three-year hiatus. This Saturday it will be back, and it’s going to be the best one yet. My friends and I often bake from sunup to sundown and eat butter, sugar and dough for lunch. This year we will take it slower, have an actual lunch of cranberry chicken salad on croissants, and I’m going to have the frosting made ahead of time. Snickerdoodles, my specialty, will be the first cookies in the oven.

What has happened exactly to bring on this holly-jolly?

It’s warm, people! 30 degrees. Not 10º. Not 10º below. November was filled with 40 and 50 degree days, and while the temperatures are dropping, my holiday spirit didn’t get frozen solid before December got here. It’s as good a reason as any.