Time is precious. Let this treat do some of the work.
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Remaining festive over the festive season can require a game plan. Contrary to what rom-coms might suggest, making the good times roll is not always a lark. The expectations of kids to be surprised, the traditions of extended family and their need to be delighted, the pressures of the season more generally: Accommodating all these can be a lot.
I read a brilliant book this year called “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.” The author, Oliver Burkeman, says a lot of useful things, but — beyond the mind-focusing fact that, assuming that we live to be 80, then 4,000 weeks is what we’ve got — I had one key takeaway. As important as deciding what you are going to do with your time — your day, your week, your year, your life — is deciding what you are not going to do. Because once you’ve decided what you’re not going to do, there’s no point berating yourself for the consequences of not doing it.
Recipe: Sticky Date and Pecan Pudding
As the end of the year gets packed, we all have different things we’re not going to do. We might decide not to see every single person we know and love, or we might decide that we don’t need to be the last person standing at every party we attend. There is no point feeling guilty or worrying about not being part of the crazy fun thing that happened, for example, if you choose to lie low. It’s like the opposite of a New Year’s resolution — and decidedly more doable as a result.
And so to festive food. It is no surprise that I am generally expected, whether as host or guest, to actually make the dishes I’m serving or taking somewhere — “make” as in start with eggs and flour and butter and sugar, when the end result is to be cake. I’m generally a very happy baker, but this can feel like pressure. I’ve always admired the French custom of proudly, unapologetically picking up patisserie from a shop when entertaining or contributing to a meal. Why get the kitchen counter covered in a sheet of flour when the alternative is a perfectly wonderful gâteau from a clean cardboard box (and the most precious gift of all: some bonus free time)? At this time of the year, many in France will be strutting down the street with their bûche de Noël, the traditional Yule log, in hand.
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