I’m sitting here by our Christmas tree, with a fire log burning in the fireplace and a lap blanket keeping my legs warm. There’s a holiday mug with gentle Keemun tea beside me to sip on, and some shortbread cookies to go with the tea.

I love these quiet times — they’re my antidote to all the holiday craziness going on outside our little subdivision. We’re having friends over for dinner this weekend, so I braved the already growing hordes at the grocery store for cooking supplies this afternoon. This evening I made the lentil and herb soup to put in the fridge, and the spice cake that will be the base for a fig and persimmon trifle for dessert, then put my feet up to watch a retrospective of vintage holiday shows on PBS.

The holidays can be challenging, pressure-filled and emotional. Here’s some hard-earned wisdom I can offer:

• be gentle with yourself and everyone around you
• don’t try to make everything perfect — that’s usually when things go wrong
• keep your sense of humour when things do go wrong — believe me, everyone around you has been in the same boat at some point in their lives
• being a great host means making your guests feel truly welcome in your home, and making sure that you’ve taken into account any food issues so that everyone has something they can eat
• step away from the craziness periodically and enjoy some quiet time — it will replenish your flagging energy and holiday spirit, much better than running yourself into the ground

As you may have noticed, I’m switching my posts to a biweekly schedule, i.e. every other week, but I will do a special holiday post next week. Take care of yourself in the meantime and have a nice cup of tea from time to time 🙂