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THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS A MAD SCRAMBLE to freeze the last of the turkey stock, watch college football, and start holiday shopping. What gave President Abraham Lincoln the idea that this would be a good time to celebrate Thanksgiving? Didn’t he know it was on the doorstep to exams, Christmas cards, gifts to make, shipping deadlines, and decorating? Actually, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was worried, too. When the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month, he moved the holiday to the second-to-last Thursday to increase the Christmas shopping season and boost the nation’s economic recovery. But, to no surprise, 16 states refused to accept his change and celebrated it as they always had on the last Thursday. So two years later, with the help of Congress and FDR, Thanksgiving was officially moved to the fourth Thursday to avoid any confusion when November has five Thursdays. (Don’t hold your breath—that won’t happen again until 2029).
Welcome to December…Like the song says, it can be the most wonderful time of the year…if you have a kitchen plan. I’m not an over-planner, but I’ve learned that a simple menu scratched on a scrap of paper, a continuous shopping list kept on my phone, a brilliant seating diagram for a birthday dinner penciled on a napkin, and a color scheme torn from a magazine months ago—these doodles and images begin a mood board for survival. Social media, on the other hand, makes things worse. A few scrolls and I can’t compete. It’s the same feeling I used to get when I’d flip through Martha Stewart’s books and realize everything was so dang perfect. But not at our house. Not our life. With three active children, dogs, moving a couple times, and many hands washing and cleaning, I’ve become used to five amber glasses instead of six and three Christmas morning plates with little snowmen when there used to be eight. I’ve become used to super glue securing the cracks of favorite platters. Like fine lines on my face, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Here are my best foolproof recipes and top quick-and-easy December ideas. My husband has already stocked peppermint bark, eggnog, and a bottle of good dark rum. He’s ready. Hope you are, too. What are your best holiday survival tips and tricks?
Perfect Solutions to Feeding Friends, A Last-Minute Party Appetizer & Lots of GiftsNote: If you are a free subscriber, the recipe links below might be behind a paywall if the recipe was published longer than six months ago.
Happy Surviving December! - xo, Anne P.S. Next week, I share an interview with Paris writer David Lebovitz, discuss his new dessert book, and talk cookie baking. You’re on the free list for Anne Byrn: Between the Layers. If you’re liking what you’re reading, why don’t you become a paying subscriber for more recipes, stories, and content.
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