Simmering down Christmas
Photo by Evelin Horvath on Unsplash
Lately, I’ve been rediscovering the joys of cooking. I’m reconnecting with my passion for baking and cooking in general. You see, I love ‘the process’. I love the physical action of stirring a homemade soup or kneading dough with my hands.
On some level, I feel this connects me with my female ancestors. My mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and beyond… who used to make soup and pastry the very same way I do: by using their hands. No gadgets for me. I just love it.
But this is not an article about baking or cooking. This is a piece about Christmas.
I happened to be preparing a soup when a thought crossed my mind. I was slicing onions and carrots while thinking about the never-ending Christmas to-do list. Between slices I was mentally mapping all the gifts to be bought or pooled-in for, events to sign up for… and their cost both in terms of time and money.
As the steam from the soup fogged up my specs, I was in a haze thinking: ‘How and when will I fit in the Christmas shopping? What shall I get for everyone? I still have to draw up the list!’
I was also coordinating how and when to bring the Christmas magic to life for my daughter: ‘When will the Elf arrive? When will we write the letter to Santa? (once it’s posted the deal is sealed and the right gift can be ordered).
I realised that, just like my Tuscan soup, I was starting to bubble. The stress levels were increasing.
“The best dishes are the ones that make use of simple, genuine ingredients. So, the best Christmas should be one filled with meaningful yet simple gestures and, why not, gifts.”
This is something I’ve written about before. Actually, I wrote about this last year - when I really felt it for the first time. Last year I thought that the feeling may have been a one-off due to it being the first Christmas after Covid. I thought I was still re-adjusting to life without restrictions and the hectic pace that came back with it. But I am feeling it this year also and I know I’m not alone.
I’m talking about that feeling of being overwhelmed. Feeling that you have to keep up with all the activities and events. Feeling that not taking your child to all of them makes you a bad parent. Feeling that not ticking all the boxes (that include the Elf’s daily movements) will kill Christmas forever. Feeling that you don’t want to let down loved ones - who sooooo deserve the perfect Christmas gift - by picking something wrong.
There is also the underlying guilt of not loving every moment of the run-up to Christmas. Have I been Scrouged?
What is meant to be a time of the year to slow down and be with family ends up going on emotional, physical and financial overdrive.
We boil over.
But it should not be like this. How did we get here?
The best dishes are the ones that make use of simple, genuine ingredients. So, the best Christmas should be one filled with meaningful yet simple gestures and, why not, gifts.
This is why this Christmas I am trying to tell myself to simmer it down - to what really matters. I’m getting rid of the fancy ingredients. Gifts don’t have to cost a bomb to be ‘right’. Our children will be fine if they miss out on one activity. It’s okay if my house is not magazine-worthily decorated.
What our children will remember is the spirit of the holidays spent at home with parents who are present and serene - as opposed to all-over-the-place and stressed. And… they might enjoy some simple baking: perhaps some gingerbread… so they get to knead the dough using their very own hands.
This is why I hope to simmer it down this Christmas.