it’s beginning to look a lot like…
Fat pants. It’s beginning to look a lot like fat pants. I’m kidding (not really), but we have officially entered the season of treats. Not only have I started baking my annual holiday loaves (this year’s flavor is Gingerbread), which naturally means I have to taste each batch, but I’m also receiving extra treats from others (this weekend I’ve been gifted a pack of Levain Bakery cookies…one of my NYC favorites). And then there’s the holiday events. Between holiday brunches and dinners and luncheons and parties and cookie exchanges, the calendar is as full as my belly will likely be ALL MONTH LONG.
Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything about my mood brightens as soon as I hear the first lilt of a Christmas-themed commercial on TV. (Those Hershey's kisses that play the bells…more of that, please.) In fact, the festive napkins I’m packaging up with each holiday loaf I give away actually say “It’s beginning to look a lot like fat pants” right on them. So, this never surprises anyone. We expect this. We do it. We eat treats. And then we eat more.
What makes this year a little different is one of my many 2022 goals involved reaching a certain weight goal (the worst part about getting older is WITHOUT DOUBT the way you can’t just stay effortlessly thin the way you used to). It’s a weight goal that proved harder than I ever thought it would be, and one I didn’t actually hit until, you guessed it, right before Halloween. Just in time for treat season. Lord give me strength, right? Miraculously I made it through Halloween and even Thanksgiving without gaining any of my lost pounds back. Now it’s just the challenge of Christmas I have to get through…one made much more difficult by the fact that the Christmas treat season goes on for an ENTIRE MONTH, instead of really just one day. Here’s hoping I can find the balance that is the right combination of indulgence and restraint.
Really though, I love this time of year. And I’m grateful not just for the treats, but also for the chance to be of good cheer, to spend time with family, to gift my loved ones with presents that make them smile, to cram-read a bunch of books to hit the yearly reading goal I’m way behind on, to have the house smell deliciously of pine from a live tree, to reflect upon the events of the year and plan for the year to come, and to remember the meaning behind why we celebrate any of this to begin with. May your celebrations (and treats) be just as heartwarming and satisfying. Merry Christmas!