To best understand a person, one should examine their roots. One might ask how a modern feminist such as myself became so anachronistically domestic and fastidious, especially around the holidays. Well, one need look no further than this photo, sent to me today by my mother.
Exhibit A: This cookie tray.
Exhibit B: This tablecloth.
When one grows up with this kind of tender attention to the holiday season, one has two options: reject or embrace. The choice was obvious. Who doesn't want to embrace perfectly decorated gingerbread men and peanut butter balls? Yes, I have the all-Christmas-music-all-the-time station programmed on my car radio. If I wasn't so busy being a famous graduate student, I would be baking 24/7. And my gingerbread cookies are even more beautiful than my mother's, bless her heart.
However, I would never wear one of those stupid Santa hats in public. That's just embarassing.
There are few people who share my love of Christmas. But I hold those who do in the highest esteem. Helen, my former beloved landlady, strung Christmas lights until 3 AM. I know. I witnessed it.
I've found another Christmas-loving cohort, who will be accompanying me on a "Christmas light joyride" tomorrow night. The last time I did this in San Francisco, I got lost in Ingleside with a one Ms. Liz Federico, with whom I have painted tiny ceramic holiday houses and watched The Brady Bunch Christmas countless times. The last time I did it in Portland, we actually sang carols in the car. With no irony! When I do it with my family, we fight and listen to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas cassette, which features many seasonal originals by the Boys.
I think the original "The Christmas Song," sung by Judy Garland in the non-Christmas movie Meet Me In St. Louis, is the best Christmas song there is. Burl Ives' version of "Holly Jolly Christmas" is a close second. Goddamn, I love Christmas.
4 comments:
Yeah! Domesticity rocks! I am giving homemade gifts this year. My original idea was to give bags of hard candy, along with a burned cd single of Dolly P. singing hard candy christmas, but now I reject it as too obvious. Wish I could be there with you to bake cookies!
I heart domesticity, but Christmas? I'm sorry but I'm just not feeling it.
I think I worked in retail too long and the romance was gradually destroyed over 15 years of intermittent retail.
Maybe if Jonathan and I adpot (gasp) I'd get the spirit.
Hey, Polly, I have a question for you. Are you around SF these days? I just got here and I'll be around 'til December 30. Give me a call or send me an email!
Hey Pols, just an update on the owl situation: there is a really cute spread in the new Domino mag that has many great owl things to buy and perhaps recreate, and H&M has a really cute matching owl necklace and bracelet set. Happy day!
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