Christmas is a lot like the prom. It starts out all perfect and sparkly, then devolves into anarchy. Here's an up close and personal look at mine. It was big and crazy, and by the end I felt like Charlotte looks in this last pic. But we all had fun. Contrary to the crying, especially Char Bar.
I hope your holidays were happy too! 🎄🎁🍬
One of my favorite Christmas gifts ever was the Rainbow Brite doll I got in 1986. I was so enamored with her ROYGBIV beauty that on Christmas morning I refused to play with anything or anyone else. There's even VHS footage of me snapping at my little sister and her Cabbage Patch baby to go away because I was otherwise engaged. So, when I saw that Amazon had the same doll in all her original yarn hair glory, I had to get one for Charlotte.
Sure, she's eighteen months to my four years when I got the doll, and the box clearly states that it's not for children under three. (Apparently, there's danger of tykes choking on Rainbow's sprite sidekick, Twink.) But there's no harm in letting her look at it. Truth be told, I'd rather keep the toy mint for a while. I'm not ready to see Char Bar unleash her considerable fury enthusiasm and mangle poor Rainbow.
To me, Rainbow Brite symbolizes Christmas and joy and nostalgia and all of the things. And I want to instill that in Charlotte so that she can find her own merry muse, be it Bluey or Elmo or a character that hasn't hatched yet. Because that's what Christmas is all about.
Well, that and antagonizing your siblings.
Dress: Xhilaration, Target
I can't believe that another Christmas -- and year! -- are done and dusted. It went by in a blur of color and chaos, but for once I have to say that it was a contented kind of crazy. Thanks, Charlotte.
That said, no book reviews or other reflections today. Just a wish that you have a wonderful last day of 2024 and embrace your own kind of crazy in 2025. 🎉🎈
I was so busy this December that I almost forgot to read Jenny Bayliss's latest. Known for releasing a heartfelt romcom each Christmas, the Brit lit wit never fails to make me smile through my Santa-induced stress. So when I spied a lone copy of Kiss Me at Christmas while tornadoing through Target, I snagged it.
Teacher-turned-pastoral care worker Harriet Smith is in dire need of a change. Overworked and underappreciated, she's always on call and haunted by the one student she couldn't save. And this Christmas her nerves are especially fraught because her daughter's spending the holiday stateside. Lonely and vulnerable, triple-cardigan-wearing Harriet embarks on a one night stand. Then, fresh off the walk of shame, she finds her most at-risk students, a.k.a. the "famous five," playing hooky in the abandoned Winter Theater.
When her students get caught, she takes the blame and, per the eccentric old woman who owns the theater, cleans it up to avoid charges. Yet what starts as community service snowballs into a production of A Christmas Carol. Harriet leads, inspires, and energizes the famous five, a local theater group, and various disenfranchised community clubs including refugees, treasure hunters, and self-proclaimed "lonely farts" into putting on the best show ever. Also, there's the guy from Harriet's one night stand, who just happens to be the eccentric woman's lawyer.
It's nice when Christmas has a sense of humor.
Still, Kiss Me at Christmas is more than a romcom. It's about self-care and community, two things that sound as though they'd be at odds but are, oddly, intertwined. Because it's only when Harriet allows herself to be at peace that she's able to bring peace to others. And yes, perhaps, fall in love.
Big-hearted and hilarious, Kiss Me at Christmas is Bayliss's best book yet. Because everyone deserves a second act. Especially at Christmas.