Everything
A sackful of seasonal bits
Today’s post is chaos, frankly, like upending a suitcase onto the floor. It has recommended gift subscriptions, present guides I liked, photos from the Substack event on Monday night, a few late book suggestions, a video of the decorations that are now up the barn, my current to-do list, links to things I enjoyed reading this week, and a couple of gift recipes from The New York Times.
Ordinarily I would try and impose some sort of order, but I’m trying to do 15 things at once and the hotplate on the cooker is dead, which has freaked me out because the very overworked elderly man who mends this brand of cooker takes weeks, sometimes months, to appear.
Still, this time next week we’ll be in The Lull (the bit between Christmas and New Year) which is arguably the best bit - all of the goodness and none of the stress, like being suspended in time in an especially cosy hammock.
But we’re not quite there yet. If you’re entering cooking panic mode, remember all this usefulness (plus excellent festive recipes) from Jane Lovett from October, below. It’s free to read.
Other useful Christmas cooking bits: here on resting the turkey. A roundup of festive recipes. More good turkey info. What to eat in the bath. Skye McAlpine’s Christmas shortcuts again, because they’re so good (she’s writing a Christmas book in time for next year and I can’t wait). Ben Lippett’s Christmas Cooking 101.
Also here are two useful, straightforward recipes for feeding a crowd when you’re sick of turkey (gift links):
I’ve removed the paywall from my presents guide. It’s also worth remembering that many people already have pretty much everything they need - you’re really just putting a cherry on the cake. At this late stage I find this a relaxing thought.
Other useful present ideas: everything on this list. Food presents and also non-food presents (and her favourite online food suppliers, so useful at any time of year). This and this from The Gimlet Eye. Books. This magnificent offering - clearly today is Skye Day.
My many, many book recommendations are all on my Bookshop page, including fiction, non-fiction, interiors, gardens, crime, comfort reads and lots of cookery books (that I’ve cooked from, not just flicked through). Have a look if you need inspiration but do check delivery dates - at this stage it might be safer to go to an actual physical bookshop to buy anything.
A few late additions: