Usually this time of year we are busy running around town gathering the last of the gifts, ordering cakes for the several holiday gatherings, baking cookies and writing up menus and shopping lists to make sure nothing is missing from our holiday tables.

And in fact, I just finished ordering the last of the gifts. I’ve ordered our Christmas Carsolina and our tower of profiterôles, I have mapped out my strategic and socially distant grocery shopping itinerary for our Christmas Eve fish dinner, our Christmas Day Ham beast, New Year’s Eve finger foods and grapes and New Year’s Day Cotechino and lentils — even though it will be just the 3 of us. AND, coincidentally, I was also able to squeeze in a Covid test in the covered parking garage under the now closed mall (long story short I wasn’t feeling 100% and out of an abundance of caution I booked a private test).

As every other holiday this year, this one will be different too. But somethings remain the same. I will still bake my two Christmas favorites, Gingerbread cookies and Polvorones, whose recipes you can click through to and we will still exchange greetings with friends and family via FaceTime and WhatsApp.

It is also a good time to remember those less fortunate and in this season of giving there are many organizations looking for donations, a partial list of Italian based charities can be found here. If you’re looking to donate in the U.S. a good list is available on GoFundMe’s blog.

So however and whatever you celebrate, I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season and here’s to wishing us all a much better New Year!

See you all in a couple of weeks!!