Holiday Time, Again

It’s holiday time again. The beautiful magazine covers line our shelves. It’s holiday time again. Time for me to feel inadequate again. Most of the year I feel quite fortunate and accomplished. I have a job I love, four great kids who have made good choices (so far), a roof over my head and a dachshund to keep my toes warm at night. My life doesn’t lack for any of the really important things.
But, when the holiday magazines arrive, I begin to realize what my life doesn’t have. Michelle Obama graces the cover of Glamour this month. I accept the facts. I don’t have her toned, handsome biceps or her glittering jewelry or the elegant red satin dress. The part that really bothers me is that even if I did, I have no place to wear them. Winter holidays in Iowa don’t offer many opportunities to sport sleeveless apparel.
The cover of Good Housekeeping shows artfully decorated Christmas cookies. I’ve never been very good at sugar cookies. When my children were young they could eat them faster than I could mix, roll, cut, bake and decorate, so what’s the point? Good Housekeeping’s white frosted, blue bedazzled snowflake cookies are works of art. The magazine also offers six cookie recipes that are promised to be foolproof and fabulous. When I read through them, I decided my family wouldn’t thrill to a plate of whole-grain gingersnaps or figgy bars. The brownie bites do look yummy, but require 15 ingredients to produce 24 cookies.
The cover of Midwest Living features a Christmas tree bedecked with tons of ribbons. Not the package-wrapping kind, but prize-heifer-at-the-county-fair-type ribbons, a burning fireplace and a basket of blonde and black Labrador puppies. Charming.
Family Circle depicts face-less gingerbread cookies. That’s the kind I always serve, too. There is also an article, several pages in length, of how-to holiday hair-dos. It must apply to someone. Probably the same ladies who wear a red ball gown like Michelle’s.
Country Woman magazine has a photo of several elaborately decorated gingerbread houses and their smiley builder, Johanna. My self-esteem couldn’t handle it. I didn’t even open that one. Cooking Light magazine has an elegant cake plate filled with holiday yummies. The linzer cookie looks a whole lot like the one in Good Housekeeping. How would they take the calories out to make it qualify as “light?”
Country Living usually is more my style. Anything in this magazine, from recipes to decorating is usually a little less perfect, a little more homespun. Country Living uses lots of pinecones and bark and berries, a little less glamour and glitz. Some of their recipes even sound like something my family would eat.
Martha Stewart Living has a glowing Martha holding a lap-full of happily wrapped presents. Why is it that even a prison term didn’t wipe the smile from her smug face? I rarely open her magazine. I know that the wrappings on her presents cost more than the gifts I give, but they are charmingly well done.
Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home Simple and Delicious and Woman’s Day are all filled with more recipes and stocking stuffers and decorating ideas. But, if you have time on your hands, McCall’s Quilting magazine has a list of gift ideas for quilters and patterns for several holiday quilts.
Whatever inspiration you need to put you in a holiday mood, you can find it @your library.