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December 2015

When I originally proposed the idea of holding a Holiday Children’s Hour at the Boston condo, I was envisioning an early afternoon gathering of a few of my friends’ kids briefly stopping by for a quick hot-cocoa-sipping get-together that went no longer than sixty minutes, hence the aptly-named ‘Hour’ portion of this extravaganza. Suzie laughed at that timeframe, and in my heart I did too. Though the three-and-a-half hour duration it ended up running to was a bit beyond my worst imaginings, I was enjoying the company so much I didn’t mind in the least. It also helped that among the three children attending, there were three parents in attendance as well. That’s about the most perfect babysitting ratio: one parent per child, and no child gets left to be cared for by Alan.

The festivities began at around 3 PM, with a plate of shortbread cookies and a few letter-to-Santa writing kits to amend Suzie’s paper crafts. I had specifically request paper craft projects for the kids. What? I used to love paper crafts! Still do. And fortunately these imaginative folks did as well. (My niece and nephew are not nearly as patient or easily amused.)

Once the paper crafts neared the end of their occupation, we broke out a package of Christmas ‘crackers’ – those wrapped toys that you pull apart to an explosion of string, some none-too-witty scrap of fortune, and a little toy.

This will be the last time I get to see Sophia and Alissa before they move to South Africa, and that was definitely a reason for the gathering. Before that, though, a few push-ups, because that’s what one does at a Holiday Children’s hour. Hey, we were making the rules up as we went along.

It’s much too soon to see whether this will be a tradition I carry on next year. Children grow up so quickly, and everything changes so much it’s difficult to count on a repeat performance of such magic. If it does happen to happen, it will no doubt look very different. Now I’m getting ahead of myself, which is the antithesis of this post, in which I was able to actually enjoy the holiday moment.

We ordered an early dinner of Thai food, because with three kids it’s easier to order in than command a large table at a restaurant. It’s also more fun. While I’m not about to run out and get a little of children myself, this particular Holiday Children’s Hour (or Three) was way more fun than I anticipated – and I haven’t ruled out a similar event next year.

The last day of our Holiday Stroll – Sunday – dawned brilliantly. This was the weather I’d hoped for when plotting out the whole weekend, and as such the original plan for keeping things to half a day in the South End was scrapped in favor of crossing the Charles into Cambridge. Kira was game for it, so we strode along the Southwest Corridor Park to the Back Bay T stop.

The leaves atop the trees were still gloriously aflame. The usual bite of December cold was tepid at best, and so the day had the feeling of early fall, with the addition of holiday sparkle. The best of both worlds.

Certain brownstones were decked out in cranberries and pomegranates – decadent displays that the wildlife of the South End had remarkably left alone. Perhaps even they courted the holiday spirit, allowing the beauty to be enjoyed by all.

We rode the Red Line all the way to Porter Square. Given the beauty of the day, I’d decided to go the Cambridge route, walking along Mass Ave – a lengthy stretch that had several fun shops along the way. Before we began, we stopped in Japan by way of Porter.

As we did with the previous day’s pho, we started with some stomach-warming elixir – the magic of ramen. It was our first time at Sapporo Ramen, and we were second in line (it’s so popular that there is always a line). We ordered up the House Ramen, and soon enough were sipping at the thick broth. I still prefer pho, but this was an energizing beginning to a day of walking.

The shops on this side of the river always felt more rustic to me, less refined than the uptight perfection that Boston Proper always strives for (and ends up all the more off-putting for it). These stores carried more whimsies and more enchanted objects.

The colors of this already-bright day popped in eye-arresting fashion, and I wondered, as I often do when in Cambridge, why I didn’t come out this way more often.

In a Tibetan store, Kira convinces me to try on a traditional hat trimmed with fur and embroidered with gold thread. It is, sadly, not quite my size, so I settle for a one-size-fits-all Tibetan yak wrap (in a fine fuchsia shade that will match my Jack Wills holiday bag perfectly).

There are further enchantments along the never-ending avenue, and when at last we reach Harvard Square, we have found the giddy wonder that characterizes the best of the season.

It was here, in The Tannery, where I found that exquisite bond No. 9 fragrance ‘New York Oud’ and sprayed it on my wrist, where it accompanied us on the rest of our stroll. Somehow, I will find my way to that fragrance, as it now comes imbued with meaning and memory – the kind of connection that makes a great fragrance into something life-affirming.

At the edge of Harvard, a tree lifted its bright fruit into the blue sky – an explosion of natural beauty that led us to a few more Tibetan stores en route to Central Square. I held onto the image, and the intoxicating combination of New York Oud and Tibetan incense, as we descended to the subway.

We emerged into the afternoon sunlight outside the Park Ave station. The sun glinted golden off the State house, and we took our time meandering through the Common before entering the Public Garden. The willows still held their golden leaves, and the sunlight was just dipping into the horizon. In these final hours of our Holiday Stroll, Kira and I slowed our steps and stopped for one last moment to take it all in.

In the lounge of the Four Seasons, the hum of early afternoon revelers was low but happy. Trees were elegantly appointed in the lobby, and though the outside was anything but frightful, inside was this dreamlike winter wonderland. This would be our final official stop for our stroll, and of course it wasn’t on the itinerary. We laughed at the piece of green cardstock in my hand, at the many lines that had been crossed out and replaced. It turns out that the best Holiday Strolls are the ones that go unplanned and unplotted. That was the holiday gift I got from this year’s stroll – along with some precious time with a good friend.

As the day dimmed, we found ourselves back at Braddock Park. Kira rushed off to catch a train, and I stopped at the foot of the stairs to observe the early descent of evening. The sky deepened in color. The night still emanated with the grace of fall. I didn’t dare knock on the door of winter. It would arrive soon enough, and without bidding.

Mother Nature must have been making up for the big pile of poo she dumped on Boston earlier this year, but rain was not in the forecast for our Holiday Stroll. It was certainly not in the itinerary, nor in the planning for the weekend. (Clear skies had been predicted and I foolishly heeded the weather reports.) I had the wrong coat for rain, the wrong shoes for rain, the wrong fragrance for rain, and the wrong indoor-outdoor walking ratio for rain. And we only had one umbrella (the one stocked in the condo that did NOT go with my outfit in the least) to share. Have you ever tried sharing an umbrella while walking a decent distance? It sucks, and everybody ends up getting wet. Yet none of that mattered (ok, it mattered a little, but my complaints dwindled as we made our way along a wet walk that found the temperatures warm and the sights still filled with fall leaves and flowers).

Changing the itinerary yet again, we ducked into Pho Basil for an early lunch. A bit of warm sustenance for the dreary day would surely turn our spirits around, and it worked. Pho is a winter tradition for us now, and Kira and I eagerly filled out stomachs with the hot, spicy broth.

Umbrella unfurled above us, we walked down Newbury Street, stopping in shops to browse and look, and somehow avoiding the huge crowds that often accompany the high shopping season. Maybe the rain had its unintended benefits as well. We mostly just looked, but that was all right. Much of our shopping had already been done. The point of our stroll was not to buy, but to enjoy.

Even looking has its exhaustions, however, and after a couple of hours we needed a rest. After crossing to Boylston, I insisted on a break in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental. Their floral display is always stellar, and their inviting lobby has a delicious fire perfect for a rainy December day. Sitting down, we surveyed the fire and the Christmas tree, and took a moment to just be still.

These are the moments that make our Holiday Stroll special. The little pockets of in-between time, when we don’t even talk or check our phones, when the day pauses in its hectic rush – these are what I treasure the most. Kira enjoys them too, never the first to reluctantly stand and take up the journey again.

Time ticks on, no matter how much we’d like to stay, but the rain was still in full effect. We braved Boylston a bit longer (I adore the Crate & Barrel there) then found shelter back in the Prudential. Usually we use it as a walking corridor when the weather is wild, but as the stores were decked out in holiday finery, we added it to the itinerary (which was already in tatters because we were not walking all the way to Downtown Crossing or Quincy Market as ambitiously outlined under clearer skies).

We were vaguely aware that the day was darkening, but we didn’t know the rain was slowing as well. By the time we re-emerged at the other end of Copley Place, it was dim but dry, and we crossed Dartmouth for a cocktail at the Fairmont.

There we sat and talked, amid a bevy of other holiday shoppers and merry-makers. A festive mood had come out of the rainy day after all, our holiday stroll intact in its own strange way, valiantly proving its spirit even as it realigned my precious itinerary.

We had dinner and then made the long walk back to the condo, pausing at a cozy little market so I could pick up some sweet potatoes for later that night. (Yes, there was a reason.)

After winding down relatively early (having been up way too late the previous evening) we settled in with a viewing of ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner‘ – a tradition that we will keep intact because it’s such a good movie. I baked a couple of sweet potatoes in honor of the ice skating scene (where they are called ‘sweet hots’ (or is it ‘hot sweets’?) – both sound equally ridiculous) which turned out serviceable enough. They were done just as the appropriate scene came on, so we paused and munched on some late-night starch. The next day was a new part to our Holiday Stroll, and I wasn’t sure how it would go…

{To be continued}

Sometimes the best-laid plans are the most easily broken, and sometimes an overly-anal Virgo needs to be put in his place when it comes to scheduling fun and spontaneous enjoyment. The universe taught me that lesson as Kira and I set out on a three-day Holiday Stroll that had been meticulously-plotted – the itinerary printed out on green cardstock. From the very beginning – a canceled cocktail toast at the Liberty Hotel (we did it at the condo instead, so she could drop off her bags) – to the very end (a mad-dash to get Kira on the train back to Attleboro) it was a comedy of errors, resulting in the least-followed itinerary ever created. Yet somehow it was one of the most fun weekends I’ve had in a while, and that’s about the only thing I could have guaranteed from the beginning.

As mentioned, the very first activity of the evening -“ a kick-off toast at the Liberty followed by a walk up Charles Street – was substituted by Kira’s arrival at the condo. We sat for a moment amidst the lights and decorations, toasting with a Campari orange before heading out into the clear night air.

Mother Nature must have been making up for her atrocious behavior last winter, as many of the leaves were still on the trees, illuminated now by Christmas lights and lending additional color to the dim days leading up to the shortest of the year.

The storefronts were lit from within, even though all were closed at the late hour. We hustled deeper into the South End, to The Elephant Walk restaurant, where plates of warm Cambodian food awaited the weary traveler.

Across the street, a church glowed beneath the light of the moon. That treacherous moon, which would wreak its havoc with our plans the entire weekend, sprinkled her crazy light over our progression. Yet even a walk into winter can be a pleasant experience when you don’t have to do it alone.

Taking our cue from this headless bunny, we headed back to the condo for some rest and shut-eye, and a super-late viewing of ‘Love Actually’ – which will likely not make the holiday tradition list. It’s just too much. Of course, we stayed up to watch the end – all the way past the 2 AM mark – a first. We make bedtime exceptions for the holiday stroll.

{To be continued}