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Sweet Forgiveness
Rated by 3 members
It's a tight squeeze, but I manage to flatten myself against the sliver of wall spanning the window and front door. "What are you doing, Mommy?" my daughter Julia asks.
"Hiding from the mailman," I whisper. "I forgot to give him a holiday present." I wait a few more minutes until I'm sure he's gone, wondering if I detected a scowl as he walked up to our door.
I'm awash in post-holiday remorse every time I face my ghosts of Christmas Recent — all the people I should have, meant to, wanted to acknowledge with a "little something," yet didn't. My list of excuses is extensive, and plausible: not enough time, not enough room in the gift budget, holiday amnesia, festivity overload. But my guilt over gifts not given is even larger.
Thankfully Julia, 9, and Henry, 7, don't completely understand my remorse -- I'd love to spare them from it forever — but as Julia watches our mail carrier walk away empty-handed, she cries, "Valentine's cookies!"
She's young, but she's a quick study. "You've got it!" I say.
I believe that Valentine's Day was started by a desperate woman in similar straits, who, say 200 years ago, needed a convenient post-Christmas holiday to hitch her get-back-in-folks'-good-graces wagon to. There is something about giving gifts when you aren't technically required to that is utterly charming, or so I like to think. A bit of karmic extra credit, if you will.
So now every year we try to make it up to everyone who, through no fault of their own, ended up on our "naughty" list. We bake about five dozen sugar cookies (Yes, the list is that long) using a traditional sugar cookie dough recipe and heart-shaped cookie cutter. To frost the cookies, Julia mixes up an easy vanilla frosting.
Then comes the really fun part. Using a set of our fine-tipped food coloring pens (www.foodoodler.com) and candy conversation hearts, we write letters on the back sides of the candy hearts to spell out our own brief messages or the names of our recipients: "Blooming Great" to our neighbors who water our plants when we're out of town. "Too Sweet" to our elderly neighbor who hands out fistfuls of Halloween candy. "Believe" to our neighborhood Red Sox enthusiasts. "Cutie Pie" to the family with a new baby. And "First Class" to our mail carrier.
After we're done writing our sweet heart messages in the frosting, we sprinkle the cookies with coarse pink sugar sprinkles and wrap them in colored cellophane. With heads held high, Julia, Henry and I deliver our sweet and unexpected gifts. Christmas? That's so last year.
What are your tried-and-true ideas for last minute gifts? Click the comments link below to share ideas or read others.
Member Comments On…
Sweet Forgiveness
In my younger less stressful days I was AWESOME, making fudge, cookies, hot chocolate jars, Jars with ingredients for any sort of baked good. I always had something on hand for occasions. Now either my time has vanished, my energy has vanished or my youthful optimism has vanished. I still give gifts but not in such reckless abandon. I can relate and empathize with all and I think the fact that you cared at all is better than a lot of people. Thanks for the laugh!
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Talk about guilt... the stack of sympathy cards on my desk attest to my good intentions and less-than-stellar follow-through. But a good friend, whose mother died a few years ago, shared a great tip -- that when you lose a loved one, to have someone acknowledge your loss on those days when you might miss them most (a birthday, Valentine's Day, Father's Day, etc.), can be even more meaningful. So now I mark my calendar and send an e-mail, flowers, or card to let them know they're in my thoughts. Simple, but sympathetic, with no expiration on the clock.
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I made cookies last year for the principals and the office staff last year at my daughters school. They receive so much during the holidays that they welcomed the homemade treat on Valentine's Day. It was a big hit for something that was very simple and fun to do!
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Hee hee. I was also planning to send "Happy Chinese New Year" cards (since I missed Xmas/New Years) but it seems I have missed that too (since its tomorrow!!). So I'll try Valentine's Day, I suppose, and if I miss that, Memorial Day it is!! Or perhaps Flag Day, in June...Thanks for the great idea!!
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Oh I am in the same boat every year but this year I will make it up to everyone with cookies. Great idea!
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Oh My Gosh - HILARIOUS vision of you hiding from the mailman. And so nice to know I'm not the only one. I love this idea -- turning (yet another) something I've messed up into a fabulous and unexpected positive. Thank you -- for the great idea and, perhaps even more important, for making me feel a little better about my failings!
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Great idea! Will definitely use it this Valentine's Day. thank you!
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Awesome column! What a great idea! I'm always stressing, as my name suggests, to get these gifts together -- never thought there was an alternative. How happy I am to learn that there is -- and to learn about it by such a clever, wise writer. Thank you!
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THIS IS THE BEST TIP EVER. MY HUSBAND WAS JUST ASKING MY WHY I HAD SO MANY BOXES OF CHOCOLATE IN THE CABINETS. THEY WERE ALL FOR THE BUS DRIVER, THE TELLER ETC...THAT WERE NEVER GIVEN - UGHH. VALENTINES DAY HERE WE COME!!!
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I use a similar Valentine tradition to make the teachers a sweet gift. I have a recipe that makes a sheet pan full of brownies,I bake that then use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut them out. Then I put them in boxes I get from the dollar store which I line with Parchment or waxed paper (whatever I have on hand). I think everyone always likes to get a sweet treat, its a little less expensive, and turns out looking great!
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