How to Get Rid of Your Christmas Tree

...and buy yourself an evening of festive warmth. How about a Christmas tree bonfire?

The Newbury, MA fire department is collecting trees until January 9th for their annual bonfire on January 14th. This is an interesting fundraiser for the local fire department that also gets your Christmas tree out of the house before it becomes a fire hazard. 

You can park at the event for $5 and they are advertising beer, wine and warm food like chowder, coffee and fried dough. The event runs from 3:00 pm to 9:00, nice kid-friendly hours. 

And it's held in the fields of the beautiful Tendercrop Farm in Newbury. If you go in the afternoon, you can take advantage of the excellent, as-local-as-possible-in-the-dead-of-winter produce, local meat and dangerously tempting baked goods. I have fond memories of buying Massachusetts-grown apples for (I don't think I'm exaggerating here) my Thanksgiving pies. 

Check out the Newbury Fire Department website for the location info and bundle up the kids. Here's hoping for a warm night!

New Year's Eve Traditions

Now that my brother and I are grown up, we end up with these hybrid holiday mash-ups at my parents' place, whenever we can get together and do it. Last year, we had a "Christmas" turkey one Saturday in February, and I kept wrapped Christmas presents for 13 months to give on this Christmas. We're also more likely to have Thanksgiving dinners with friends sometime in early November. It all starts to feel a little bit schizophrenic.

I'm ready now to start 2012 off right. And most New Year's traditions and customs seem to revolve around the belief that what happens on the first day of the year sets the tone for the next 364. So what do I need to do on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to make sure I don't blow the whole thing?

My grandma believes in the "First Footer," a Scottish tradition. She used to insist that a short, dark-haired man be the first person through her door after midnight (before anyone leaves), that he walk through the house and exit through a different door. Most traditions suggest that the First Footer should be a tall dark-haired man, instead, and that he should bring small gifts, like a lump of coal or some salt.

The way Grandma tells it, the shortest, darkest man in town can have a pretty great night walking in the front and out the back door of each house in the neighborhood, stopping for a drink on his way through and bringing a year's worth of good luck to all his neighbors.

My friend Amy tells me that putting your wallet outside in the last moments of the old year and bringing it back after the clocks strike 12 will bring money into your life in the New Year. I tried it with her one year, and I can't say I struck any notable windfalls. Oh well.

My mother always serves ham on New Year's, because her mother did, too. Although her reasoning is more logical than mystical, (we had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and two turkeys in a week is too much) some people believe that pigs bring good luck, because unlike other livestock, they root with their snouts while moving forward. Plus, they are delicious.

Then there are the traditions that we just follow because they are delicious, fun or safe. When we were kids, after my parents decided that even driving across town on New Year's Eve was too much to pull off, my mom made a big batch of homemade Chex mix and my dad picked up frozen puff pastry appetizers and an endless stack of Keystone Cops, Marx Brothers and Monty Python movies. I try to preserve some of that.

My favorite New Year's celebrations have been small parties with board games, low-maintenance snacks and ample beverages, where no one has to drive anywhere. I'm hoping to start 2012 off with those traditions this year, with as little anxiety as possible about "doing it wrong."

Good luck to all of us!

10 Ways to Get Into the Holiday Spirit Without Spending a Fortune

The older I get, the shorter the time between Halloween and Christmas becomes. When I was a kid, the months of November and December were endless, even with all the days off from school. What is there to do between the time you hit the bottom of the Halloween candy bucket and the time you open your stocking on Christmas morning, while your exhausted parents slurp their coffee and bake last-minute Christmas treats?

Now I can't seem to find time to catch my breath, let alone catch the holiday spirit. There's the cooking and travel of Thanksgiving (not to mention all the dishes!) followed immediately by Christmas shopping, Christmas travel and cleaning for all the holiday company.

In years past, I found myself wandering the mall, foot-weary and wild-eyed, spending too much money on uninspired gifts for people I didn't care enough about to justify the stress I was experiencing. And with no snow yet, it all just seems pointless.

Even if you are without religious commitments for Christmas, there is still plenty to celebrate, including the end of another year, time with friends and loved ones and the Winter Solstice, which is on December 22nd this year.

Here are some ways to enjoy the magic of the holiday season without being caught up in religious or retail activities.

1. Watch something. Try a holiday classic for the whole family like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Charlie Brown is available on Hulu right now, and Emmet Otter is available for streaming on Netflix. If those are too wholesome, enjoy Die Hard, The Holiday, or Love Actually.


2. Mull something. Wine or apple cider, warmed with spices like cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods makes your house smell cozy and inviting.

3. Give something. Collect your gently worn clothing and winter coats and donate them to Goodwill or to a local coat drive. Someone will be warmer this winter because of your effort and you will get a head start on your "Out with the old" New Year's resolution. Or set up a small, regular donation to a local food bank or other charity of your choice. A few minutes spent this season will help your favorite organization throughout the year.

4. Bake something. Ask your mom or grandma for your favorite childhood cookie recipe. Or, heck, search the internet for something chocolate-y or cinammon-y that you can share with friends and co-workers, or polish off yourself while watching Miracle on 34th Street for the 34th time.

5. Decorate something. Put up a tree, or if that's out of your budget (trees are expensive, dude) decorate your doorways or string a frame of lights around a window or section of wall. Hang garland, ornaments or holiday cards around the lights. Don't forget to get some mistletoe!

6. Walk somewhere. If you're not up for decorating your place, enjoy someone else's decorations. Walk down Main Street to see the decorations in the stores and at city hall or at the local park. Stop and ponder just how long it must take to light all the trees on the town common. Or bundle up and find a neighborhood with excellent lights and ogle them. Travel mugs of cocoa (with peppermint schnapps, if you'd rather) make this a little warmer on windy nights.

7. Plan something. Christmas is pretty much the end of the year. Take some quiet time to think about what you're proud of this year and what you'd like to do differently. Because if you wait until January 1st to make your resolutions, you might end up with "drink less" and "eat less Brie and more vegetables" because those are the sins on your mind. You are getting the gift of a whole new year to do amazing things, so taking an hour or so to decide what's important is a small investment.

8. Wear something. Pick out a cozy sweater or a shiny blouse in  red or green or silver. Find some dramatic snowflake earrings or an outrageous wreath pin. If you can't do it earnestly, organize an ugly holiday sweater event with your co-workers, and invite everyone to wear their most outrageous Christmas-wear. Look for something good at the thrift store when you donate those winter coats.

9. Make something. It doesn't matter if you are a master knitter or if your medium is magazine scraps and Elmer's glue. Decorate some cards or make a gift for someone special. Quick items like warm slippers or a handmade washcloth given with fancy soap make a thoughtful (and inexpensive) gift for a friend or relative.

10. Wrap something. It's tempting to wait until the last minute to wrap the gifts you bought and made this December. I mean, it's just paper, right? And isn't it more environmentally friendly to just give your presents in their shopping bags? Right, sure, but they look so nice all wrapped up, either under your tree or tucked in a corner of your living room. Put on the Christmas carol station on the radio and wrap gifts a few at a time.

Before you know it, Christmas will be here, and you, my skeptical, over-busy friend, will be ready. Happy Holidays!

Walden Pond

Walden Pond Reservation is one of my favorite parks in central Massachusetts. It is perfect for a summer beach day, if you don't mind the crowds, it is beautiful and quiet for a quick swim on a fall morning, and it is beautiful for a walk when the weather is too cold for swimming. It's easily accessible from Route 2, and parking is $5 per car.

It turns out it is also amazing in the fall. Walking trails wrap all the way around the pond.

Walden Pond also has the unique opportunity to see a replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin, the place where he wrote Walden. 

The original cabin site is there too, further into the woods on the other side of the pond.

Anyway, Kevin and I went west along the pond from the main beach and then went up to the Esker trail when we reached the boat launch area. There were tons of families with young kids, couples, teens and other, larger groups all around the pond, but once we got up to the Esker trial, people were more spread out and it was a very nice walk. The leaves remaining on the trees were beautiful, and so were the golden leaves all over the trails. 

Two roads diverge in a wood...I know, wrong New England writer.

I really like this shrub, so much that I wanted to see the pond through it. Don't judge me.

Wyman Meadow is a little damper than I usually like my meadows, but it is supposed to be top notch for wildlife viewing.

We got to the MBTA railroad tracks that border the north edge of the pond.

Then we followed the pond around to Thoreau's Cove and the site of his original cabin. Apparently people bring rocks to the site to commemorate...something... This is where they thought the original house was, until they found the remains of the chimney in 1945.

                                      

These stones mark the boundaries of the original cabin. 

From there we crossed a cute little boardwalk, then accidentally ended up back at Route 126. We ducked back into the woods and took the Ridge Path and the Sherwood Trail (maybe?) back to the beach.

See how happy we were about it?

Back at the main beach, I lost my ever-loving mind, took off my shoes and socks and waded into the pond. Confidentially, that was my plan all along, and if it hadn't been quite so leafy, and if I had remembered my towel , I would have waded in a little further. It was beautiful! And it made a passerby say "Hot diggity!" People are strange.

Moderately chilly.

The pond itself is a glacial kettle-hole, 102 feet deep at its deepest point. That's one reason swimming across it is forbidden, which, um, I didn't know...on my last visit. I am bummed that I missed the chance for an October swim this year. Maybe I can get back in the early spring, before the crowds of sane people dust off their beach towels.

This is right after Kevin said "Be careful or you will get your pants wet." It is clearly too late.

Once my feet dried a little, we went back to the cabin replica, and I checked out the signage while Thoreau looked confused about Kevin's phone. 

Oh, I always wondered what my pond looked like from the air!

Here is a really cool post describing the construction of the house and giving some stats. The cabin is cozy and it makes me want to buy a Kindle and retreat from real life for the winter. Which, I'm pretty sure, is the modern equivalent of what Thoreau did. He was all, "You guys, stop being so commercial! It's way lame! Hey, Emerson, can I borrow some money and land so I can be Transcendental for a while? BRB and I'll dedicate my book to you, I swear!" 

Excuse me while I fantasize for a moment about ditching all my belongings and moving in here. 

Anyway, I highly recommend this as a day trip. In the summer, DCR recommends that you call ahead and make sure they haven't hit their cap of 1,000 visitors at a time. I've never had this problem, but I avoid going when it's super hot. The main beach features a building with bathrooms and changing areas. There is often an ice cream truck on site when you're all heated up from swimming or hiking. I get why Thoreau picked it, even if I think he might have been a selfish tool. A great writer, don't get me wrong, but a tool.


Total time: 2 hours
Distance: Nearly 1 mile along the Esker Trail, about 1 mile around the east side of the pond. Total: A bit less than 2 miles.
Cost: $5 for parking
Words of Wisdom: Bring a map because the trails are not clearly marked. It's very difficult to get lost, but we had a lot of questions and uncertainty along the way.

10 Best Things to Do Now that Daylight Savings Time is Over

I always get so excited when it's time to "fall back" in November. An extra hour of sleep? Yes, please! And then 4:30 pm comes and the sun is low in the sky and I think, "Wait, I take it back. I would rather have the daylight." It turns out I'm not the only one with mixed feelings. Nationally, daylight savings time was first established in 1918 in the U.S., but that law was repealed. The practice was popular again during World War II as an energy saving measure. It was finally standardized in 1966, but states can choose whether to play along. Study all this, because there will be a quiz.

It feels like the real start of winter for me. It's the beginning of dark, cold afternoons and limited hours to get yard work and errands done. But it's also the beginning of long, cozy evenings. To celebrate, try:

1. Building a fire: Bundle up and make s'mores around a campfire or fire pit on your patio. Or if you are really lucky and have a fireplace or a wood stove, it's time to get it cranking.
2. Making mulled cider: Whether you heat a whole gallon in your slow cooker or fancy it up on the grill like Bobby Flay, it's a perfect way to warm up a cold evening. This fancy Betty Crocker version is delicious for a fall party. 
3. Simmering some soup: No, not all my ways to celebrate the end of daylight savings time involve food, I swear. But a bowl of hot soup is the perfect dinner for a chilly, dark evening.
4. Baking homemade bread: To go with the soup! Try this one that does all the work on its own while you enjoy the precious hours of daylight.
5. Getting up early: If you're like me, you've been getting up in the dark for weeks now and you survived. Try setting your alarm a little earlier now that the sun is coming up earlier. Drink that coffee in an honest-to-goodness ceramic mug and get a jump on the day. Among other factors, increasing exposure to sunlight can help to improve mood during the grim winter months.
6. Going outside: Make the most of your daylight hours by taking a walk somewhere pretty before it gets too cold.  
7. Star-gazing: Go out and check out some fall constellations without staying up past your bedtime. Download an iPad app if you are as clueless as I am. Or go out and see the Leonid meteor shower on November 17th.
8. Playing Manhunt: Manhunt is a variation of hide-and-seek played in the dark. If your neighborhood is safe or you have a campus or park to play in, gather a bunch of friends. One person is "it," the Manhunter, and all the other players hide. Pick clear boundaries and keep it safe with rules about legit hiding spots. Pick an ending time so the champion isn't left hiding all night long. 
9. Making a night of it: Have a fall party combining several of the suggestions above. Or check out these other fall party ideas for kids or adults
10. Going to bed early: Round up your loved one or someone friendly and warm and enjoy some early evenings. The busy holiday season is coming, and soon spring will be here. Before you know it, you'll be busy with all kinds of parties and engagements. Take this opportunity to hibernate a little while you have the chance.

Cross-Country Skiing in Massachusetts

As I've said before, I go through phases where I berate myself for never doing anything and decide I need a hobby or a skill or a membership or a cause. Since this often happens in the middle of the night, I am usually more or less fully recovered by morning. (The exception is The Couch-to-5K Debacle of January 2010. But I will spare you the heartbreak and awkwardness of that adventure.)

Anyway, it snowed last night and I feel like winter has started without me. My lawn furniture is still in the yard and we never even pulled the tomato plants from the garden, or mowed the lawn one last time. So here I am with my Lazy Person's Mocha (instant cocoa and instant coffee) listening to Josh Ritter and thinking it's time to do something fun this winter.

My friends have tried to get me to try downhill skiing, but I took a few lessons in middle school and I've fallen down in the snow enough since then that I know having slippery feet on purpose is not my thing. I prefer much more control over my momentum, especially in cold conditions. Which leaves me with cross-country skiing. I have loved it the times I tried it, but never seem to have the time/money/transportation/company I need often enough to make it a habit.

These are some of the best places for cross-country skiing that I have found in central/eastern Massachusetts:

• Weston Ski Track off Rte 30 in Weston. They have 15 km of trails (how metric of them!) and sell trail passes and rental packages for $15 each for adults. The 3-day pass (any 3 days, not 3 in a row) for $39 looks like a good deal, as does evening skiing for $12.75. 
• Great Brook Ski Touring Center in Carlisle is a little more out of the way, but is accessible from 495 or Route 2. It might be worth it though because their trail pass is $12 on weekends and $10 weekdays and evenings. Their adult ski rental package is $13. The season pass is only $60, but I'm not sure I could get up there at least 5 times to make it worthwhile.
• Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation lists lots of state parks and forests with trails open for cross-country skiing, which works if you have your own equipment. Five dollars for parking, at most, gets you into any of these parks. 

Everything else was too far from Worcester, and not a good choice for snowy weather or exhausting activities. I guess this year I am limited to Great Brook or Weston, and maybe I'll find out I'm a skier and buy equipment for next year. Maybe. 

Playing Tourist in Your Hometown

Gather 'round, children, and I will tell you the story of my youthful naivete. When I was 17, I chose a college in Boston because, hey, it's Boston. I looked at other New England schools and the selling point on each tour was that it was "only X hours to Boston." So if that's where everyone is headed, why not go there? I had been to a Red Sox game as a kid, and to the Museum of Science, the Public Gardens, and the Common, and I loved it all.

So I packed up all my worldly possessions (everything was purple - picture it) and my parents moved me into an old apartment building cum dorm (I've always wanted to use "cum" that way in a sentence) in Boston. And then I got busy. I had new friends, lots of homework, and a job or two. I spent most of my meager income on pizza and bus tickets home to New Jersey. (Oh, and laundry. Never have quarters seemed so precious.)

Sure, we took walks and occasionally saw a show or had dinner, but I pretty much stuck to my campus and neighborhood. I loved Boston, but I rarely ventured further than Downtown Crossing because, heck, we had cable in the dorm. And after about two years of that, I was burned out on school so I quit and joined the circus took a year off and got accepted into AmeriCorps.

I spent a year in various towns and cities in the Southeast U.S. We worked hard for room, board and a stipend (but at least we didn't have to come up with laundry quarters, I think they covered that for us) and spent weekends looking for cheap entertainment. We hiked and visited historic sites. We called our families from beaches in November and I, personally, read a lot of books and wrote a lot of letters. But I came out of that year vowing to look at my home city in a new way and take advantage of all it had to offer. I made lists (lists are a big thing with me).

Then (you're hoping I learned my lesson by now) I moved back to Boston and (lather, rinse, repeat) I got busy. I graduated, moved to Montana, hiked a little and drank a lot of beer, moved back to Massachusetts to be closer to my family and any hope of a full-time job in my field, and pretty much stayed busy.

I rarely go into Boston anymore, unless I have company in town. I am about an hour away, but there is always something to do in the house, or kittens on the internet! But I'm still trying to enjoy my local area when I can.

Let's band together, put on our sandals, hike our black socks up to our Bermuda shorts, smear zinc oxide on our noses and shuffle aimlessly through our hometowns noticing things and taking pictures of them. For effect, it helps if you stop and ask directions to the place you are standing in front of. It's charming, I assure you.