News
A New Holiday Perspective
A new Holiday Perspective
Christmas. Some people love it. Some people don’t. I am always vaguely disgruntled when I see Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween. We barely had time to count how many pumpkin cookies we had left at the bakery. But the rush is always on. A panicky feeling takes over that perhaps I too should be in a hurry or I’ll miss out on something.
I don’t think choosing to do something because it saves time is necessarily the best choice either. Shopping used to be fun. In the early days of Black Friday our general manager would remind us two weeks before Thanksgiving that she and her family and friends would be participating in the Black Friday Shopping Blitz, and she would NOT be at work the Friday after Thanksgiving. It had become one of her favorite holiday customs. When the doors opened at the mall, I’m sure she was ready to be bedazzled and hopefully successful at nabbing gifts at Black Friday prices that only steadfast bargain hunters could procure. It actually sounded like a fun ritual. I can imagine her meeting up with those same friends halfway through the day eating lunch while comparing the great deals they found in their Christmas booty. She looked forward to it every year until it became possible to save just as much money shopping online in your slippers and robe in the living room. That sounds kind of nice too, but was it as much fun?
I actually liked mixing with the crowds when I went Christmas shopping downtown years ago. All the stores looked exuberantly festive. The decorations were usually put up the week after Thanksgiving. Fresh evergreen boughs and wreaths wouldn’t last much longer than three weeks and oh how that smell connected me to the holidays. A needed break could be taken at Shillito’s tearoom, where I could check my list to see what was left to accomplish. At the end of the day, I loved carrying the bags and boxes back to the car feeling my sense of accomplishment. Perhaps a few snowflakes would even fall.
For years I have waxed poetic about Thanksgiving and how much we should linger in its simple joys, but this year, while I was picking up a few things for my own Thanksgiving at Aldi, I whisked down the seasonal holiday aisle to get to the check-out line as quickly as possible. I thought, Sharon, ignore all that stuff. It’s not time yet. But the myriads of European chocolates wrapped in Santa Claus outfits, the German gingerbread cookies, the snowflake marshmallows for hot chocolate were too seductive to resist. A little farther down the aisle on the bottom shelf, a box of red, gold, pink and silver nutcrackers shouted out to me . “Can you believe how adorable we are, how festive, how perfect we will look in the BonBonerie’s window?” I loaded up my basket with total abandon.
It seems like everyone comments on how fast time is flying by. So, it is with the end of 2025. I made it a rule never to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. It had been fully appreciated, but even I cheated this year decorating the Cafe and Tearoom the week before Thanksgiving for fear of running out of time. I’m glad I did. Creating a festive environment for all of you to enjoy is part of the fun. I sometimes wish we had some Christmas carolers in the lobby. Wait! One year we did. It didn’t work out that well.
I am so grateful to all of our loyal patrons. Each of you are willing to bump into one another waiting for your orders or choosing your treats. This month our entire bakery and cafe staff work, day and night baking, decorating and serving you our holiday fare. I’m grateful that you are able to see our staff making each and every thing for your celebrations. They deserve your admiration. It can appear to be chaos, but in the end “the proof is in the pudding “All those beautiful pastries and cakes are practically a Christmas miracle, and they are usually served with a smile. That’s a miracle too.
Happy Holidays and Thank You from the co-founders Sharon Butler and
Mary Pat Pace along with the Entire BonBonerie Staff.