Last year, on Christmas Eve Eve, Doug and I encountered one massive miscommunication. See, for weeks, I had in my mind and my calendar that we would be celebrating Christmas with his family at noon on the 23rd, at his fabulous aunt’s house, 20 minutes away. His mom would be bringing lunch and we needed only to show up at twelve. I had a nine-month-old on a precise napping and nursing regime at the time, so schedules were extra important.
When 11 a.m. rolled around, ready to go with—gasp—TIME to kill, I leisurely sank into the couch to soak in some Christmas peace while Emerson finished napping upstairs. Across from me, Doug, however, was suddenly swiping his phone screen, looking a little bit white.
“Um,” he started, “So, I messed up. We’re actually not going to Aunt Liz’s.”
Flicker of panic. “Huh? Are we going to Fallbrook?” Better get moving, I thought, edging myself off the cushions. Fallbrook was in San Diego, more than an hour away.
“Not exactly,” he said. “I’m so sorry, because I knew this. I knew this and I completely forgot to mention it. I just looked through the texts to be sure. Everyone’s coming… Here! At noon. Everyone will be here at noon.”
My in-laws, coming over, in an hour, to my toy-littered, food-barren house. Full-on panic monsoon. Better get SPRINTING and PASSING OUT.
“It’s actually pretty great,” Doug offered. “We don’t have to drive anywhere!”
I looked right through him, far too stressed to be livid, as my mind began bulleting notes:
- Clean up toys
- Feed daughter
- Clean kitchen
- Well, try to de-clutter whole house
- Dust off china
- Buy paper goods
- Buy drinks
- Buy dessert
- Buy appetizer
I was apparently having a PARTY, in less than an hour. Thankfully, lunch was covered, but the hostess duties were mine. And not just any hostess duties—the Christmas duties, for my husband’s family, who of course had to think I threw effortless parties in a flawless house all the time while looking fabulous and looking after a well-behaved infant. How would I pull this off without the required four weeks of lead-up freak-out time?!
Deepest breath. “Babe, watch Emerson, feed her, and clean up the house? I’m going to Trader Joe’s!”
I MEAN, where on earth else would I go.
Thankfully, fierce anxiety continued to trump my rage. I tore through those aisles with my little red cart, loading up on sparkly fruity drinks and various Christmas cookies. The appetizer, though—the appetizer. For some reason, I was totally blocked.
And then I found myself at the cheese.
Sing, choirs of angels!!!! All was calm. All was bright. It was going to be OK.
You might say I kind of like cheese, as, I’ve discovered, do most people.
The previous month for my birthday, Doug had taken me to a phenomenal restaurant in Laguna Beach called 370 Common, where we had ordered the most delicious itemized cheese board we’d ever tasted. The memory eclipsed my mind and my taste buds as I meticulously selected my hunks of cheese and then moved onto the meat, nuts and honey. As I began mentally assembling my work of art, I started to feel pretty great.
This was going to be the BEST cheese board any human had ever tasted.
I returned to the house just in time, which of course was spotless because Doug (almost) never fails me. Emerson was giggly and elated in her high chair. I scurried around the kitchen. I finished prepping everything for our loved ones with exactly four minutes to spare.
You know what? The gathering was totally perfect. In fact, it was one of my favorite Christmas celebrations with Doug’s family. Everybody LOVED my cheese board, sure, but more than that, I think they just loved being with us. They complimented me on my “beautiful clean house” (muahaha!) but more than that, I think they cherished celebrating Emerson’s first Christmas in a home we focus every day on filling with love and joy. Both of Doug’s parents cried a little when they opened their gifts, framed portraits of Emerson, because her freakishly huge smile does that to people sometimes, and because they love her so much.
All in all, it was a really great day, and I’m actually really glad I only had 52 minutes to freak out, instead of an entire month. I think I tend to believe that my fretting and flitting and freaking actually accomplishes something, when of course, it does not. It mostly just steals my joy.
So with some of Doug’s family coming over again this weekend to celebrate Christmas, I’m breathing slowly and normally and only mildly stressing about the trails of toys and insanity just constantly sprinkled by toddlers.
And you better believe I’m preparing another cheese board!
Merry Christmas, my loves!!!!!
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The Perfectly Festive Cheese Board
Since discovering these TJ’s treasures a year ago, I have made this cheese board and similar variations at least 12 times! It’s the perfect appetizer for any social gathering, whether an afternoon of football, fancy dinner party or girls’ night in. Warning: The ingredients definitely aren’t cheap, but you can use most of them for so many things besides cheese boards. I hope you love it!
What You’ll Need:
- Raisin Rosemary Crisps
- Cracker Assortment—Four Individually Wrapped Varieties
- Stockmeyer Prosciutto (I’ve tried all of TJ’s prosciutto options and this is my fave!)
- Raw California Premium Walnut Halves
- Clover Blossom Honey
- Dried Apricots
- 6-Year Aged Cheddar Cheese (white)
- Apple Cinnamon Goat Cheese
- Double Cream Brie
- Crumbly Gorgonzola Cheese
Note: These are simply my cheese preferences, which represent a pretty good variety (one blue-ish, one sharp-ish, one sweet-ish, one smooth-ish). You can absolutely use whatever other kinds you’d like (Swiss, Gruyere, yellow cheddar, etc.).
What You’ll Do:
Arrange everything on a cutting board (or two) in a way that pleases your eye. It’s nice to serve with small plates and napkins, or everyone can just dive in. Present to your guests and enjoy!
