A Chic Paris Holiday Season – Day 23 – Joyeux Noël!

 December 25, 2020

Joyeux Noël and Merry Christmas! 

My intention for today is to revel in the feeling of thankfulness. It was a lovely morning as I  made my coffee and enjoyed both the quiet of puttering about in the kitchen by myself and memories of Christmases when the children were younger and they woke my husband and me up much earlier. Coffee back then happened after the noise and excitement of present opening. Today, the lure of presents drew them out of bed earlier than their usual mid-morning preferred vacation rising time.

After present opening & breakfast (& more coffee), I wandered down rue Passy to get the day’s baguettes and to check out the market street. (Here in Paris, there are certain food shops that are open on Christmas morning. It would be considered completely unacceptable to celebrate Christmas day with anything less than a fresh baguette or the freshest of salad greens.)  The market street had a nice representation of the neighborhood population. We all nodded and smiled (behind our masks) and wished each other “Joyeux Noël” and “Joyeuse Fêtes!”   Then it was back to the apartment to make sure everyone was dressed and ready to walk to Christmas service at the American Cathedral on Ave Georges V.

The walk was lovely and crisp (it is in the mid-30s (F) / 2-5 (C) this morning). I was definitely glad to have silk long-underwear beneath wool turtleneck sweater and trousers as well as wool scarf and gloves on for the 20-minute walk. Another benefit to the extra layers: the very lovely American Cathedral is like all large stone churches – drafty and chilly!

You may remember from my Christmas Eve post that the plan had originally been to attend the evening Christmas Eve service … but our plans changed mid-morning and we shared a lovely evening “Christmas Eve” dinner with friends.  (Note: France’s national curfew (couvre-feu) was relaxed for Christmas Eve so we could actually go out!) I’m so glad we prepared a large of dish of mashed sweet potatoes early so we had a dish to bring along with the champagne! I’m also happy we followed Fiona’s advice from A Chic & Simple Christmas to clean out the refidgerator a few days ago. It’s been so much easier to find ingredients and place finished serving dishes in it than in past years.

My husband is finishing up our “Christmas Day” feast (a large baked chicken with stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes and green salad.) After our late lunch, I will try to drag everyone out for a walk and some frisbee throwing in Parc de Ranelagh. 

I send you warmest wishes for a day overflowing with love and joy.