What are you up to this weekend? New York has gotten cold! Last night, the boys and I went to see the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights and drink hot chocolate and listen to holiday tunes. It’s become an annual tradition, and we love it. Hope you have a good one, and here a few links from around the web…

Big Salad’s Best *Everything* of 2024, including a sexy movie, gay jeans, Irish swimming and a major parenting realization. No paywall!

We’re also offering 20% off Big Salad subscriptions (including all the juicy archives). Thank you so much; we are so grateful for our wonderful readers.

Invisible apple cake, yummmmm.

A stick library for dogs.

J.Crew is having a HUGE sale — I mean, this beanie! this barn jacket! — and packages will arrive by Christmas Eve, if you order by Sunday.

What a simple and pretty way to decorate a Christmas tree.

Why we should all join a board game club. “People are just so eager to meet other people… There’s something very nice about a chessboard, where you can sit in total silence with a stranger across from you because you’re focusing, or it can be a totally chatty game.” (NYTimes gift link)

Ooh, a very dramatic camembert salad. (NYTimes gift link)

Rules for a modern life. “If you’re in an empty restaurant you can ask them to turn the music down. If it’s full then you’re on your own and can remember for next time.”

A producer attempts to pitch The Nutcracker, haha.

The last-minute gift that everyone loves.

Plus, three reader comments:

Says Sarah on a one-rule game for the holidays: “The Number Game is a massive hit with my two neurodivergent boys. We’ll play it on the platform while waiting for whatever train we’re cruising that day, and strangers will sometimes join in! A few weeks ago, we got the whole platform playing, and when four people said, ‘NINETEEN!’ at the same time, everyone on the platform started screaming and laughing with my kids. It warms my heart to see how many strangers are friendly to my quirky boys.”

Says Lauren O. on a marriage proposal with fruit jams: “If the couple didn’t arrive at their wedding reception to Technotronic’s ‘Pump Up the Jam,’ everyone in this anecdote is fired.”

Says Summer on what are you grateful for: “This comment section feels like when Elmo asked how everyone was doing on Twitter and then everyone was vulnerable and honest. We needed this outpouring. It’s amazing to remember how varied and complicated life is by getting a glimpse into the lives of others. It made my burden feel less heavy today.”

(Photo by Kristin Duvall/Stocksy.)

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