Discovering the intersection of improv and Alzheimer’s

ADVENT CALENDAR

Let thecountdown to Christmas beginwith one ofthese DIY ideas from Penelope Dullaghan, an Indianapolis-based illustrator and crafter.

BROWN-PAPER PACKAGES

(Tied upwith string: optional.) Stamp or handwrite numbers on brown-paper lunch bags (or mini-sizeversions, available in bulk at amazon.com). Fill with sweet notes, chocolates, or tiny trinkets—ornaments,card games, a bouncy ball. On a blank wall, tackup twolinesof heavytwine and use small clothespinsto attach each bag.

TREE BRANCH

Find a prettybranch outside, let it dry, and spray-paint itwhite for a snowy feel.Then place in atallvase weighed downwith colorful glass stones or sand. Useribbontotie on noteswith numbers on one side andAdvent activities onthe other.

ASFOR THE ACTIVITIES…

Take inspiration fromJordan Ferney, blogger at Oh Happy Day: “I make a list of all my favorite thingsto do, eat, and experience duringthe holidays and printthem on slips of paperthat I putin our familyAdvent calendar.I started doing this whenI wasanewlywed, but it’s become even more of a tradition since I had children and life is more rushed. Every day,we do onethingto slow down and celebrate.Sometimesit’s big, like a trekdowntown to visitSanta. Other times we willdosomething simple, like hang mistletoe and kiss under it.”

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Celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas in your home? The staff of InterfaithFamily, an organization based in Massachusetts supporting Jewish-Christian couples, recommends these kid favorites. 1. Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, by Selina Alko

2. Eight Candles and a Tree, by Simone Bloom Nathan

3. Nonna’s Hanukkah Surprise, by Karen Fisman

4. Light the Lights! A Story about Celebrating Hanukkah & Christmas, by Margaret Moorman

5. The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, by Lemony Snicket

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HOW TOROAST

Chestnuts

Alice Medrich, a baking expert and the author of Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-YourMouth Cookies, buys and roasts chestnuts every holiday season. “They’re great for nibblingwithdrinks before a family dinner,” she says. “They have a sweetness and a starchy texture that’s similar to ayam.” Here’s her method: Before roasting, cut anX on the bottom of each nut to help it cook more evenly and thoroughly. Spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes.You’ll know they’re done when the tip of a knife inserts easily into the flesh. Then wrapthem in a thick towel for 5 to 10 minutes.This steams the chestnuts slightly and makes removing thestubborn shells and skins beforeserving a million times easier.

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DECORATE THE TREE

A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY

Add some unexpectedmagic with one ofthese ideas.

“Growingup, we’d tuck dolls and small toys into our family tree, set deep into the branches, so it almost looked like they wereplaying peekaboo,” says New YorkCity–based craft stylist Blake Ramsey Murray. She also cuts paper stars out of origami paper, snips a hole in each center, then slips them over string lights. (Or use foil cupcake liners instead.) “That really makes your tree glow,” she says. For a cool icicle effect, hang metallic straws (Murray likes gold and silver ones from Kikkerland) on ornament hooks all over the tree.

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TRYTHESE IDEAS TO MAKE THE HANDOFF EVEN MORE FUN.

TREASURE HUNT Take a breatherafter all the Santaexcitement by hiding small wrapped gifts around the house for children to seek (while you sip coffee).

FINISH THECAROL This works for a family or friend gift exchange. Sit in a circle and pass each gift around to the tune of a holiday song. Designate someoneto stop the song midverse. The person who isholdingthe gift has tofinish the line. If she can, she gets the gift and sits out the restof the game.If not, start the song again. Repeat until allthe gifts are gone.

CHRISTMAS PICKLE This charming tradition is a fun way to kick off gift opening for the kids. Hang a pickle ornament ($8, crateandbarrel. com) onthe tree, and the first child to spotit gets an extra present.

WORD GUESS Slow down the frenzy by taping a fill-in-the-blank holiday phrase oneach gift and having children answer before unwrapping. For example: Not acreature was stirring, not even a .

GIVING A BIKE? Learn how to wrap—or otherwise disguise— oddly shaped presents at realsimple.com/ wrapsolutions.

FA LA LA LA’ING

Don’t be shy:Science says carolinginspiresgoodwill. A 2016 studypublishedin the journal Psychology of Music found that choral singing fulfills a deep desireto bondwith a group and promotes feelings ofwell-being. Another study, published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2013, even foundthat group singers’ hearts beginto beat in unison.

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Gingerbreadhouse makeover

There isn’t nearly enough candy included in gingerbread-house kits to deck the walls (and the roof) to the nines.Here aresomesupplementary sweets to help get the job done right.

FROSTEDMINI-WHEATS create a snowcovered thatched roof.

NECCOCANDIES build colorful shingled roofs or siding.

GOLDEN GRAHAMS pave a brick pathway.

MINI STICK PRETZELS turn a house into a log cabin.

ICE CREAM CONES (turnedupside down and frosted) make Christmas trees.

SUGARCUBES are excellent building blocks for an addition, like a balcony or a patio.

HERSHEY’S KISSES (still wrapped), glued along the peak of the roof, make turrets. The tags look like flying flags.

CHRISTMASCOOKIES ( jam thumbprints, snowflakes, etc.) glued to the outside walls of your house give it an ornate Victorian look.

MINI CANDY CANES placed parallel with a graham-cracker quarter in between make a sleigh.

HAM, SPIRAL CUT

“The store-bought versions are often better than what I can make, a lot less work, and everyone loves them,” says Camille Styles, the founder of camillestyles. com and the author of Camille Styles Entertaining. She offers two festive ways to serve it.

TROPICAL SLIDERS

Combine diced pineapple with chopped red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to make a Pineapple Cilantro Relish to serve with ham slices on Hawaiian rolls.

SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

Combine 2½ cups biscuit mix with ½ cup softened butter; 1 cup mashed, cooked sweet potato; and ½ cup milk. Roll out dough, cut into circles, and bake at 450°F until golden brown. Serve with ham and cranberry mustard (available at specialty stores).

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IT’SAWONDERFULLIFE The beloved

movie marks its 70th anniversary thisyear—cue theTV marathons!—and most of us can quote parts by heart (“Every time a bell rings…”). Real Simple talked to Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Baileywhen shewas sixyears old, about her favorite scene. Says Grimes: “When George is on the bridge. He says, ‘Clarence, Clarence...Iwant to live again.’And then he rubs his eyes and says, ‘Please, God, let me live again.’The minute he says theword God, it starts to snow, andyou know he’s back. For me, he’s discovered everything important in life—faith and family and friends.” Grimes and her film family, the two other surviving Bailey children,will be appearing thisyear at the annual It’s aWonderful Life Festival in Seneca Falls, NewYork, a town that is said to have been the model for the film’s Bedford Falls (December 9 to 11, therealbedfordfalls.com).The granddaughter of director Frank Capra and the daughter of actress Donna Reedwill also attend. “We have tons of meet-and-greets,we show the film, we have receptions, a 5K run in the snow, and a parade,” says Grimes. “It’s a great time.” (Check out Grimes’s new children’s book, Zuzu’s Petals:A Dream of It’s aWonderful Life,available at zuzu.net.)

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ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO BALSAMS

TYPEOF TREE LOOK

FIR

This is the classic—stately and full. Also known as sufganiyot, these deep-fried Hanukkah sweets symbolize the miracle of the burning oil lamps in ancient Jerusalem. (For more history, turn to The Simple List, page 2.) Think you can’t pull them off at home? The RS food editors came up with a shortcut recipe.

ACTIVE TIME 30MINUTES TOTAL TIME 2 HOURS,

15MINUTES

SERVES 6

1lb. fresh pizza dough 2to 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Canola oil, for frying ½cup raspberry or strawberry jelly ¼cup powdered sugar REST the dough at room temperature for 1 hour in its packaging. ROLL the dough into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut out circles using a 1½-inch cutter. Let rest 30 minutes. HEAT the oil, poured to a depth of 2 inches in a large, heavy pot, to 350°F. Working in batches, fry the dough circles, turning frequently, until golden brown, about 1½ minutes. Transfer to a paper towel–lined pan. TRANSFER the jam to a plastic bag and snip the corner. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a wooden skewer or toothpick to form a hole in the center of each, wiggling the skewer to create space for jelly. Pipe just enough jelly into each doughnut so that it appears in the opening. Dust the doughnuts with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

SCENT

The most fragrant variety, often has citrusy undertones.

LONGEVITY

4 to 6 weeks

NEEDLES

Sturdy, stiff branches make these the easiest to decorate.

KNOW YOUR TREES

Kathy Kogut, the executive director of the Connecticut Christmas Tree Growers Association (and a well-named source for this letter, we should note), helps you pick a winner. “The biggest mistake is buying a tree that doesn’t actually fit your space,” she says. “Otherwise, it’s just personal preference.”

SPRUCE

PINE

Similar to firs, but with a chunkier silhouette.

More feathery needles. An oldfashioned feel. Some types have a eucalyptuslike scent that can skew acidic. 3 to 4 weeks Prickly, coarse needles are strong but can be sharp.

Subtle, barelythere aroma. 2 to 3 weeks Lightweight, with weak limbs. Dainty ornaments only.

OPT FOR A PINE IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES; WHITE PINES MAY BE LESS LIKELY TO TRIGGER SNEEZING AND WHEEZING.

Lights, o outdo oor

Clark Griswold wannabes, take note: “HangingoutdoorChristmaslights is all about prep work,” says David Gray, a lighting-design adviser at Lamps Plus who created his own outdoor display for many years. You can spend an entire day planning before hanging a single light.

STEP 1 Print out an imageofyourhouse fromGoogleStreetView, thensketch where you want lights directly on the photo.

STEP 2 Measure out how many feet of lights you’ll need, budgeting a little extra. There’s no great scientific way to do this; Gray uses a tape measure, noting lengths onthe photoas hegoes. If you’reshorton power sources, use weatherproof ground stake outlet strips (like the ones you use next to your computer, only for outdoor use).Theseareespeciallygoodforlighting trees at the outskirts of a yard.

STEP 3 Consider remotes that will let you turn off the lights from inside your house. Most plug into a wall outlet and your first extension cord.

STEP 4 For lights along the roof line, permanently install galvanized or plastic hooks, one for every 8 to 10 feet of lights; this will make the job easier next year. To secure lights between hooks along gutters, Gray uses badge clips (available at officesupply stores).

STEP 5 For well-pruned shrubs, toss on net lights. On scraggly bushes, wrap string lights. (Nets will look sloppy there.)

STEP 6 For trees, don’t try to coil lights around all the branches—that’s a pro job. Instead, drape lights from each branch like a garland.

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BEFORE YOU RECYCLE, TRYONE OFTHESE REPURPOSING IDEAS.

MINTY FOOT SCRUB

Marathon shopping—in an actual mall? Pamper your feet with this minty scrub from Angela Jia Kim, the founder of the organic Savor Beauty + Spa, in New York City.

COMBINE ½ cup raw coconut oil (or any oil you have, says Kim) with ¾ cup sugar. Stir in 1 to 2 drops peppermint essential oil. Massage into your feet, wrap in a hot, damp towel for 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse.

GIFT TAG Cut a strip from the picture side of a card andfold it in half. Write therecipient’s name on the inside. JIGSAW PUZZLE Glue the front and back parts of thecard together. (Theextra weight will make the puzzle more durable.)When the glue is dry, draw puzzle-piece shapes on the back of the card; cut out and place in a plastic bag for an easy road-trip game. POSTCARD For the extras of your own family card: Cut off the frontpicture flap. Add a quick note, the address, and astampon the other side.

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Old-fashioned toys

You say youwant to avoid screens, batteries, and soul-sucking sounds, butwhere to shop for simple gifts thatyour kidswill still love?These are our editors’ favorite sites for nostalgic—but still totally fun—treasures. |

| sproutsanfrancisco.com | designlifekids.com | | | ameliapresents.com

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PUNCH FOR A CROWD

A Champagne concoction that works for New Year’s, too.

ACTIVE TIME 5 MINUTES TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR,

5 MINUTES

1½cups chilled cranberry juice cocktail ¼cup amaretto liqueur ¼cup Cointreau 2(750-mL) bottles

Champagne or

Prosecco, chilled

Fresh cranberries, for serving

STIR together the juice, amaretto, and Cointreau. Chill for at least 1 hour. COMBINE the juice mixture and Champagne just before serving. Garnish with fresh cranberries.