Last year, the Le Monde in English team wanted to give our readers a little something for the holidays. To let you in on one thing that is very important to us all – food – and celebrate the diversity of the team, which is made up of journalists from different parts of the world, we got you a list of our favorite Christmas recipes.
This year, we want to share our favorite gift ideas. But these are special gifts, ones that cost time rather than money – and have little to no carbon footprint! So here is Le Monde in English's choice of priceless Christmas gifts, in case you're in need of some inspiration.
In an age where most of our communication is in the form of virtual text bubbles sent spontaneously, irrelevant memes and emoji reactions, nothing expresses more love and care than a thoughtful, handwritten letter. Taking time to put into words the sentiments of hope and encouragement you wish to share with your friends and family is truly a lost art, and as Van Gogh wrote (in a letter!) to his younger brother Theo, "there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." A sincere handwritten note is precious and irreplaceable, and can go a long way in encouraging someone and showing them that you care, whether they're near or far. After all, I don't think people want things at Christmas as much as to know that they are loved.
Diana Liu is Le Monde in English's social media editor. She was born in Taiwan and has lived in Canada and the US before coming to Paris, eight years ago.
The other thing I love, besides food, is pubs (and pub food, of course). A few years ago, I had the idea of recreating the warm and loud atmosphere of England's public houses for my family for Christmas. Take your best family (or friend) tales, turn them into multiple choice questions, divide the group into teams and voilà, you have yourself a customized pub quiz. I have found that you need 10 questions minimum for people to get into it, and 20 maximum to avoid boring them. Blind tests, old photographs and drinks can help stir up the fun. Recreating the pub smell is optional.
Elvire Camus is French. She's the editor of Le Monde in English.
Fathers are often some of the hardest people to find gifts for, as they seemingly have few material needs. (And often, they have already bought what they want for themselves.) My dad fits into this category, but a few years ago, I had the idea of doing something based on his avid love of reading. He writes short, quippy reviews of the 100+ books he reads each year, which I organized into a magazine-style publication I called The Jack Frank Review of Books. In addition to including his critiques and star ratings, I wrote a letter from the editor and had my family contribute reviews of his reviews. I also had a friend illustrate the cover to give it the feel of a real magazine. While I printed out copies for the whole family, the magic of the gift was acknowledging one of my dad's passions and providing him a resource to look back on a year of reading.
Hannah Steinkopf-Frank is American. She is a copy editor for Le Monde in English and has been living in France for four years.
Ingredients:
- An empty jar
- Scraps of paper
I have stolen this gift idea from the very good friend who once made it for me. She had a habit of selecting "words of the week," and I would frequently enquire about her latest pick. One year, she filled a jar with folded pieces of paper that each had an uncommon, surprising, or pleasant-sounding word inside, and gave me the jar. It's more original than a box of chocolates and it lasts longer!
PS: As Le Monde in English's self-proclaimed selector of words of the day (either in French or English), my word of the year is: irenic.
Pierre-Paul Bermingham is French-Irish-American. He is Le Monde in English's deputy editor, and has lived in Paris since 2020.
For the last four years, I have made a family calendar to give at Christmas. It involves spending hours poring over old family photo albums and scrolling through photos on my phone, selecting scores of photos and then carefully arranging them, changing my mind about the order and the themes for each month and then starting all over again.
It is not entirely free, as I send the finished version off to be printed, but it is in many ways priceless. The process is almost as important as the gift, the time spent revisiting old family memories and remembering the stories behind the photos. It gets more challenging as the years go by and the stock of photos diminishes, but it has become the most hotly awaited present each year as the family waits to see who has made the cover (my mother this year, don't tell her).
Sophie Sassi-Gorman is Irish. She is a copy editor for Le Monde in English and has been living in France for seven years.
You may have heard self-help advice to "Eat the frog": to define the most challenging task each day and do it first, no excuses or delays. This year, inspired by author Erell Hannah and artist Fred Cham, I suggest a more radical gift: Eat someone else's frog.
I mean that, as soon as possible, you sit down with your parent's buggy computer, your friend's tax forms, your sibling's messy garden or your partner's job applications and try to solve the problem for them. First, I recommend you listen attentively to what's been giving them trouble, and only thereafter pick up the phone, laptop or tools to solve it. You can seek help yourself but try hard to fix things afterwards.
Should you be unsuccessful after many tries, you've still made an effort to listen to, empathize with, and assist your loved one – that alone can be a rare gift. Furthermore, if you can gather a group of people to eat someone else's frog and have their own issue solved, you can share the struggles and solutions together. So, eat the frog and give your loved ones a stress-free start to 2024.
Zorro Maplestone is French-Australian. He is a copy editor for Le Monde in English and has been living in France for nine years.