In the Mood for a Sentimental Holiday

Ideas for making and capturing memories this holiday, sentimental gifts for sentimental people, an illustrated search & find, and light fictional reading.

Happy Monday, and welcome to Feeling! Magazine’s Monday Letter! This is a once-weekly letter made to feel like a magazine flip-through, purposefully designed to help you feel joy.

Feeling of the Week: a mood board concept of a design direction for your week.

DECEMBER 15th: WINTER MEMORIES!

This week is about documenting the feelings of festivity. It is an act of remembering what is good and holding on to it, despite the circumstances.

Think: scrapbooks, stacks of photos, generational recipes, hand-written notes, silver baking dishes, film developing, camera flashes, Christmas cards on the fridge.

Ideas for Making + Savoring Memories this Holiday Season:

• Make your own winter playlists with songs that make you feel nostalgic, and play them constantly until New Year’s

• Intentionally take many photos of family and friends throughout the weeks ahead, you never know how much the photos may mean to you down the road

• Make a recipe that has been passed down in your family — or start a new culinary tradition

• Call people who have meant a great deal to you in seasons past, and let them know you are thinking about them

• In the same vein, go back to some people that you never truly thanked for their impact on your life, and send them a heartfelt thank you (teachers, coaches, friends, leaders, co-workers, etc.)

• Serve a meal to someone who is hungry — either through an organization, or on the street

• Give things away freely! Purge the week before Christmas, and donate blankets, clothing, books, and items you no longer need.

• Write thoughtful letters and mail them, or attach them to gifts under the tree. Your words are a gift — seek to uplift sad hearts with them.

• Make a journal for printing all the photos you take over the holiday, and document small things like what you ate, who gifted who what, how the room smelled, how you felt

Some magical winter memories from readers of Feeling! to get you all sentimental:

From Emma:

“My favorite winter memory is a classic, and i will treasure it forever. Christmas time for me always began the moment i rang the doorbell after school, note and checks bright red, tiny droplets trapped in my hair, and my grandma welcomed me home with a warm hug. When she let go and I found flour paintings on my wet jacket, looked back at her, smiling widely and clothed in her self-sewn red and white apron, I could practically hear the sleigh bells ringing. I would race to her kitchen and find a bowl of pale dough, smelling of butter, sugar and most importantly, anise.

My favorite. She would hand me the utensils and one by one, I piped the soon to be cookies on the lined tray, sneaking in spoonfuls of the mixture that I just had to devour on the spot. My grandma pretended that she didn’t notice. You can picture the rest- watching the treats rise in the oven, then sitting on the couch with a box of them, filled to the brim, a mug of hot cocoa in my hands, snuggling with my grandparents.

These moments are forever locked inside my heart.”

From ak:

my favorite winter memory was of my first white christmas. i used to live in place that never snowed, or even got remotely cold or winter-y. for my whole early childhood i had balmy, palm tree filled christmases, which never felt quite right.

when my family moved north to the place we live now, i was absolutely astonished. i was feeling really down and confused by the move and leaving everything i had known for so long. but driving up to my new home in the snow on christmas eve, car tires crunching on the crispy powder, i was taken away by the winter wonderland all around. towering pine trees, limbs bowing closer to the sparkling snowy earth as the boughs supported the weight of thick fluffy snow. first stepping out of the car, i still remember the magical silence of the scene. the snow muffling the rush of the outside world and showing off its incredible beauty. as it grew late, the clock struck midnight, passing into the next day- christmas day. my family and i looked out the windows of our new home and it was snowing, magical. the next morning when i woke up in a strange room that would soon be the one i would wake up in everyday, i saw a winter wonderland. a perfect new start and a perfect white christmas. this is definitely my favorite winter memory. 🩵❄️🤍

From Annika Larson:

“My favorite winter nostalgic memory is the snow days. In the early 90s/2000s, the entire neighborhood would come out for snow days and all the neighborhood children would share sleds. We’d play until the cold would seep into our bones and then eagerly go inside, with my mother making a hot soup and hot chocolate for lunch. I’d rest my exhausted limbs and then spend the evening reading, watching the snow fall.”

GROUP PROJECT

I am writing a bit of a heavier piece about grieving during the holidays. If you have been in the middle of absolute devastation while simultaneously decorating the tree, I’d love to hear from you and have the opportunity to share your insights with my readers. I’d love to know:

• How did you get through it? Not in the metaphorical sense, but in a really practical way? What did you do to function? Meals, getting dressed, maybe even gathering and hosting in the midst of it all — do you have any practical steps that got you through it? Or did anyone give you great advice for moving forward when it felt like you couldn’t?

I’m hoping the piece is a comforting guide for anyone who needs it, so if you have any words or stories to share, I’d love to honor them — please leave your thoughts in the comments of this post.

Andy Warhol’s Cake Recipe Illustrations

Colors of the week: Swedish gummies + Christmas Tree Farm

As you are checking your list twice, I wanted to share a few gift ideas specifically for people in your life who are very sentimental. Spanning across different ages, we all have someone we love who tends to be the memory-keeper. Here are some ideas to delight them:

Aura Frame: For someone who loves memory–making, get a frame that looks like it belongs in an art gallery, but make it digital! It’s like flipping through a scrapbook, where you can easily add images of favorite memories, artwork, quotes, and images that mean something to them.

We limit the concept of a digital frame to just photos, but you could load it up with scraps of memories in many mediums. I have the Aura Frame, with a beautiful white mat around it, and use the app to wirelessly send images whenever an idea strikes.

Here is a short list of ideas to include in your digital frame gallery for someone especially sentimental:

• Old family photos (you can ask relatives to help you find prints)

• Scans of polaroids or photobooth strips

• Quotes from their favorite songs or movies (a fun design project for you!)

• Handwritten recipes from a family member

• Scraps of maps from favorite travel locations

• Concert tickets

• Sketches or illustrations of things that make them happy

Use the Aura Frame app to pre-load the photos, and then let them unbox the beautiful frame to find it full of your thoughtful images and designs!

Good news for readers of Feeling! — Aura is offering $30 off the full price of Aura’s Aspen Frame, with code FEELING.

Customized Le Labo: The strong association between scent and memory could work in your favor for a special gift. Mark a new season, or the close to a season, with Le Labo perfumes. (Another 13 and Matcha are my favorite scents.) You can add a customized message to the bottle with the “for” section. I imagine this would be touching for anyone who needs a boost of confidence or a little celebration for how far they have come. If you go to a Le Labo store in person, the label will also include the city you purchased it in! Which could be equally as memorable.

Name Doily: This Etsy maker creates custom knit name doilies, which I think could be the sweetest gift. For a new parent, grandparent, or newlywed, this is such a charming and sentimental gift. You could frame it up in something classic, or a trending monochromatic, colorful frame.

Polaroid: Do not overlook a classic! Every creative, sentimental friend wants a way to print memories instantly. The classic Polaroid is a way to give a gift that keeps giving. I’d wrap it up with extra film and maybe a blank notebook so they can start their scrapbook journey. A few other ideas for add-ons:

• A Polaroid-specific photo album

• Marker pens

• Black + white film

• Stickers to put everywhere!

Custom Matches: For the friends who are obsessed with hosting and having people over, make them custom matchboxes for their home. They will love generously giving away matchboxes to guests. I feel like this could also be a really special gift for a very certain type of grandparents (maybe the kind that had a Pair with:

• An elevated candle

• A stylish catch-all bowl for the matches to sit in

• A few dinner party essentials — like a jar of olives, a wooden cutting board, or a favorite bottle of wine

• A new Feeling! column has arrived! Whimsy Workshops will guide you through crafting tutorials and all things do-it-yourself, starting with a really easy way to make chic silver gift tags.

• Here are illustrated phone and desktop wallpapers for some holiday cheer!

• The aim of the Winter Edition is that it feels like flipping through the December American Girl Magazine.

• I made some simple home decor refresh ideas before all your holiday hosting.

• Here are some ideas for turning your space into a hotel, if you have overnight guests coming and need a boost of inspiration.

1. Embroidered Ruffle Placemat: This Etsy shop will make custom embroidered placemats WITH a big ruffle, and I think these would look incredible year-round on the table.

2. Catch-All Dish: I got this chunky catch-all dish from Schoolhouse, and have loved how it sits on the shelf. I filled it with my collection of matchboxes that I collect from restaurants.

3. Red Bowler Bag: Joyn made this adorable red bowler bag, and I think it is the exact right fit for every holiday party you attend from now to February!

4. Superfood Air-Whip Moisture Cream: Just sharing the face cream that is keeping me in one piece on New York snow days.

5. Swedish Fish Ornaments: How could I not share these with you?

6. Peppermint Bark Fog: This is the tea that I had when I was 12 and decided I must love tea. From my favorite tea shop in Tampa, Florida, and a holiday tradition I’ve maintained since middle school. Brew with a bit of sugar and foamy milk, and boom! Christmas magic in a cup.

7. Olive Tie Shirt: I have been wearing this button-up constantly because it comes with its own neck scarf! I am obsessed with the color too, for obvious reasons.

I’m so grateful for you all. What a year!

Inspired by American Girl’s Coconut and Licorice, a fictional tale of my own dog and cat, Genevieve & Rose, will be coming to you in small chapters every week. Follow a whimsical story of a dog and cat duo navigating New York City when no one is looking. The story will have you on the edge of your seat, and perhaps so invested in their joyful, silly world so much that you pause scrolling just to sit with them for a bit.

The amazing mulit-chapter fictional story is written by Devon Taylor, D.B. Taylor of Paper Mirror.

Cozy up, relax, and enjoy a whimsical, light-hearted story. If you are just joining in, you can read Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4.

The last chapter comes out next week!

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Chapter 5: The Pigeon

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The pigeon got a boy.

Oh, he was so very excited to finally have one! He had heard that humans threw quite the party. You could fly and feast whenever you wanted. However, what the pigeon didn’t expect was the friendship.

He loved his boy. He would nestle into the boy’s soft hair and fall asleep while the boy read fairy tales aloud. Together they traveled all across New York, visiting bakeries, candy shops, art museums, and everything in between.

In those days, nearly everyone had a pigeon perched in their hair or proudly sitting on their shoulder. They didn’t beg for scraps or make a fuss. They were family, and they were welcome.

The boy had a friend named Trey. Trey didn’t have a pigeon, but he had a dog. The four of them—two boys, one dog, and one pigeon—met often in the park to play. They played tag, cops and robbers, all sorts of games. The boy laughed the hardest whenever the dog barked, how it yipped and yowled, woofed and whined, and the boy laughed and laughed and laughed.

This should have made the pigeon happy. But the more the boy laughed at the dog, the sadder the pigeon felt.

The more they played, the less the pigeon seemed to belong.

“I know!” thought the pigeon one night. “I’ll learn how to bark!”

So he tried. Oh, how he tried! He spent night after night practicing. But no matter how he strained, he could only—

“Coo.”

Loud coos, soft coos, in-between coos, but never a bark. His nature simply wouldn’t allow it. The boy grew frustrated. The louder the pigeon cooed, the more the boy woke in the night. “Stop it!” he’d shout, not knowing the pigeon was only trying to make him happy.

Then the pigeon noticed something else. The boy loved giving the dog treats, watching its slimy tongue scoop the snack from his hand, watching it bounce up and cover him in happy licks. The boy would squeal and laugh, and the pigeon’s heart would ache again.

So when supper came, the pigeon waited for his turn. He cooed and bounced around the table, trying to lick like the dog did, but his tongue was too small, and his beak too big. Instead of laughter, the boy frowned. Sometimes he’d swat the pigeon away as though it were a fly.

One night, desperate to get it right, the pigeon rushed at the boy, hoping to knock him over in a joyful, dog-like hug. But instead—poke!—his beak jabbed the boy’s cheek.

The boy cried.

And the pigeon’s heart shattered.

He panicked—flapping wildly, wings a blur—and before he could think, he flew straight into the ceiling fan. Thwack! The blow sent him tumbling into the wall.

When he woke, everything hurt. His wing throbbed, his feathers bent at odd angles. But what hurt most wasn’t his body—it was the look on the boy’s face.

The boy sat frozen, clutching his cheek, his parents hovering behind him with anger in their eyes. The pigeon was no longer loved. No longer welcome. And he knew it.

So he left.

He flew out the open window into the night air, wounded and weeping, vowing not to return until he learned to be like a dog.

And so he practiced—cooing, begging, licking—over and over and over again.

But he was not alone. Other pigeons began to notice. They too had felt the same rejection. One by one, then two by two, the pigeons of New York began to change. Not in feathers or beaks or wings, but in heart. They thought, perhaps if we bark too, the humans will love us again.

So they gathered on rooftops and windowsills, in church towers and alleyways, and practiced together. Their voices filled the city nights, soft coos trying to curl into growls, gentle flaps trying to sound like paws on pavement.

And more joined, and more, and still more. Until every house, every home, every apartment in New York stood empty of pigeons. Now it is the skies that hold them, flocks upon flocks of pigeons, circling and circling above the city, still practicing. Still trying to become dogs.

If you listen on a quiet morning, you might hear it.

Not a bark, not quite a coo, but something in between— the sound of love misunderstood, echoing across the rooftops.

Puzzle Time!

I illustrated a quick search & find for you! Can you find them all?

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Thank you, Hailey Howe, for lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

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Here are some pieces I think you will really love to explore:

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