I have a friend who’s been hard at work making fruit cakes. Maybe 12 or 15 of them.
Another has been whipping up peppermint chocolate cookies and yet another is into her fourth batch of cherry-topped shortbread.
I know this, not because they’ve told me. I know this because as soon as they’ve completed their creations, they’ve hauled out their smart phones, clicked a photo or two, then logged on to Facebook to post their pics.
Nice — for them. Not so much for me.
If I was to post an image or two about what I’ve been up to Christmas-wise, there might be a shot of the Christmas cards I’ve yet to write, or the flour and sugar that have yet to be transformed into —oh, I don’t know — candy cane surprise bars or lemon almond shortbread.
Probably won’t go there.
At the best of times, Facebook is populated with the usual stuff: stupid quizzes, dumb jokes and endless pictures of people’s holidays.
But right about now, it’s all about the holidays. Lookie there! Some homemade wrapping paper!
And what about that? A homemade centrepiece! A homemade candleholder! A homemade wreath!
I could post a picture of my wreath, of course, but it came from the drug store, not my in-house Santa’s workshop.
Just last week, a colleague informed me she was in the midst of planning a small pre-holiday dinner party.
“What are you serving?” I asked.
“Standing rib roast,” she said. “Fingerling potatoes, cheese gratin and balsamic asparagus.”
“Sounds amazing,” I said.
“I’ll be sure to post a picture,” she promised.
Can’t wait. In fact, I’m quite sure her guests won’t be able to wait either — given that they’ll be standing around watching her tackle a dining room photo shoot while the food is getting cold.
Ever since Facebook has been around, of course, it’s been increasingly de rigueur for folks to photograph their food. Forget the pre-meal toast. Today, the custom is to take a picture of whatever’s in front of you — be it a Big Mac or a leg of lamb — and get it online as fast as you can.
But lately, it’s been beyond the Big Mac. And it’s been far beyond the food.
Call it a seasonal social media version of show and tell. You name it: it’s there.
I’d like to get with the program and take a Christmas pic of something — anything — and share it with my friends.
Can’t take a shot of a homemade wreath, but I might just share my to-do list.
