Thank you and goodbye to 2025!

Hey Poulette,

I’m not gonna lie. It’s been a difficult year and I haven’t really felt the holiday spirit. Normally, I adore this season in Paris: the lights strung up along the streets, the window displays at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, the random dudes roasting chestnuts in old shopping carts next to the metro (trust me, they smell and taste delicious).

And while I did manage a stroll through the wooden chalets of a Christmas market while sipping an overpriced vin chaud, I was in such a funk for the past few weeks that the magic of the season didn’t really do it for me. I desperately needed someone like Cher’s character in the movie Moonstruck to give me a good slap in the face and tell me to “snap out of it!”

Alas, I have yet to snap out of it.

However, I did discover the ritual of the 12 magical nights. If, like me, you’ve been living under a rock, and have never heard of this tradition it goes like something like this: In the period between Winter Solstice and the new year–traditionally a time of transition, of slowing down and reflecting on the past year and imagining the year to come–you write down 13 “wishes” for your life in the new year. Each night you light a candle, stream some calming music, and then offer one “wish” to the fire. These are wishes that you’re giving to the Universe and trusting that they will be taken care of. On the last night, you open the remaining piece of paper and read it. This wish is the one you’re going to consciously work on over the next year.

This ritual reminded me of something Callie would do; she’d probably rope Liv and Levi into doing it with her. And it was just what I needed right now - to slow down, to silence the inner critic in my head (honestly she is sooo mean!), to be grateful for what this 2025 gave me, and ignite a little spark of hope for the year to come.

And I am grateful to you, my readers, who picked up my books and shared them. Your support has meant everything.

Wishing you all health, happiness, and a TBR full of swoony, emotional reads!

Bisous,

Maggie

XOXO