Yesterday was terrible. I know I bitch about London weather rather frequently, but honestly it was the worst. Ever. The rain and wind were out of control. One guy threw his broken umbrella into the gutter, declaring “Fuck it” and returned to his flat. As far as I can tell he did not come back out with a fresh umbrella. He was over it.

I myself returned from running errands with my own broken umbrella, half a baguette (as it was blown over the edge of the bag and just broke off), and a busted shoulder. I’m pretty sure the shoulder was due to a combination of overworking my body at a pilates class in a last ditch effort to not gain 1000 lbs this holiday and fighting off those insane wind gusts.

I have grand plans to make croissants for Christmas breakfast, but we will see how that goes with the bum shoulder I got from almost flying away, Mary Poppins style, yesterday. Instead of going outside in the world’s wettest wind storm, I should have just stayed home, watching my favorite Christmas movies and eating all these cookies.

In hopes that you forego any crazy holiday stresses, weather-related or otherwise, here’s a rundown of my favorite Christmas movies and sweet treats.

Caitlin’s Top 10 Christmas Movie Countdown:

10) It’s a Wonderful Life

9) The Nutcracker (the old school one with Baryshnikov)

8) Christmas in Connecticut (this is a lesser known cheesy 1950s classic that I highly recommend)

7) Elf

6) Miracle on 34th Street (also the classic one – are you starting to notice that I have a soft spot for the classics)

5) Bad Santa

4) Home Alone

3) White Christmas

2) A Christmas Story

1) Love, Actually

There you have it. And no, I don’t include National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. All the destruction and disasters are way too stressful for me.

While you curl up and watch these movies, be sure to have a plate of cookies and sweets within arms reach. I’ve been baking up a storm: Ina’s Macaroons…

An adaptation of Michael Symon’s Baklava (halved the recipe, used a combo of pistachios and almonds, and needs way less butter)…

And I gave the “Christmas Crack” Saltine Toffee a try. Trashy? Yes. Tasty? Definitely.

If these don’t strike your fancy, try one of my favorites from last year: Christmas Spiced Snickerdoodles or Raspberry Lemon Tartlets

Or how about baking a cake? A Chocolate Mint Cake to be specific.

Or finally a spicy, sweet, and tart Cranberry Gingerbread Cake.

No matter what you indulge in this year, I hope you have an absolutely fabulous, festive, and delicious holiday!!!