I'm gonna say that the highpoint of Christmas so far was not the look of childlike wonder on Callum's face when he finally got his Harry Potter wand or the tree lit in the dim morninglight or feeling full with love for my families and neighbors at our fourth annual progressive dinner. No, the high point, for everyone else perhaps, if not for me, was when I set the sweet potato casserole on fire.

Nothing, it seems, says, "Merry Christmas one and all," like a centerpiece of flambeed root vegetables.