Bring joy to holidays

PICK ARTISANAL FOODS, CRAFTS THAT JUST SEEM HOMEMADE

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all the handmade, adorable, artisanal crafts and foods. Who doesn't love all of that? On the other hand, who actually has time to make any of it?

So this year, instead of making myself feel guilty for not having the time to do it all, I'm going to fake it … just a little, but enough to give everyone the feeling that it was all homemade.

For starters, there's the “from-scratch” chocolate-drizzled macaroons that looked like I slaved over them for hours, but are actually an easy mix from Stonewall Kitchen and only take about 20 minutes to make. No one will recognize them because I doctored their chocolate blanket with cardamom and cinnamon, which lends an unusual spice to their sweetness.

And white chocolate pretzels make terrific gifts for co-workers and neighbors. They look hand-dipped. And they are — just not by me. Instead they're made by someone at Mountain Cheese & Wine in Stowe, Vt. I found them one weekend recently and bought a bunch.

Home decorating gets the faux-made treatment, too. My porch is wrapped in pine boughs that look straight out of a magazine, and come pre-twined from Brookline's Allandale Farm. I did the easy part — the hanging — and saved myself a solid eight hours.

And then there's all the food at my holiday get-together. Do I make it all from scratch? Sure, if you count unwrapping it and heating it up in the oven as “from scratch.” The best part is that, with delicious foods like brie en croute from Whole Foods, no one notices the difference — and I doubt they'd care even if they did.

And if all of that isn't quite as perfect as doing it all myself from beginning to end, let me just say this: The time I'll have saved means I actually get to spend far more time with friends and family. And if that isn't real-deal holiday spirit, I don't know what is.