The Weekly Wrap: December 21, 2025

We are deep in the holiday chaos where I seem to always be covered in flour, glitter, holiday ribbon, evergreen needles, chocolate, or everything at the same time. Also, I can never get my snickerdoodles to come at as well as my mom's. That makes me a bit grumpy.

Let's get straight to the Wrap!

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• The kids books that inspired scientists. [WaPo - gift link]
• There are social politics at work in the mosh pit. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• A folk-rhyme taxonomy of "Jingle Bells (Batman Smells)." [Lore and Ordure]
• The physical design of childhood. [Culture Study]
• Care is. [Raising Her Voice]

• The perils of privatizing government services. [Planet Money]
• The sky is falling! [Very Special Episodes]
• Catching baby puffins. [Atlas Obscura]

• I appreciated this cinematic tour of where I live. [KyleKallgrenBHH]
• At first, I was not a fan of Christmas Above the Clouds. It was way too on the nose with the retelling of A Christmas Carol. Also, they squeezed in hints to Dickens' other works wherever they could. But, I adore Tyler Hynes and the female lead just went all in on her Scrooge character. While this one was still to literal for my taste, by the end, I was enjoying myself. [Hallmark]

• My mom came to town early for the holidays. That meant I could use a full box of penne to make mushroom piccata pasta and not have to worry about having far too many leftovers filling our fridge. I should say that I was "inspired by" the recipe. I took a look at the ingredients and used them all, but I made the dish my way since it seemed easier than what was written. Also, I always add extra capers to my own bowl. [Eating Well]