Above: Our First Snow at 80 Charles Street! (And first snow ever for many of the cats.) We kept things cozy in the front window with the help of some snuggly bedding and a strategically placed space heater.

Below: Some of our holiday decorations. We love watching people discover the smaller details of our holiday decor (especially when young folks try to find all of the critters!).

Hello Friends,

What an exciting, overwhelming, wonderful, exhausting year it has been at A Sanctuary Cafe! A part of us still can't believe that we are finally fully open. Since we opened reservations last month, it has been such a joy to meet many of you and hear about how you have been following our journey for months or even years!

We are thrilled to announce that we opened up reservations for the month of January this weekend and they can be made on our website or through our Tock page.

If you're still on the hunt for the perfect gift for a loved one, please consider our gift cards, which can be used to buy cafe treats, books or a cat lounge reservation. We will continue to process emailed gift cards through 7pm tomorrow (12/23).

Keep scrolling to see:

• our booksellers' gift giving guide
• how our cats are enjoying the holidays
• some of our special holiday menu at the cafe
• a sneak peek at one of our new cats (more on them in our next newsletter!)

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday and that we'll get to see you soon!

Best,

The Team at A Sanctuary Cafe

Holiday Schedule: Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day

New Books + Holidays = Perfection

What holiday season is complete without a few beautiful holiday picture books? In addition to having the permanent classic Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel (it's a special edition with a poster!), we are excited to carry three brand new holiday book titles this year: Santa's First Christmas by Mac Barnett, We Celebrate the Light by Jane Yolen and The House Without Lights by Reem Faruuqi.

Our book team also put together our first-ever Gift Giving Guides and we're so excited to share selections from them with you below!

Gifts for Cat Lovers (Our Specialty!)

Cats of the World by Hannah Shaw

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

Kitty Language by Lili Chin

Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin

Cat People by Hannah Hillam

Gifts for Mom

The Undercurrent by Sarah Sawyer

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

Gifts for Dad

Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

How Sondheim Can Change Your Life by Richard Schoch

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber

Papi by David Ortiz

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Gifts for Math, Science & Nature Lovers

The Five Equations that Changed the World by Michael Guillen

The Cat's Meow by Jonathan B. Losos

The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Presscod-Weinstein

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Gifts for Romance Readers

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

Abby's Top 5

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

A Little Book of Japanese Contentments by Erin Niimi Longhurst

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw

Brittany's Top 5

Life Form by Jenny Slate

James by Percival Everett

Cats of the World by Hannah Shaw

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

Bren's Top 5

The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

What Is Real? by Adam Becker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ashida

Read's Top 5

The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

The Message by Ta-Nehesi Coates

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Special Niche Picks

For Linguists and Logophiles: Word by Word and Because Internet

For People Looking to Keep the Holiday Spirit Going: Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

For the Always-Autumnal-Witchy-Magic-Friend: The Crescent Moon Tearoom

Small Bites (for the Reader Who Doesn't Have Time to Read): 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write, Ongoingness, Simulacra

For the Friend Entering Adulthood: Ghosts; Beautiful World, Where Are You

For the Foodie/Adventurer: Wild Chocolate

For the Science Nerd with a Big Heart: Secrets of the Octopus, Braiding Sweetgrass

Our Obligatory Cat Photo Essay: Celebrating the Holidays at A Sanctuary Cafe!

Step One: Introduce Holiday-Themed Enrichment to Our Cats

Simon, the beloved "annoying little brother" of the group, doing what he does best: charming us with those stunning eyes while he commandeers the newest toy (it's a holiday raccoon kicker toy with a jaunty plaid scarf and earmuffs).

Benjamin investigates the newly assembled Gingercat House (now moved to the front window!). The roof "shingles" are wonderfully scratchable and the candy canes are filled with catnip AND removable for biting and kicking, as Benjamin swiftly discovered.

We've been steadily adding lots of holiday-themed toys to their toy boxes, from Hanukkah-themed wand toys to gingerbread men, Santas of assorted species and red felted snowflake balls.

Billy continues to be one of our most playful cats, and he particularly loves playtime (and cheek scratches!) at the top of this cat condo in the parlor.

Step Two: Design Our Holiday Cafe Menu (and Pair Them with Wonderful Books!)

This beautiful edition of A Christmas Carol pairs wonderfully with our chocolate peppermint cookie (made by French Press) and our "secret menu" peppermint mocha (espresso from Atomic Roastery, chocolate sauce from Barista 22 and our OWN in-house peppermint syrup recipe using MEM Tea).

We also highly recommend trying our Arctic Fog--think a classic London Fog meets a sugar cookie!--with one of our classic butter croissants from French Press and a captivating seasonal story like Susanna Clarke's The Wood at Midwinter. (Our Arctic Fog uses MEM Tea and a house-made "sugar cookie syrup" recipe that our cafe team had a lot of fun developing!)

Very Important P.S.

We have new cats acclimating in the space! More about Lorelei and her family group in the next newsletter in January!