Christmas has passed once again — phew! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas in so many ways, but it’s a relief in so many other ways. The bottom line is that I don’t like the unrealistic expectations we place upon ourselves. Every year I try to simplify, simplify, simplify, but somehow it never seems to be simple at all. Imagine what it would be like if you were TRYING to make it complicated….
Let’s take a look. In the course of one month max, we Americans attempt to do the following — or at least some of it:
Decorate your entire house.
Buy a tree or haul one down form the attic
Decorate said tree.
Decorate your outside with lights, etc.
Put candle lights in the inside windows and on said tree.
Buy thoughtful and appropriate presents for relatives galore.
Buy thoughtful and appropriate presents for friends, co-workers, neighbors, bus driver, teachers, and maybe even your pet.
Wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, and wrap some more.
Buy more wrapping and tissue paper.
Tips for mail man, newspaper deliverer, babysitters, cleaning people, etc.
Be merry!
Make cookies, cakes, and treats to hand out to friends.
Attend Christmas festivities — check out tacky lights, school/office party, Christmas tradition, etcetera, etcetera.
Host Christmas party (for overachievers only)
Dip into emergency stash of gifts as necessary.
Come up with cute picture for Christmas card.
Select card and order.
Buy Christmas stamps.
Write, address, and stamp Christmas cards. Put in mailbox. Repeat.
Light luminaries.
Prepare special Christmas Eve dinner.
Put out snacks for Santa.
Sprinkle reindeer food — for the reindeer, of course.
“Santa” arrives.
Make special Christmas breakfast.
Make nice Christmas meal.
Open presents.
Fill up trash bags with trash.
Collapse.
Then a few days later, it is time to…
Undecorate house.
Take down lights outside, in the windows, and off the tree.
Undecorate tree and store or get rid of it before it dries out too much and catches on fire and burns your house down.
Write thank-you notes.
Dole out some late Christmas cards. Buy more stamps, dang it.
Pack away Christmas decorations nice and neatly for next year.
Pay bills.
Look forward to the doldrums of winter.
Write blog entry about the process — optional.
Let’s give thanks that Christmas comes but once a year. We have 11 months to recover!
Amidst all of the yuletide hoopla, hope it was a truly merry one for you!
LibbY