Take back the Holidays

 

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Holidays.  You groaned.  Admit it.  What happened to the year? How could it be this time of year again?  Where did the summer go?

You are not the only one. Everyone groaned at the mention of the holidays.   Let’s cut the crap.  We are adults.  We are in charge and can make these words mean what we want them to mean.  It is on us.  We can do this.  We can make the end of the as great as we want it to be.

At one time, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Holidays meant time off school, time to sleep in, and time to watch TV and hang out on the couch.  Then, at some point, it all changed.  It was a mysterious thing.  There isn’t a specific time or incident.   It just got so stressful.  The list went from fun to yet another thing to begrudgingly had to be accomplished.

We are in control of our own lives.  We get to say.  We get to decide.  We get to make the joy come back.  We get to be our sleep-in, popcorn-eating, couch-slumping, joyous selves.  It is our holiday too.  We can bring back the joy of the season.  If only it were as easy to do as it is to say.

Why are the holidays so stressful?  Why is the day before Thanksgiving, the day of family get-togethers, the busiest bar day of the year?  Most people think St. Patrick’s Day or New Year's are the big bar days.  But those days pale in comparison to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  The next best evening for bar owners is Christmas Eve and the end of Christmas Day.  There is a ringing endorsement for family fun.

This is supposed to be a time full of parties with friends. We are getting together with those you love. It’s music, shows, lights, special foods, and laughter.  There are extra days off work.  Long walks in the snow with twinkle lights.  Hot Chocolate, Hot toddies, Fuzzy slippers, and hugs.  We get to indulge and not have to feel guilty about it.  It is all so wonderful, at least on paper and the hallmark channel.

We spend our time fighting traffic to overcrowded stores we never shop at.  We have to find just the right gift for Jane / John Smith and their partner, what’s their name?  Something nice but not too nice for that person down the hall.  Plus, an extra gift or two for that person, not a list, showed up anyway. And the person everyone forgot about.  But why?  Why give gifts at all?  Who said we had to?  The toy companies, ads on TV, because someone else did it.   Don’t we all have enough shit? 

All the decorations must be just so.  Even if no one is going to see them.  And, of course, it must be done without breaking a sweat.  We smile through it all.  We tell everyone how great it is and how we should do this more often. 

Bull Shit            Bull Shit            Fucking Bull Shit

Of course, we won't because we really don’t want to.  We don’t have to have.  Who needs stress?  Why all the stress over the perfect Turkey, outfit or gift?  It doesn’t matter.  We know it doesn’t matter and yet we do it anyway.   We get to make the decisions in our own lives.  We get a say.  We are in charge.   Let’s take back the Holiday season and make it what we want.  Stress-free and enjoyable for us.  You got this.  We all do. “Where did Frosty put his hat this time?”