Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. Sometimes there are expectations of Christmas that the reality may not live up to. Let’s take a look at both points of view.
Here’s what you think will happen: You come home to a house with perfectly strung Christmas lights outside. You walk in to the living room to see a well-shaped tree, decked out with all of the traditional family Christmas ornaments. The floor at the base of the tree is covered in wrapped boxes containing all of your Christmas wishes. In the kitchen your mom is cooking a classic Christmas dinner, while your dad helps get things in order with some egg nog in hand, a must-have during the holiday season. Everyone is laughing and having a grand old time on Christmas Eve, and the kids wait with wondrous anticipation about what Santa is to bring them when they wake up in the morning. The family awakes the next morning for a delightful gift giving exchange beside the tree, where you and your siblings get everything you wanted this year.
That is the expectation of what Christmas is going to be like.
Here’s what actually happens: You may have the nice tasteful lights on your house for the Christmas season, but across the street is an abomination with thousands of dollars worth of lights and inflatable snowmen & reindeer. This Pink Floyd-esque light show is absolutely ridiculous and everyone has that neighbor that takes the outdoor decorations just one step too far. You shield your eyes and walk inside to see the family Christmas tree, with your brother’s handmade ornament at the top instead of yours. What the hell, Mom. Normally you’d get mad at your parent’s favoritism, but it’s the holiday season so you refrain. You look at the bottom of the tree and see your presents. Hopefully Dad didn’t get me a pair of socks or a book about fossils again this year. Mom cooks dinner and you sit down to eat on the eve of Santa’s arrival. She overcooked the bird, but you smile and scarf it down so you don’t upset her. After dinner the family converses and shares some drinks, but your crazy uncle has one too many Budweisers and ends up preaching about some political debate he saw on CNN, making everyone a little uncomfortable. Eventually everyone heads to bed for the night. The next morning at 6 a.m. sharp, your younger siblings are wide awake and jumping for joy, thus waking up everyone in the family. You roll out of bed and reluctantly head downstairs to open presents. You open a gift from dad and yes, you guessed it…it’s a book about fossils yet again. You smile and thank Dad, but you’d rather have gotten an actual lump of coal. Another crazy Christmas comes to an end.
Your Christmas expectations may not always come true, but it’s important to appreciate every gift you receive and all the time spent with family.
