It’s that time of year again. Those chestnuts are done roasting on that open fire, Frank Loesser finally decided that “baby, it’s finally warm outside” and that “baby, he won’t stay,” and Frosty, to everyone's dismay, melted. When the hype of Christmas is over and the presents are opened, so what is there left to do during Christmas break?
Here are 12 post-Christmas thoughts one may have once the big day is over.
1. When can we finally throw our dying Christmas tree out of the house?
I know from personal experience that the tree almost never makes it until Christmas Day (all pine needles intact, at least). Every year my mom insists on buying a live tree, and every year I ask, “Who is going to be the one watering it?” because we all know, no one will be willing to climb under the tree and dodge the spiky branches to water the tree. But she’s a persistent woman, so every year we have a beautiful, live tree standing in our foyer the day after Thanksgiving and it’s beautiful for a total of about six days. Shortly after the purchase, the pine needles are collecting at the shirt of the tree until about January 3 when we finally throw out what is left of the tree.
2. There goes Mom’s favorite crystal goblet. Again.
With all those little cousins running around (or in my case, my clumsy nature) a piece of the dinnerware is bound to break this holiday season. But hey, Christmas is about seeing the joy in everything and having a laugh, right, Mom? (P.S. Mom, this is my way of both warning you as well as apologizing ahead of time, so watch out and I’m sorry.)
3. I wonder what I can return this sweater for.
Oh c’mon, we all have that one present we get that makes us hope there’s a gift receipt in the box. Sure, it’s a spoiled-kid thought but, hey, we’re exchanging for something we’ll actually use, right?
4. “Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.” -- Unknown
We Americans are all about the gift that keeps on giving almost as much as we love our credit. Thank God for Christmas bonuses.
5. I'm sorry, who are you again?
“Mom how are we related to them again?”
“Honey, they’re your grandmother’s second cousin’s kids!”
Right. How could I forget about them!
I don’t know about you, but every year I find out that I have one or two extra family members, friends or grandmother’s second cousin’s kids that I didn’t even know existed. ‘Tis the season for a growing Grabowski-Soroka family I guess.
6. Out of the 1,287,938,574 Christmas cards we get, we probably only know about 10 families.
Just like those random family members and friends we forget about or have never met, there are always those select few Christmas cards that you get of these strangers smiling at you with "Happy Holidays" written across the front. But it’s OK because it makes your fireplace mantel look like you have a plethora of friends.
7. Mariah Carey finally got “you” for Christmas.
I don't know about you, but I love a good Christmas song or two for maybe a week or just on Christmas Day. But one can only take so much “Jingle Bell Rock” or “'Tis the Season” before all the non-Beliebers suddenly crave some “One Less Lonely Girl.”
8. I hope all those sugar cookies I ate were zero trans fat.
All those yummy treats tend to pile up on our plate then, on our scale. Yikes. Our Christmas spirit tends to temporarily blind us from the nutrition labels. Believing isn't seeing, right?
9. You got them the perfect gift.
Nothing is more satisfying than the feeling of relief when the person for whom you got the gift for opens it and says something along the lines of, “This is the exact set of silverware I pointed out to Jack when we were shopping for our apartment,” or, “This would look great on me for the New Year’s party!” Perfect present: check. Just call me the present guru.
10. In six days I need to start my New Year’s resolution(s).
Just when we thought that with all the Christmas errands that we had to run were just pushing Christmas so far back that New Years was almost forgotten. But nope. The first of January is not leaving the calendar. So the “zero trans fat cookie” love handles that were acquired around the holidays will soon meet the gym (for about two weeks until those cookies start seducing you with the half-melted chocolate and super-soft dough. Yum).
11. Getting back to reality.
It was a fun few days of cookies, presents, and family but after that “Christmas/holiday high”, everyone needs to return to the reality of homework, exams, credit card bills (eep!), work, and non-Christmas related errands (ugh).
12. No matter if you’re 1 or 92, you cannot wait to get under that tree on Christmas Day.
As Barry Manilow sang in “The Christmas Song” kids from 1 to 92 all will see Christmas in the cheeriest of ways. Someone once told me that, in the end, it’s not about the presents under that tree but who’s sitting around it that Christmas morning. Once the season is over, the post-Christmas thought oftentimes is, “I can’t wait to have this jolly, happy soul again” (I know I’m guilty of this). But, we often forget the cheeriness isn’t just limited to the Christmas time. Once it’s over, it just means throwing out the tree and taking off the Christmas lights -- the literal lights, not the figurative ones of joy within oneself.
