Monday, December 3, 2007

The Beast That Is Christmas


So when did Christmas start to feel like such an "obligation"? I can't pinpoint the exact timing of it, but I know that around Thanksgiving I already start to feel overwhelmed! When you are a kid, you only have to worry about Santa making it to your house and hoping that you were good and he left you some good stuff.

Now there is shopping, decorating, baking, Christmas cards…all of which CAN be fun if they weren't things that you had to schedule to do. A lot of these things don't translate to the working woman in the 21st century. See, I picture 1950's housewives really getting into this. What did they have to worry about anyway, except for fetching groceries and cleaning their houses while managing to look perfect? (No disrespect for stay at home mom's – BTW, I just think the portrayal of the typical housewife back in the day is soooo annoying!) I bet they were the ones who created those intricate Christmas cookies that take forever to make. Why not? What else did they have to do?

This year I haven't really wanted to do any of the typical holiday things, therefore I have a kind of "git r done" mentality about it all. Saturday we decorated the inside and outside of our house and I finished my Christmas cards and shopping (Steve and I battled the Black Friday crowds and actually got almost all of it done last week). Yesterday I wrapped so that all that is left is the obligatory Christmas cookie baking weekend (see my blog from last year… it's an insane Graunke family tradition). Why the frenzy? Because I've got so much other stuff going on in my life right now that I'd be totally stressed about it all and worried up until the day I got it done.

On top of all of the things you have to do to get ready for the holidays… you are also expected to enjoy every second of it and be "in the Christmas spirit" at all times. I mean, except for your wedding day (where you are expected to be ecstatically happy and emotional) what other occasion pressures you to feel a certain way? It's almost claustrophobic. I haven't really felt "the Christmas spirit" in a few years now (well, except when I've been able to imbibe a few "spirits", which alas will not be happening this year) and it's kind of sad, really.

Anyone else on board with me?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here's one for "Christmas Spirit". When you are in the inevitable mall traffic and jerk #3 has just cut you off. As you flip him the bird say, "Merry F-ing Christmas, Asshole." And technically you are still in the "Christmas Spirit".