To balance yesterday’s overly negative (but entirely true) post about some of the reasons I hate Christmas, I decided to dedicate today’s post to things I like about the biggest holiday of the year. No doubt you’ve already noticed I said “like” rather than “love”. Call me jaded if you like, but in my old age it takes more to move the needle from like to love.
The other thing you’ll notice is that there are only eight things listed. I tried to come up with twelve but failed. Sure, I could have included getting presents, but that’s just tacky. I thought about adding sweet treats to the list but didn’t because I hate the result and alluded to them in the prior list of things I hate.
Time off from work. The one thing I do love about Christmas is the extra long break from work. For most of the last thirty years, I’ve been off the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Most years I add a few vacation days to either end to stretch the break out even longer. Merry Christmas to me!
(Slightly) longer days. December 21st (give or take a few hours) is the winter solstice and the day with the least amount of daylight in the year. After that, the days start getting longer by a minute or two each day. Knowing we’ve turned the corner and are heading toward long summer days cheers me up immensely.
More turkey. When I was growing up, we had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. In fact, those were the only days Mom cooked turkey all year. Perhaps that scarcity is the reason why I love turkey so much–other proteins served in our house showed up on the dinner table at least once every few weeks. There are few things I enjoy more than a sandwich made with left-over turkey (on white bread with plenty of mayo and some lettuce).
Eggnog. Once a year I crave a glass of eggnog–preferably with my turkey sandwich and some potato chips. I prefer my eggnog without alcohol. One small glass satisfies my craving for an entire year.
Other people’s Christmas decorations. I lack the energy and the inclination to do a lot of outdoor decorating. I do, however, enjoy seeing what other people have done. This year my favorite house is decked out with four billion LEDs which are apparently the newest thing in outdoor holiday lighting. What happened to tracer lights?
The lady in the Target commercials. You know the one I’m talking about–the crazy blonde that works out to get ready for Black Friday. She totally cracks me up and is a nice counter-balance to the whiny singer/dancers pimping Marshall’s and TJ Max. I don’t actually shop at Target but I do love their commercials.
Photos. Lots of people I haven’t seen all year include current photographs with their Christmas cards. It’s especially nice to see how much kids have grown from one year to the next. Last year I included a picture of our dogs, decked out in their holiday attire. This year I couldn’t find new outfits I liked. Maybe I’ll enclose a picture in next year’s cards.
Me time. My partner spends a few days on either side of Christmas with his family in South Carolina and/or Florida. He’s always here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. After the crazy pace of things leading up to the holiday, I’m grateful for some time for myself here in…
My Glass House