The January Hangover

Let's think about it - You wait all year to do the shopping that you say you are going to do all year, you stress about who you need to buy for, who you need to call, and who you need to send a card to, only to find out that you missed someone when you receive their family photo Christmas card in your mailbox.

Personally I feel it is the most stressful and angry time of the year. You make plans to visit all the aunts, cousins and grandparents you can possibly squeeze in, you call (or nowadays text) everyone in your address book out of fear you might forget someone, and you go out of your way financially to put everyone on your shopping list, only to once again feel unprepared when someone unexpectedly delivers you a wonderful package and you are standing there with nothing more to return but a smile and a thank you.

NOW I know what you are thinking: the holidays are a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and spend with the family; it’s not about the gifts, it’s about the meaning and blah blah blah…

You are correct; that is what it is SUPPOSED to be for. However, the only time we seem to spend with family is the time in the car to and from the shopping mall, stuck in traffic doing the last minute shopping that we were going to do all year, arguing about the rude people in the store and the less than polite hand gesture you got in the parking lot.

You are looking forward to that beautiful turkey and family meal time…then you remember you are the one cooking it, so you start cooking and run out of eggs, sending your family to the store.