Christmas Compromises Vs. Tradition

Whether you’re reading this hot off the press on Christmas Day or a few days after, I hope you are spending some time this holiday season with family, friends, pets, anyone, or anything that gives you joy. That’s what it is all about, right?

A couple of years ago I wrote about the importance of traditions, in particular food traditions, during the holidays. You can go back and revisit that if you want. Traditions are important, I think, but nowadays we need to make peace with changing those traditions or starting new ones. In my case, one daughter lives out of town. My son is a shift worker. We need to work our holiday activities around their schedules. And that’s ok. After the major changes made during COVID, like opening gifts or sharing a meal over Zoom, having the turkey on the 26^th rather than the 25^th is not such a big deal. Of course, traditions change with age. I no longer put cookies out for Santa, much to the disappointment of the family dogs. But we still tune in to the NORAD website to track Santa’s progress. I even glance up at the night sky when I let the dogs out for their final business. I mean you never know, right? I believe in magic, so why not?

I was having coffee with a friend the other day, and we were comparing Christmas notes. Her experience is much different than mine, but we both have the desire to simplify. Who needs the stress?

Maybe I’m alone in my thinking. Maybe I’m more prone to anxiety than others. I find any holiday time stressful. Christmas is the worst. With Thanksgiving, it’s just a matter of planning the menu, which is pretty much the same year after year. My husband cooks the turkey, so I don’t need to worry about that. But with Christmas, there are several days to take into consideration. There is the tree-decorating day. There’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Besides menu and snack planning, there is gift planning. Good grief! Even with gift exchange apps, it is challenging to find something perfect. Or at least the perfect size! And then time to take a breath before New Year’s hits. Should we go out (highly unlikely) or stay home? Should we have a special meal? What games should we play, or what movies should we watch?

My family—there are five of us—has always decorated our Christmas tree together. We buy a bunch of pre-made treats, queue up the music, and go at it. LOL. I remember making the Christmas music CDs several years ago. At least that is much easier now, thanks to streaming services. But finding the time to do this has been getting more difficult, thanks to the reasons stated in paragraph two. This year, I announced I was going to put up the tree on my own when I had a moment. That did not go over well. Funny how you don’t realize how others value traditions. We managed to find a compromise. I put a basket of decorations beside the tree so the family can hang one when they had the chance. And this year, to replace the tree decorating festivity, we are going to have a family movie night. We need to shift a couple of things around, but all in all, Christmas should go smoothly. We will do the same things and eat the same food, but not at the same times. The important thing is that we will get to spend time together.

Boxing Day, Dec. 26, has always been my favourite day, ever since I was a kid. All the gifts are unwrapped, batteries placed, food cooked (hurrah for leftovers), and everyone is busy with their new toys. I guess toys don’t come into the picture anymore. But there are new books, games, and other things to keep us occupied and relaxed. Serenity prevails.

Ahhhh. Take a deep breath. It’s over. For another year. Happy holidays! All the best in 2025!