12. Carols and ads spouted, printed, wired, and lit up in the sky all beginning the day before Halloween leads to greater numbers of Bah-Humbug! I know the economy has been rough, but please refrain from making your American customers crazy. We're already feeling the guilt.
11. The actual date for celebrating IS negotiable. I promise. Just ask your family and have a vote. In our case, we decided to exchange gifts in January this year so we could fix the basement floor and allow everyone their own room. In the end, the $500 needed to fix and recarpet the floor downstairs was almost 3 times our entire gift/card budget and we opted for Christmas instead. I wish more people knew this. I think it would help them relax. January 6th is a good exchange date...something about the wise men.
10. Have a budget and stick to it. Last year, some anonymous special someone helped us with our giving expenses when our budget was $0 and we couldn't imagine going in debt to teach our children about the bounty of the season. Not only was this a gift last year, but it helped us reign in the idea of how big the present portion needed to be. (It's smaller than you think!)
9. Know why you're celebrating. Especially if yours isn't the standard commercialized Santa-reindeer version. If you're in the "minority," but your "reason for the season" is important to you, you need to be prepared to do some 'splainin'. Our five year old had, somehow, latched on to the idea of Santa. Since we have never even shared Santa stories or songs and she hasn't begun kindergarten, this was sort of a surprise to me. Talking about the legend together helped.
8. There are fewer lights now.
7. People are crazy about perfection during this season more than any other time of the year... even bikini-body-tanning-perfection in the summer months doesn't match this frenzy. Maybe it's that naughty and nice thing from Santa. You'd better watch out!
6. Three year old boys are not really ready to shop for other people. They get very excited and want to open everything and play with it right now.
5. A fake tree isn't such a bad thing after all. It turns out to be a good investment for lean years and it still looks pretty in all the lights and ornaments. I've heard that pine scented oils and candles work wonders for the nostalgia aspect of freshly cut pine sap. (Not that allergy sufferers can use these.) Plus, it eases the guilt that may come when watching you-tube videos of tortured trees stuffed into trucks.
4. Shatter proof ornaments can actually shatter. "Proof" that nothing is impossible.
3. Caroling on Christmas Eve is the best thing ever! Not kidding. Other than finding that many of your neighbors celebrate somewhere other than their own homes, you may find some very happy, tearful neighbors waiting in the quiet of their own homes hugging you with tear-filled eyes. You may find neighbors with car keys forgetten in the locks, doors still ajar from sneaking in gifts, parties to crash for delicious hot cider, or even out-of-state guests completely shocked that anyone would take the time or brave the cold with their voices.
2. Christmas Day and Tummy Flu do NOT go together. But, if the virus is insistant, it will hang out anyways. Since all the stores are C-L-O-S-E-D by 8pm on Christmas Eve, this is no time to be found without Lysol, Bleach, crackers, 7up, ginger, broth, or bread.
1. We Fish Ewe a Mare Egretts Moose! Is still a great way to give holiday cheer.
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