A puppy is for life, not just for Christmas – On the other hand, some of your more distant acquaintances (and some family!) may well only be for Christmas. Because you haven’t seen them for ages, it’s all too easy to slip straight back into last year’s arguments. If you know this happens, make a special effort to view them with fresh eyes, as if you’ve only just met. You’re unlikely to solve tensions of a lifetime over a few cold days in December; the arguments will only drag you down.
Loose lips sink ships – And nothing loosens them quicker than alcohol. If you’re already feeling irritated, a little too much liquid Christmas cheer will probably just cause you to say something you’d otherwise regret.
“I vant to be alone!” – Make time for yourself. Houses fill up over the festive period, creating less space and more friction, especially if you enjoy peace and quiet. Try going out for a walk occasionally. You never know, you might even enjoy the frosty scenery.
It’ll be lonely this Christmas… - but if you’re on your own, or feeling lonely even around others, remember that for all the fuss, there’s nothing intrinsically special about these few days. All the cultural meaning we impart to it is man-made symbolism, created consicously & unconsciously through mutual reinforcement and over time. Christmas Day is also just the 25th of December, and New Year’s Day is just the 1st of January.
A change is gonna come – New Year’s Resolutions can sometime help move one from pre-contemplation into the contemplation phase of making changes, but unless planned carefully, they’re easily discarded making last-minute resolutions more likely to be a millstone around your neck or a reason to feel guilty about failing to make changes. So don’t make a resolution unless you’ve thought about it, and really mean it.
Feel free to add your own tips to the list!
Don’t discount this alternative strategy: Deliberately neck a bottle of wine, several whiskeys and a glass of bubbly. Then relish the unique opportunity this extra courage brings to tell everyone exactly how you feel about them, and in that resolve ever having to spend another Christmas with people that you don’t like anyway.
Failing that, skip the country.
Merry Christmas! x
Ha! We did that for Thanksgiving; skipped out on angry relatives and ate wtih friends; made French fusion food instead of horrid artery-clogging mashed potatoes. Way more fun.
… I recommend a few Whisky Sours if you plan experimenting with this strategy over the festive period; Doug Ford over at his Cold Glass blog recently posted a good recipe!
I am off to Scotland, so I think the drinking of Whiskey is compulsary!
Merry Christmas to you too. Great post.
My advice to people on their own is don’t be alone; spend time at a charity group: many animal shelters could use the help on holidays when there’s just a skeleton crew to care for the animals. And the folks there tend to be kind and fun. Also this year instead of petty gifts, I donated to charity in the names of friends and family specific to their passions. Way more gratifying than buying *stuff*.
A good 60-70% of any stuff exchanged at Christmas (at least, the non-edible/drinkable subset of stuff anyway) probably ends up hardly used anyway!
Rather than the perennial puppy, might we say that a Baby Jesus is for life, not just until Easter?
And btw, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Chris!
You too! Have a good time!