My Dislikes About the Holidays: What Tops My Holiday "Naughty" List
In last week's blog post, I wrote about five things I love about the holidays. With the things that I love out of the way, I want to share what brings out my Christmas Grinch.
The first three all have a connected theme of stress, chaos, and overwhelm.
Beginning with what tops my "naughty" list is actually the holiday "to do" list itself.
Holidays aside, I already have a pretty packed schedule, but when November 1st comes around, many more tasks need to be prioritized to get done by December 25th. Now I know what you might be thinking: that many of these "tasks" are actually "choices," and I don't have to do them. And I suppose you are right. But I love Christmas, and it only comes around once a year. Down deep, I actually do enjoy the preparation for the holidays, and if I genuinely hated it, I would not do it.
Yet, I could really do without the added feelings of stress and overwhelm. You know, the added chaos, craziness, pressure, deadlines, whatever you want to call it. To help alleviate some of this stress, I have really gotten more intentional about not procrastinating and getting as much done early as possible in recent years. Sometimes it feels silly to be getting so much done so early. But I just try to remember my future self and how much she will appreciate not being rushed and grumpy that so much is left to do.
The second thing I don't like somewhat relates to the first thing: all the Christmas crowds.
While I do like going to malls and outdoor displays and places like that, I'm not such a big fan of crowds. I am a short-statured person, on or off my scooter. In large crowds, I can start to feel very claustrophobic. All I see are just other people's waists and butts all around me. That makes for a not very enjoyable experience. If we want to go out and look at displays or other public gatherings, we try to pick times when it will be less crowded.
The third thing I don't love during the holiday time is traveling. Even in ideal times, traveling is a stressful proposition for me. Worrying about whether the airline will lose or damage any of my medical equipment or my mobility device; having to deal with possible delays; and lastly, the overcrowded airports. Additionally, while I love seeing my friends and family, I also really love being home. I love my home and how accessible it is for me. I love how comfortable it is. I love that everything is here, and there is no packing luggage involved in staying home. I know we will travel for the holidays at some point. I want Drew to experience that White Christmas someday, after all. It's just I'm not in a rush.
The fourth thing on my list is kind of silly, but I'm very serious about it.
And that is, I do not like eggnog at all. Now don't come for me if you love eggnog. Some people love the stuff, and I don't understand it, but I don't judge. :) I did try it when Andrew and I got together because he likes it. Even with an open mind, I still thought it was the grossest thing ever. I believe it doesn't help that I am not a milk person. And even if you try to add alcohol to it, I think it makes it even more undrinkable. I can assuredly say that eggnog is one holiday tradition that will never make it onto my "nice" list.
The last item on my list for things that I don't love about Christmas is putting all the decorations away.
I like to try to keep a tidy home, and with all the decorations and gifting and busyness of the holiday, the house can get chaotic. Add on top of that all the additional decorations, and things can look, and feel, cluttered very quickly. It's a lot to keep up with.
With that said, it makes sense that the more decorations I put up, the more I have to put away. It is a chore I never look forward to doing. To help with this, some years, I have tried to keep the decorating more on the simple side. But who am I kidding? I love Christmas. Finding the personal restraint just to unpack one tub of decorations seems like an impossible feat. It is definitely much easier when we decide not to get a real Christmas tree—opting instead just to put out my small pre-lit, pre-decorated table-top tree. This year, I finally decided to go through all of my decorations and give my sister and other family members some of them. I inherited so much from my mom and Grandma. I would need three houses to use them all. I want others to get some joy out of what my mom and Gram loved. And for me, well, less to choose from means less to tempt me. And also, less to store. It's a win all the way around.
These are the five things on my "naughty" I would rather experience less of, or not at all during the holidays. If you haven't read what makes my "nice" list, you can read that here. I'm curious what makes your "nice" or "naughty" list. Feel free to share in the comments below. I'd love to read them. In the meantime, thank you for reading, and happy holidays!
