On the first day of Christmas my To Do List gave to me –
5 Broken ornaments to sweep up
4 Teachers’ gifts to purchase
3 Cookie Exchanges to bake for
2 Christmas Pageant costumes to assemble
And a headache as big as our Douglas Fir tree
Am I right ladies?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday and I’m 95.7% convinced that I was actually born in the North Pole amongst the elves {after all, my birthday is a mere week before Christmas}. This time of year you can find me jamming out to Christmas carols and icing up gingerbread houses like any good holiday Elf. Not to mention decorating not one, but TWO Christmas trees {and maybe a third tiny, table-top tree, because I just can’t seem to help myself}. But despite the holiday cheer decking my halls, by the time December reached the midway point, I am spent. It seems like my To Do list gets a little longer with each passing day, and though I wake up each morning feeling like Buddy the Elf, often enough I go to bed resembling something more akin to Ebenezer Scrooge.
Breaking for Grinchmas
It’s around this time every year my family and I take a day off from our hectic lives and hole up for our annual family Grinchmas. As much as we love spending time with our friends, neighbors, aunts and uncles and grandparents, on Grinchmas Day we snuggle in just the four of us for some quality down time and a little bit of peace, quiet, and of course, our annual viewing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
I’ll preface this by stating that I’ve read the Dr. Seuss children’s book and watched the 1966 Boris Karloff version every year of my life since I was a baby. I’m not a huge fan of the Jim Carrey adaptation {though as my husband is, we’ve added that to the yearly line up}, and have yet to see the 2018 version {I’ll cave at some point}; but suffice it to say, I’m fairly familiar with the plot. However, it wasn’t until I had children of my own that the theme of this “children’s tale” really hit home for me.
You see, as a child and young adult, I was very much one of the Whos down in Whoville, happily plodding along through the Yuletide season without ever succumbing to the pressures of the holiday {in large part, I’m sure, because my own mother carried the weight of all the family To Dos by herself}. But when I got married and started a family of my own, the holidays took on a whole new meaning. Instead of showing up at my parent’s house for a holiday feast my mom slaved over for days with a single pie as my contribution, I instead found myself hosting my first Christmas dinner for SIXTEEN people. While pregnant. Talk about your noise, noise, noise. It was wonderful to have everyone together, but let me just say, I definitely felt a little more like the Grinch than one of the Whos that holiday season.
Remembering the “Little Bit More”
Though I haven’t hosted a Christmas that massive in the past two years, the stress of the holidays has by no means died down. We have two sides of the family to see {which often involves a lot of negotiating over who’s family gets which days, etc.}, gifts for friends, cousins and teachers to purchase, holiday preschool events and play group Christmas parties. It’s so easy to get burnt out on all the merriment.
But when we sit down to watch Seuss’s beloved Christmas movie and I witness the Grinch’s epiphany as he stands atop a mountain listing to the Whos down in Whoville sing, I’m reminded that Christmas isn’t the summation of endless lists and activities. It doesn’t come from a store, or decorating a Pinterest-worthy tree. Because Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more.
For some that means heading to Church and reveling in the Holy Spirit. For others it’s simply being together with the people who matter most. Or donating our time or finances to those less fortunate than ourselves. Or possibly all of the above. But for my family, our Grinchmas celebration remind us to focus on what’s important about the holiday season.
Throwing the Perfect Grinchmas
If you need a little holiday refocusing and you’re interested in throwing a Grinchmas of your own, here are a few guidelines (I prefer guidelines to rules because the holiday season has enough stress already)::
Should include comfy PJs. Bonus if they’re Christmas themed. Double bonus if they’re Grinchy.
Should include yummy snacks.
Should include at least one version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas {be it the book, or one of the three film adaptations}.
Should NOT include To Do Lists or other holiday stressers {I’m looking at you unaddressed Christmas cards and incessantly ringing cell phone}.
Should include quality downtime with the people you love most in the world.
Merry Grinchmas to all, and to all a goodnight.
