Dirt Don't Hurt: Statistics for an imperfect but lovely Christmas
Christmas has snuck up on me this year like a windshield on a bug. I’m sure holiday season isn’t what John Lithgow was talking about when he said that, but I sure feel like a lighting bug on a warm July evening, flashing around this way and that and WHAM. Here comes a massive Christmas windshield.
I blame myself for making a zillion traditions part of our family’s richness. Our adult children still expect to drink hot chocolate in the dark on the solstice and make homemade pierogi for our Christmas Eve dinner. I am happy to honor them as well as follow my own personal holiday tradition of being tired from mid-November until Jan. 12.
The truth is that making a holiday special is a lot of work. There is pressure for perfection in decorations, presents, cookies, and memories. But we are human and not everyone can pull off that idyllic Instagram post. Some can … but how many? And how did my disorganized family compare this year?
Too tall tree, mediocre cookies, dreaded shopping, but Christmas really is grand
Too tall tree, mediocre cookies, dreaded shopping, but Christmas really is grand
We cut down our Christmas tree so late that only the giant ones were left. It also was raining, which means our 14-foot tree weighed about 4,000 pounds.
We baked three mediocre batches of cookies, including a gluten-free variety that never quite comes out like the others. One of the batches was my grandmother’s butter cookie recipe that includes a candied cherry in the top that brings phrases from my children such as “Eww, that thing is nasty, who eats them?” (Me. I do. You get none.)
We cut down our Christmas tree so late that only the giant ones were left. It also was raining, which means our 14-foot tree weighed about 4,000 pounds.
We baked three mediocre batches of cookies, including a gluten-free variety that never quite comes out like the others. One of the batches was my grandmother’s butter cookie recipe that includes a candied cherry in the top that brings phrases from my children such as “Eww, that thing is nasty, who eats them?” (Me. I do. You get none.)
I dragged my husband out in a snowstorm to buy last-minute Christmas presents because I just can’t seem to handle the pressure of surprising our children with the same magic of when they were younger and a flashing and chirping piece of plastic kept their attention almost as long as the AAA batteries lasted.
Even though I felt like a Christmas failure on many counts, I’m not alone in my holiday habits. According to Statista.com, 24% of Americans get a live Christmas tree compared to 46% that just haul a fake one from the closet. (The rest? None.) And somehow, according to PR Newswire, 93% of Americans bake at least one batch of cookies during the holiday season.
Finally, when it comes to presents, a study conducted by OnePoll found 51% of Americans wait until the last minute when it comes to holiday shopping.
While I'm in decent company for my holiday woes, I am very sure my imperfect Christmas will be 100% perfect if I get to share it with the ones that I love. Yes, there is exhaustion and frustration, but there also is elation and magic and the spirit that makes it all very much worth it.
Get that tree, wrap those last-minute gifts, and bake whatever cookie you can − according to An Idea, Santa eats roughly 336,150,386 cookies on Christmas Eve.
Reach Karrie McAllister at mckarrie@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Despite the work, some holiday traditions don't turn out perfectly
