It’s My Christmas Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To

Don’t be fooled.

NO ONE has their act totally together in December. Not a one.

Every single person currently fumbling through this month has forgotten to buy a gift, wrote down the wrong address, left the baking powder out of the cookies, eaten 12 cookies and then a piece of celery to “burn the calories,” or mumbled “I’m sure that can be arranged” under her breath when her kid is throwing a tantrum for absolutely no reason and shouting “I don’t even want Santa to come!”

Or, you know, spent five minutes looking for her keys so she can go to the post office to mail a package to Uncle Randy and also renew her  passport which has been expired for 7 years and also still has her maiden name on it only to find that her keys are in her hand. And then remember that she has toddlers and that the odds she is going to be traveling internationally anytime soon are minuscule so this really is a pointless errand better left for February.

But she still needs to mail that package to Uncle Randy.

Just an example.

Sing We Joyous, All (Eventually) Together

There is just A LOT happening in December and things are a little messy, and a little stressful. Sometimes really stressful.

So that’s why when a snowstorm cancels a Christmas party that you have hosted for 8 years and have painstakingly planned, cooked, and cleaned for, you absolutely 100% need a friend who is going to show up at your house the next morning to say “That sucks. So much.” And then continue on to make you feel like MUCH less of a crazy person by outlining in detail all of the reasons that said situation sucked including but not limited to toddlers who do not understand why Mommy just can’t deal right now. That friend is your sanity.

And then you need friends who show up the next day from 6 hours away because they love you enough to get in their car during a snowstorm to attempt to attend a party that was supposed to be held the night before. And they want to come visit with you even though they still have to drive 6 hours back home today. Those friends are good for your soul.

And of course you need the friend who arrives the next day bringing with him homemade reindeer shaped cookies for the kids and also 3 minutes of blissful silence while kids happily ate said cookies with twinkles of Christmas cheer in their cute little eyes. Bonus points if he also launches into a story about how he wants to be a volunteer firefighter, but not actually fight the fires. He wants to be a second tier volunteer, like maybe bring the firefighters cookies after they are done with the whole fire situation. There should be lots of ways to volunteer, and you should still get to be in parades for your efforts. That friend is critical to your mental health and your laugh lines.

While I Tell of Yule-tide Treasure

Perhaps most importantly, after everyone has called the night of the party to VERY understandably say “Um, Becca… I love you and I tried incredibly hard to make this happen, but I don’t want to die in a snowstorm to attend your Christmas party. The food is always pretty good but the Yankee Swap gifts are historically terrible and we just can’t risk it” you will need a really great friend.

A friend who is your permanent roommate. A friend who will put on a Santa suit, make extremely strong Christmas cocktails, and watch Love Actually with you on the couch while you both eat your feelings/weight in microwaved party food.

That friend is your heart.

I mean, hypothetically. It’s not like all of this happened word for word or anything. I’m trying to be relatable and appealing to the masses here. #GoingViral

Follow Me in Merry Measure

So take it easy on yourself this holiday season. We’re all kind of a mess. And things are going to go wrong. It’s science. But when you have the people you love in your moderately well-decorated and kind of clean corner, and I hope that you do, therein lies the magic of Christmas.

(Ugh, Becca… stop being sappy… Seriously… we’ve made it abundantly clear, we’re really just here for the bracket.)

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