Here we are caught in limbo week between Christmas and New Year’s. The Christmas parties are a distant memory, the Christmas programs and concerts are finished, and the frantic shopping, wrapping, and baking are done. I’m getting a little tired of Christmas music, and the Christmas cookies that smelled so good coming out of the oven last week are beginning to lose their appeal—maybe because I’ve gorged on a steady diet of sugar for the past month. Nevertheless, I will steadfastly plow through them lest they go to waste (although they most certainly will go to waist).

The Christmas tree, which smelled so fragrant just a few short weeks ago, is starting to droop, shedding needles faster than my New Year’s resolutions will fall apart by January 2nd. I’ve given up rehanging ornaments knocked off the tree by the cats. The living room, which looked so seasonally festive last week, now looks like Santa’s workshop exploded. Well, not so much with toys anymore, but with all the gifts that haven’t yet made it to their permanent locations. I guess the excitement of the new socks is just not enough to actually move them from the coffee table to the bedroom. Eventually, I will gather the new socks, sweaters, and other miscellaneous gifts and deposit them in another part of the house, where I don’t have to trip over them. I will attempt, once more, to salvage boxes, although I know that next year, I won’t be able to find a matching top and bottom for a box. I will dig through the rubble to recover pretty bows and ribbons that can used again. At least I don’t save wrapping paper like my mother used to.

Without the constant pre-Christmas activity, life seems to have ground to a halt. What do I do this week? I basically wait around to officially declare Christmas over for another year and breathe a sigh of relief that, once again, I’ve survived. I’ve also been blessed with some downtime to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and enjoy special fellowship with friends and family. But by some unspoken rule, the holidays are not formally over until New Year’s Day, when I can de-decorate and get my life back to semi-normal, whatever that is. And since New Year’s Eve has been just another calendar day for me since I was much younger, the anticipation of a year-end party where I must stay awake until midnight holds little appeal.

But what do I do with that really bizarre gift I received—the one that I’ll never wear or use? Relegate it to the storage closet where I won’t wear it, use it, or think about it until I stumble across it looking for something else. I don’t dare risk regifting or donating it to Goodwill or a garage sale because the original giver may spy it and get their feelings hurt. After all, it’s the thought that counts, right?
Well, at least there are the after-Christmas sales to look forward to. Yes, I know I have enough wrapping paper and ribbon to last for the rest of my life. I’ll probably have to leave them to someone in my will. But I just can’t resist the good after-Christmas deals, and, after all, that half-priced paper is so pretty. I’m just being practical, after all, stocking up for next Christmas, although there are better than even odds that I will put all the things I bought away somewhere and forget I bought them, like the new outdoor bells I bought last year.

But here’s the thing: the post-Christmas chaos is still part of the holiday charm. Sure, it’s messy, noisy, and occasionally stressful, but it’s also cozy, fun, and still full of the sweet spirit that comes from this magical time of year. So, embrace the mayhem, polish off that last Christmas cookie before the New Year diet resolution kicks in, and wear your snowman sweater with pride. After all, it’ll be Christmas again before you know it. 🎄