Not to be a debbie downer, but I'm with you. I love Christmas for exactly what it is (the birth of Jesus), and I do enjoy spending time with family, but work, running here and there shopping and get-togethers makes my Nov and Dec the most stressful 2 months out of the year. I'm so glad when Jan rolls around and things get back to normal.
A couple stick out for me. The first, my wife and I had recently separated. My family always does our meal either Christmas Eve or the day after to avoid conflicts with other family functions. I had my kids that morning, fixed them breakfast, opened their gifts, and then they left with their mom. Spent the whole day by myself, grilled a big steak, watched TV, drank a few cold ones...was a quiet and relaxing day. The second, my wife's parents are getting to the age that they can't drive long distances. They love the mountains, and hadn't been in over 10 years. Our gift to them was taking them to a cabin in the mountains for 4 nights between Christmas/New Years. It snowed buckets one day while we were there. Her parents were like kids in a candy store. Her dad sat at the picture window in the dining room for hours on end looking at the mountains and the snow, like an 10 year old kid in an 80 year old's body. He's a good man, a preacher. It warmed my heart to see him in somewhat of a different light.
