The Between Time

The time between Christmas and New Year's has always felt a lot like the lost weekends of a misspent youth. You know it is there, but what to do with it, or worse still, what you did with it is beyond you.

When should you take down the Christmas decorations? Keeping the Christmas decorations up for a few more days feels like the right thing to do, but then you are fearful that you will get caught on New Year's Day with them still up. By then life is "normal", whatever that is, and you might not get them down until Labor Day --- which might not be a bad thing since most stores seem to start putting out Christmas items on Halloween.

How long after Christmas should you play Christmas music? Is there someone at the radio station who watches the countdown clock, kind of like that doomsday clock you hear about from time to time, and, when it hits Midnight on December 25 all the Christmas music is put safely back in the lock box until next Halloween? Confidentially, I have a friend who plays it all year round. She also still has her inside nativity (which was an outside one, but she liked it so much she wanted it inside) up until after Easter.

Is it poor taste to mail Christmas cards after Christmas Day? Should you put a note in that you just recovered from Monkeypox and you are sorry these are late? Or should you confess that you are a loser and just didn't get them done before the last mail call on December 24? I wonder if there is a post date option on special mailings from the post office? There should be. It would help their bottom line, frankly.

What about Christmas returns? Do they have to be done before the New Year or can you wait? Trust me; I had to run to the hardware store, big box store, and grocery store today. You Don't Want To Willingly Do That. Seriously.

Is it considered poor style to spend the "between" week sleeping and eating all the candy you got for Christmas? Everyone Knows that after the New Year you are going on a diet and start exercising. And, it is, after all, a sin to waste anything you can eat. Sugar rushes only last a few hours; go for it!

As you can see, this between time has me very confused. Personally, I don't think I will deal with it At All. Chick-fil-a still has peppermint shakes available, even though it is "for the holiday and a limited time." Now this is the way to spend the between time. Care to join me??