May the Season Pass Me By

Lights in our 'hood.

We have no lights up. We have no tree.

All of our Christmas decorations are still in a bin, stored away in our basement. If I have any say in it, that's where they'll stay.

DW wants a tree: with the exception of one year, during the pandemic, we've always had a real tree in our living room. But I told her that prices for trees, this season, are astronomical, with prices ranging from $70 to $120, and the type of tree we usually get ranging around the $100 mark.

Paying that much for a tree that we'll only have up for two weeks is excessive, I've said. DW isn't convinced.

But there's no way we'll have time to get a tree and have it put up by Friday night. And early, on Saturday morning, we're flying to Mexico for a week. The earliest we can shop for a tree is December 22. Plus, my home office occupies the space in our living room where we've always placed our tree. It's impractical to move my desk and there's nowhere to practically set it up.

DW said she'd put it in our family room, but even there, space is at a premium.

I'm not optimistic.

I haven't hung our outdoor lights, and now that the snow has come, I won't be doing it. It's just not safe.

I'm not the only one in our family that has lost the Christmas spirit. Kid 1 hasn't shown any enthusiasm. Kid 2 would like to come home to spend time with us and with her friends, but she has to work over the holidays.

We're considering visiting her, in Toronto, for a couple of days. In which case, what's the point of setting up a tree and decorating? And could we trust our three cats with the tree, unsupervised? Who would water it?

My parents aren't planning to do anything for Christmas day. My mom told me that she always loves spending time with us but doesn't need to limit it to December 25.

I agree.

So I'm hoping that we just let the holiday pass us by. We'll take the time off but it doesn't have to centre around Christmas.

Does that make me a Grinch? Maybe. But the holidays have always been about time with loved ones. It doesn't need the decorations.

How about you?