Christmas has a funny way of arriving whether you’re ready or not.
One minute it’s October, you’re eating leftover sweets and pretending Halloween isn’t already over..
And the next minute Mariah Carey has kicked your door in and someone’s shouting, “They get earlier every year!” Halloween’s barely had time to pack away its plastic spiders and suddenly Christmas is everywhere.
This year, I really committed to the festive chaos by choosing to have my teeth evicted ten days before Christmas. Because obviously December wasn’t stressful enough already.
Why pace myself when I could add pain, antibiotics, and a festive diet of “things that don’t require chewing”?
Bold choice. No regrets.. Haha actually I have some regrets.
And listen.. I used to be one of those people.
November decorations? Absolutely not.
Decorations belong in December. End of discussion.
But now?
Somewhere between life happening and December lasting approximately twelve minutes, I’ve changed sides. I put mine up mid-November.
Why? Because December is rushed.
Blink and it’s gone.
Also… who decided joy has a start date anyway?
October barely ends before Christmas takes over.“Halloween’s only just been!” people yell.. while standing in front of a fully stocked aisle of baubles.
And for some people, November decorations are now tradition.
Not laziness.
Not madness.
But strategy.
Stretching the season so it doesn’t disappear before you’ve had chance to feel it. Enjoying those moments you might not or can't get during the "Festive Month"!
I love Christmas… I think.
I love the lights, the smell of something cooking, the comfort of familiar films you don’t actually watch but feel better just knowing they’re on. I love the idea of it. The advert version. The neatly wrapped, pain-free, zero-expectations version. The one where nobody asks how you’re really doing over a dry turkey.
But the reality? A bit messier.
Sometimes Christmas feels heavy.
Not dramatic-heavy.
Just quiet-heavy.
The kind where you’re smiling on the outside while your brain is doing its own thing.
Memories turn up uninvited.
Expectations creep in.
And suddenly you’re tired before the day’s even started.
There’s pressure to be joyful.
To be grateful.
To be on.
And most of the time I am… but sometimes I’m also just human. Sometimes I laugh too loud to cover the lump in my throat. Sometimes I disappear into the kitchen “to help” when really I just need a minute. Sometimes I’m fine. Sometimes I’m not.
Both can exist.. even at Christmas.
Especially at Christmas.
I joke a lot. You know that.
Humour is my emotional support blanket.
If I can laugh at it, I can carry it.
If I can make you laugh too, then suddenly it weighs less. So yes, I’ll crack jokes, roll my eyes, and pretend I’ve got my life together while wearing festive pyjamas at 2pm. That’s not avoidance.. that’s coping, with tinsel.
And here’s the thing no one really says out loud…
Christmas can be brilliant and brutal at the same time. You can love it and struggle with it in the same breath. You can be surrounded and still feel lonely. You can be grateful and exhausted. You can show up, smile, laugh.. And still need January to hurry up a bit.
And then, just like that… it’s over.
The decorations come down, the chocolate mysteriously vanishes, and the New Year turns up asking what you’ve achieved and how another year managed to disappear so fast. One minute you’re putting the tree up early to slow time down… the next you’re wondering how it’s already next year. Does time speed up after Christmas or is that just betrayal?
So here’s me..
Raising a mug (definitely not my first of the day), to the laughs, the tears, the awkward moments, the soft food, the deep breaths, and the small wins.
To doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
To finding moments of joy..
Even if they’re tiny, imperfect, and wrapped in sarcasm.
So from me to you.
I wish you a calm and peaceful Christmas. I hope the day isn't too hard and you can have time to you and your thoughts when needed.
Im sending massive hugs to those who really struggle with this season and I hope you get all you hoped for.
love, hugs and thoughts to those not with us..
Rae
🌈
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