The Female Grinch

Meet the Christmas Grinch. Yup, that's me.

For some reason, I haven't been able get myself to feel the hustle and bustle of the season these past few years. For the past two years, we didn't have a tree up at home.  Our old one just up and died on us.  So it was old and it was a hand-me-down tree from my late father-in-law.  It had to go sometime or the other.  We've justified that since we always spend Christmas in Manila with family, there's no reason for us to spend on decorating the house. We did put up one this year because a friend (ne, you know who you are) told me that I don't seem like a "Chrismas-y" person. This, of course, I vehemently denied. But somehow, I know, that she did see through me. Hence, the tree. And the Belen, the snowmen candle holders, the candy cane candles, the wreaths and all the other decors were resurrected out of storage.

 Is it probably because I'm not a kid anymore? When I was small, I did so look forward to Santa's visit. We didn't have much back then, so finding an apple and candies on the socks I hung on Christmas Eve brought me so much joy. That's right - an apple. They were extremely expensive then so a bite of this once-a-year treat was like a taste of heaven. Ah, to be a child again....

Or maybe it's because, with just 9 days to go before Christmas Day, there's just too much stuff going on, so much to do in so little time.  And by the time Christmas Eve is upon me, I already feel like I'm a pressure cooker blowing my top off and just about to burst. Not to mention wallet-fatigue.  My crisp bills just seem to fly out of my wallet!  

Here's my Christmas checklist:

• Christmas cards sent - NONE. I've decided to go green this year not just to save the environment, but also if I send them now, they'll just be in time for Valentine's. So I might as well send Valentine's cards now.
• Gifts bought - 7
• Gifts still to be bought - ENDLESS LIST!!! I haven't even bought any for my immediate family members yet, so if they read this, I'm sure they will be dismayed (haha!)
• Outfits for upcoming parties - I might as well go vintage, so my closet will be taking a beating from all the rummaging I will be doing since I can't fit in shopping in the next few days.
• E-card with family picture in our Christmas coordinated outfits - see preceding # in the list. I've somehow thought of this crazy idea of doing the coordinated outfits this year, but it's not just gonna happen. And they probably won't - ever.
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The two dots are reserved spaces for some of the things that are escaping me right now. The few that I've mentioned above, I just skimmed them off the top of my head.

When I look at my situation right now, i know this is another Déjà vu.  Oh, wait! Exactly the same thing happened to me last year...and the couple of years before!!! Though this year is more harried because I was even able to send some cards before.  Work has probably been ten-fold this year. It's not much of an excuse, but oh, well, at least I still have one (harhar).

So to avoid getting into the same pit bog again next year, I'll start to work on boosting my Christmas spirit (and my Christmas Fund) right at the dot when the new year is ushered in.   Nobody needs a Grinch in their lives.

Merry Christmas, everyone!