The last several years have seen great debate take place on media platforms over the extension of the Christmas holidays — from the tackiness of tacking up blinking lights before Remembrance Day to the Boxing Day blitz that extends well into January.
No matter your stance on when to ring in the season, the end result is usually the same: Christmas is less than a relaxing time for the matriarch of the home.
It’s the time for stay-at-home mothers with home-based business to plug their wares and settle into a selling frenzy. You know these moms. They’re your Facebook friends, best pals and even your family members. Heck, maybe it’s even you. And this holiday season, I encourage everyone to show a little extra appreciation to that special matriarch (OK, patriarchs are just fine, too). Because Christmas is a lot of work.
As if you didn’t have enough to do the 11 other months of the year — now you’re kicking it into overdrive and drumming up memories and maybe earning a little extra cash for a season that will inevitably segue into a turkey hangover that coerces you into a gym membership.
This reality, in our technological age of gizmos and gadgets aplenty, is even more pronounced for the modern mother — the over-worked, double-booked multi-tasker who runs on fumes and still has enough energy to edit her kid’s biannual dance recital on iMovie and burn a copy for the in-laws. She is a perpetually rushed culprit. She can often be spotted clad in Lulu, slinging a Coach purse and shopping local. She may have an affinity for a grande, low-fat- half-this-and-none-of-that and organic red wine. She is trying to do some kind of 21-day fix and if you catch her on a no carb day — look out.
When she isn’t dutifully seeking out the next best thing, Pinterest and Instagram-worthy activity to stimulate the growing minds of her young, however, she may enjoy a foot rub or a thoughtful, steaming cup of homemade apple cider. Spiked equates to extra brownie points.
Ladies, this holiday season, I challenge you to take time out for yourself. Rather than reflecting on pounds not lost, failing to raise your monthly mortgage payments or phone your extended family members — cut yourself some slack and dish yourself an extra piece of cake. You really are awesome and all those little nuances — from your two-tone colour scheme selection to your up-cycled table decorations — that seem to fly under the radar of your sugar-charged children and football fanatic husband, well, that’s exactly what makes Christmas the most magical time of the year.
