Sometimes Christmas Sucks

Some years are wonderful with few worries and plenty of everything. Others are leaner, more stressful, and just plain sad. In the good years, the holidays are a lot of fun, but during the sad times, we may not enjoy Christmas all that much, but that is why sometimes Christmas sucks and that’s ok.

Sometimes Christmas Sucks

There’s a lot of stress put on us by society to be “merry and bright” during the holidays. We’re magically supposed to be in a good mood on Christmas no matter what’s going on in our lives or around us. Yes, you should hide your pain and sorrow and smile through the tears for your kids. Of course, you don’t want to ruin Christmas for those around you. But let’s face it, sometimes life sucks and when it happens around Christmas, it’s hard to put on a show of good cheer.

Reasons Christmas Sucks

Death

There’s nothing wrong with being sad around the holidays. If you’ve recently lost a loved one and are facing your first Christmas without them, it’s perfectly normal and healthy to be sad. This was me in 2008. It was 5 days before Christmas and I lost my father. I just did his Christmas shopping list for my mom. How would I present these gifts?  You miss them, and not being able to share such a wonderful time of the year with this special person makes it harder to feel joy and happiness. When something does put a smile on your face, you may even feel guilty. It wasn’t until my daughter was born in 2010 that I began feeling better about the Christmas season.

A job loss sets you back and can’t give your kids the gifts they’ve been asking Santa for. Maybe you became single again and you’re still trying to figure out what your life looks like now. Many things can happen that will take a lot of the joy out of Christmas. And that’s ok. We survive and carry on.

Even with the picture TV shows, movies, and Christmas stories paint, our difficulties don’t magically go away come Christmas Eve. All those feelings are still with us. Life isn’t always perfect. It’s messy, complicated, sad, and sometimes just plain sucks – even on Christmas.

When you’re having a rough time during the holidays, don’t feel pressured to put yourself in a good mood. Don’t expect to feel better all of sudden. Do your best to make it through the holidays. Do what you need to do for the little ones. Find time and then go and have a good cry. Be mad, be sad, or be angry. Feel what you need to feel to get through this hard period in life.

Things will look up and there are many happy days and happy Christmases to come. Remember the good times and know that better times are yet to come.

Sometimes Christmas Sucks, but that’s ok!