At this time of year, when the holiday pressure cooker kicks into high mode, Christmas is a perfect antidote for many people. The Christmas antidote often goes a little too far and slides into a Christmas addiction. If you’re wondering whether you or a loved one suffers from Christmas addiction, here are four signs to look for:
1. Spiking your eggnog in November.
If you start spiking your eggnog in November, you might be addicted to a little more than just Christmas. Although there are no 12-step meetings for Christmas, an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is right around the corner. Christmas is not a reason to relapse. Also, drinking eggnog before or beyond the holiday season is kind of weird.
2. Wanting to hang out with Santa again.
Do you still secretly hope to hang with Santa? When you see the kids line up at the mall, waiting to sit on Santa’s lap, do you get a bit wistful? Wistful is one thing; hanging around shopping mall Santas or Salvation Army Santas on street corners is something else. They’re probably nice people, but they certainly ain’t the real Kris Kringle.
3. Missing family outings to watch Christmas specials.
Do you have a secret Christmas DVD collection that you watch year round? Do you miss family outings to catch Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? First aired in 1964, Rudolph was sponsored by General Electric. Did you know the goal of the special was to sell more Christmas lights: “Rudolph with your nose so bright / Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”
4. Keeping the Christmas tree up way too long.
If you are keeping those cute little Christmas decorations up well into January, you have a problem. If your Christmas tree becomes a dry fire hazard every year, you are endangering not only yourself, but all the presents you received. It’s time to take it down, toss it out on the curb, and wait until next year.
Ultimately, there are so many worse things to be addicted to than Christmas. Still, if you are feeling a little obsessive compulsive (OCD) about Christmas, take a few deep breaths and meditate on the true spirit of the season. Maybe the cure for a Christmas addiction is to treat every day like a holiday with joy and love for all. As Tiny Tim so cheerfully says in A Christmas Carol, “And God bless us, everyone.”