Celebration Life

This is my first Christmas in Florida in about 7 years, and my (Canadian) wife’s first ever. I’m starting to remember what a strange thing a Florida Christmas is.

Sure, we have a tree now, and Celebration is decorated to the nines, but: it’s not cold, there’s no snow (or even frost!), it doesn’t get dark at 4:30, we’re not wearing heavy clothes, and there aren’t any presents bought yet for under the tree. We watch the days tick down closer to Christmas and, while the Christmas spirit isn’t really here, the gift-giving obligations are.

All of this leads to Seasonal Shopping Stress Disorder, something I’m sure exists but may be called something else. I’m too lazy to research it on an iPhone. Ultimately, I can envision forcing myself to sit in front of Amazon to get ‘er done. Christmas has morphed from an exciting and festive time of year to a stressful logistical test. The saving grace will be our son. In a few short years he’ll be old enough to be excited about Christmas, and that will rub off on us.

The decorating the management company who manages the downtown area does helps some… nightly soapfalls, Santa visits, the Christmas tree, carriage rides, and the ice skating rink. But it’s the things I mentioned above, and family, that makes the holiday for me.