SIFT THROUGH THE WRECKAGE AND SALVAGE THE THINGS YOU LOVE MOST

In every ritual there are the things that really ring your chimes and the things you can live without. There’s lots of holiday nonsense I don’t miss for a second, like my ex father-in-law’s trifle, but some of the trimmings are totally essential. The hazelnut crescent cookies my grandmother used to make, a Christmas story about an owl and some moles who want a telescope from Santa to see the stars, and present-stuffed stockings are absolutely inseparable from Christmas for me.
Whatever form the day is taking for you this year, make sure to hang on to the crucial parts of the ritual that make you feel like the celebration is actually yours. Don’t worry about the rest of the festive crap, it’s not worth it. Some of it you might even be glad to leave behind.