Well fellow Cavs, I hope you are all recovering nicely from last week's tryptophan-induced coma. This past Thursday, we all celebrated America's time-honored traditions of overeating, watching parades and conducting late-night raids of the kitchen for alka seltzer and leftover pumpkin pie. Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and our jeans are just a little bit too tight, it can only mean one thing: The holiday season has officially begun. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or just the fact that you don't have class, it's going to be a festive month.
For the most part, these are fun times. You get to hang out with the people you love. Random acts of kindness significantly increase during this time of year. But with the holidays come some inevitable drudgery as well. Anyone who has seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation knows that its caricature of holiday chaos is just a little too close to the mark for comfort. Don't let the impeding worry of buying the right gift or dealing with awkward family members get you down, though. I know from personal experience that it can be stressful, but going into these situations with a game plan increases the fun-to-annoyance ratio.
Whenever there are mass gatherings of family and friends, it is expected that there is always that one party-goer who everyone feels the need to invite but secretly finds hugely irritating. In some families it's the cousin who wears graphic T-shirts and is a little too old to want a PlayStation 3 for Christmas, while in others, it's the overly aggressive aunt who grills people on every aspect of their lives. Whichever breed of oddball applies to your gathering means at least one painful conversation this season. This year, though, instead of giving in to the overwhelming urge to dump eggnog on the offending family member, beat the annoying at their own game. I'm not saying you have to be mean to these people - just follow the golden rule and treat them as they are treating you. If your cousin is rambling on about the wonders of Halo, think up your own outlandish obsession to discuss. This will give you an excuse to interrupt them and perhaps even make you look weird enough that they will be the one to sidle away. A similar tactic will probably work with the aggressive aunt as well; grilling her right back is likely to end her interrogation early. Whatever type of person you are forced to deal with, you will definitely have more fun if you play along with them.
In addition to quirky relatives, the trip to the mall is usually one of the more hellacious parts of preparing for the holidays. Every store is crowded and people are crazed to get this year's Tickle Me Elmo. Usually such insanity would immediately set my eye twitching and have me headed straight back to the station wagon without a single purchase. But in recent years, I have discovered the secret to making it through the mall in December. You just play the game "inner monologue" the entire time you are shopping. This is something my cousin and I used to do when we were little, but I never thought of applying to shopping trips until a few years back. The rules are simple: Try to imagine the inner monologue of every person you pass and don't play too seriously. The crazier you get, the funnier it becomes, and soon all the coupon-crazed moms become hilarious instead of annoying.
Last on my list of seasonal pains is the group portrait. It always seems to come at just about the time when everyone would rather be wearing a muumuu instead of their newest festive sweater. In this situation, really the only strategy is to go with the flow. There is no getting out of the shot. It's grandma's one time of the year to have everyone together, so just humor her and say cheese. It won't kill you, and if you really want to, you can probably give the gamer cousin bunny ears without anyone noticing.
Whether you have to deal with a crazy family, overcrowded stores or squished family portraits, you will always be able to avoid a Grinchy attitude if you go in with a game plan. Reduce the seasonal drudge factor by making the source of your annoyance fun. With that said, best of luck this coming month and happy holidays everyone!
Katie's column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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