In Defense of The Adults in Every Kids’ Christmas Movie

I’ve seen a lot of Christmas movies. I was pretty well in on that “25 Days of Christmas” on the ABC Family channel before it became Freeform, though I had to put my foot down when we got to “Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas.” The rate of Christmas inflation was simply unsustainable.

My point is that I’m well-acquainted with the genre, and as a kid I kept rolling my eyes at the adults who needed to be taught the meaning of Christmas in almost every single film. Christmas comes but once a year (or 38 times a year, depending what network you’re watching on). The memories are precious. Blow off the project at work and go do Christmas stuff. What fools, I thought.

But now I am old. I have deliberately listened to a single Christmas song this entire year. I bought a tree two weeks ago that still isn’t decorated. My house has Christmas lights, but only half are ever lit at a time, because there are two separate strings to plug in and they’re a short walk away from each other, and I’M TIRED.

And honestly? Life is going pretty darn smooth right now. I don’t have work stress or family engagements that I’m dreading this holiday season or the tragic memory of a loved one who died in a gingerbread factory fire to contend with. I’m batting at least .700 over here.

But life is its own kind of grind, and I don’t have the energy to curate a Christmas experience, so to all the regular, stressed-out grown-ups in Christmas fiction, you have my forgiveness and apologies. If you’re keeping yourself afloat and being nice to the people around you, A for effort.