Holiday Traditions: The Good, The Bad, The Wish-We-Never-Started
b'\\u2019Tis the season for traditions\\u2014 most of them shopped for, planned, and generally upheld by moms. And for some of us, sending 300 holiday cards or creating a new tableau for a six-inch elf every night before bed really gets us in the holiday spirit.\\n\\xa0But most of us, at this time of year, have more to do than hours to do it. Many of us think we\\u2019re done shopping and only then remember Aunt Doris who is impossible to buy for (and has expressed specific disappointment in gift cards). Many of us have kids at whom we may have raised our voices after the fifth or sixth question about when we were going to make all the Christmas cookies this year.\\n\\xa0So we asked our listeners:\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0What are the holiday traditions that you love and work great for your family? What are the things you\\u2019d rather never do again but feel like you can\\u2019t stop now?\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0In this episode, we discuss your responses, plus:\\n\\nhow to get out from under the traditions you wished you never started\\nwhat to consider before letting a new tradition take root (keeping in mind that anything that happens at this time of year will immediately be deemed \\u201csomething we do every year\\u201d)\\nwhy the Elf on the Shelf might be a slippery slope to the full-on surveillance state\\nwhy the joy of anticipation is at least as good as the moment anticipated\\nhow the Danish concept of hygge factors in to all of this\\neasy holiday traditions like \\u201cChristmas Adam,\\u201d which as far as we can tell mostly involves holiday pajamas and Rankin-Bass specials\\n\\nLean into the hygge this holiday season. Push back against the incremental spend, the just running out for one more thing.\\nLean into the anticipation, because that\\u2019s the sweet spot.\\nOh, and Christmas lights. Lots of them. (They do wonders for Seasonal Affective Disorder.)\\nSpecial thanks to our guest comedy bit reader for this week: Sean Conroy of The Long Shot Podcast!\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'