Women and the Holidays

by Jenice Armstrong

Published Dec. 11, 2008, 6:51 p.m. ET

I was thinking ahead to this weekend and to all the Christmas cards I have to address and send off, the decorations I still haven't put up and the shopping that there's still left to be done and had started bumming. So, when I stumbled across this blog post by Sally Quinn on Washingtonpost.com, before I even read it, I knew exactly where she was going with it. The title of it is, "Christmas Not a Holiday For Women." Here's an excerpt:

"Christmas Rant Part Two: Every year Christmas is written, produced, directed and starred in by women. If it weren't for us, Christmas simply wouldn't happen (the holiday, not the holy day). Why do we do this to ourselves? Several years ago I was talking to some women friends at a party right after Thanksgiving. The subject of Christmas came up and one of my friends clutched her stomach and doubled over as if in pain. She was just thinking about all she had to do. We instantly decided to start a women's Christmas support group. We all met for dinner one night a few weeks later and, well fortified with wine, had a glorious gripe session. Let's just say that our husbands did not come out looking so good. We all agreed we would help each other take the pressure off and to try to recapture the spirituality and magic in Christmas. But guess what? The day before Christmas we were driving all over town like mad delivering presents to each other."

Quinn's right about Christmas being a lot of work. Don't get me wrong. I love the holiday as much as anybody. In fact, I look forward to this time of year. But to be the truthful, sometimes it wears me out. There's so much to do. When are we going to get the tree so I can get all type A about decorating it? Maybe this will be the year I finally organize that big open house I've been putting off. By cutting way back on gift giving, I've saved myself time and frustration at the malls. I no longer sit up late wrapping gifts for people and such. But it's still one thing after another. And as soon as it's over, there's New Year's Eve. Not that I'm complaining. As I mentioned earlier, this is one of my favorite times of the year. As Quinn concludes in her post, the key is returning to what the holiday really is supposed to be about - as well as taking time to savor it. I'd like to go to midnight mass again this year - if I don't tire myself out and can stay awake for it.