The Holidays. We all have memories of the Holidays, starting when we were starry eyed children. The families gathered, football games were back to back, the men watched and guarded the house, managed the bloody Mary stations and assorted beverages for the weekend, the women created the magic in the home, the kitchen, and the behind the scenes shopping for the holidays. They pulled out the treasures from years past, planned the calendars, made the menus, created the cards, shopped for the perfect clothes, in the perfect house, with the perfect activities, the perfect photos, all while running it with the precision of the military or the concierge at the Plaza. And the stakes were high, emotions were running, sleep was rare, and hours were long, and savoring the Holidays was rare, generally speaking, of course.

Then came adulting. I was married, in a state only reachable from my family. My husband had a very large family and mine was small, each resided in separate states. After there are children, your home usually becomes home base for the holidays and relatives come to visit. Otherwise, how would the new ELF find your children? There was a mini, sequined holiday purse on their door, and the elves left a treat occasionally, when they weren’t making toys. What was in our family tradition playbook was Christmas Vacation, and it was always aired on Thanksgiving weekend, after dinner, it was the post game highlight, like the Macy’s parade, the pregame to Christmas. Perfect, two instances that you had permission to sit down and savor the Holidays!

Christmas Vacation is Iconic. All of the Holiday joys and mishaps came to life for every family. One of my favs was the bing-bong doorbell. It re-lived each time extended family arrived at the doorstep. It’s always a favorite for my girls now. One year, I bought a Chicago Blackhawks jersey with Griswold embroidered on the back. Best wifey gift ever!

We lounged all weekend and did whatever we wanted. Sometimes the out-of-towners came in but as their families grew, as the local families grew, everyone wanted their own home base and to create their own traditions.

I watched my friends and family scurry around like squirrels and their moods be unpredictable like the weather in the Rockies. I tried to sprinkle a little joy along the way to listen and be a touchpoint during the Holiday storms. I have beautiful Holiday memories with my family, very present, savored and insulated from the swirl of the Holiday.

Let’s get real, if it’s not fun, I’m not doing it. So, as adulting CEO or Co-CEO, we made our own rules. The madness drove me mad and was not fun. Who said that the Holidays have to be crazy?? Black Friday, go right ahead. It is not a sport, setting my alarm at midnight to go out in the dark cold of the night, have the family come pick up the gifts because they won’t fit in the car?? Nope, I chose football, grazing, an adult beverage with the only task of ordering pizza and making a salad for when they returned, disheveled. Who needs a migraine every single day while visiting from out of town at the holiday? Not me, not in my home, not with my family.

And the tradition began. It actually subtly started before kids. We had careers with travel and busy calendars. We had a standing date the first Friday in December to take the day off, spend it at what was called a retail resort, and by all means, it lived up to that name. We walked through that retail report with Holiday coffees, enjoying the decor, browsing the shiny Holiday decor of pine wreaths and trees, reds and silvers, music, baubles, and bows. I don’t remember ever buying anything, we just came together to celebrate the year and the season. It always culminated with Holiday Margaritas and a tapas tower. And when we had kids, we did the same with a stroller, then a double stroller, and Santa, until we didn’t. I decorated early, bought meaningful gifts and enjoyed my loved ones and our Holiday home.

Fast forward, we moved away from the retail resort area for work. In fact, we moved a fair amount, all with a purpose, but that’s another story. One year, our besties, who coincidentally were also nomadic, and didn’t always have out-of-towners for Thanksgiving, came to our new home for the day. The Holiday rules applied, come as you are, we will lounge, enjoy the company, enjoy the season, and the kids will play. They brought a couple of things, we made a few things and we all celebrated. We had the best time, as we always do. Their take on the day was WOW, the Holidays don’t have to be crazy! And the logic was contagious. Guess who joined the fun this year, Crate & Barrel with Christmas Vacation licensed decor. CB2 followed suit with a “Buck Tradition” headline in their holiday email.

That Holiday rule applies to a lot of things in my life, why do anything if you’re not enjoying it? There are few exceptions, sometimes you cannot flex, get out of, and the dreaded words of “HAVE TO” apply. That requires another conversation. I may be rare, but I emerge, happy, recharged, refueled, refreshed, and a very full heart from the Holidays, any Holiday.