When my kids were little, they would be up late on Christmas Eve, get up really early on Christmas morning, open their presents and just when they started to play with them, we’d whisk them away to get dressed up all fancy and head out for Christmas Dinner.

They’d be cranky and tired and that was the last place they wanted to be (and so was I!) One year, after hanging around uncomfortably full and wishing to be home in my flannels, I decided that enough was enough. I told the family the following year, “It’s not that we don’t love you and don’t appreciate the invite but we’re going to stay home on Christmas Day from now on.”

It was the best decision that we’ve ever made. So, for the last dozen or so years, while everyone else is cooking and rushing and uncomfortable, the 4 of us lounge in our flannels, playing with Christmas toys, reading, drinking coffee, and relaxing. I make a ham dinner for us but it’s not a big production. Inevitably, I get a call from one of my sisters-in-law asking about my day and when I tell them, they say “You’re so lucky!” My response, “You can have this kind of day too, all you have to do is say the words.”