Every Christmas is Women’s Christmas

• Date: 19 December 2020
• Published date: 19 December 2020
• Author: Sean Moncrieff
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

It's not that I haven't had any pleasant Christmas experiences. I have had many. But close to the top of that list, certainly in the top five, was a time when, due to complicated circumstances, I ended up spending Christmas Day by myself.

It was great.

I've mentioned here before that to alleviate my stress, I try to get all the present buying done by the end of November, fail to do so and I end up getting stressed. But thanks to Level Five and Conor Pope's excellent list of Irish online retailers, I finally managed it this year. (One delivered the product the same day I ordered it.)

This enabled me to embark on a long-cherished plan to ignore Christmas for the month of December; which failed miserably. Having the opportunity to not think about it only made me think about it more, specifically the ways in which I don't participate.

For instance: I can't remember the last time I sent a Christmas card. I'm not sure if I've ever sent one. I don't send those 'e-cards' either. Apparently, they are still a Thing.

It's not that cards don't leave and arrive in our house. It's just that, armed with the flimsy reasons I've outlined, I don't do it.

Herself does it. She does everything. Christmas dinner in our home is complicated in that four of the offspring are varying degrees of lactose intolerant. We have two vegans and an Irish vegetarian; meaning she will occasionally eat chicken. But how much preparation for this have I undertaken? None: I'm too busy trying to ignore Christmas. Meanwhile, Herself has been making extensive lists and has been buying ingredients since the start of November. She's been buying alcohol and (unsuccessfully) hiding it.

These are not secret preparations: since the start of last month she's...