Christmas Responsibilities

There are so many things to think of when you are staying at your own house for Christmas. You must purchase your own tree. You must set the tree up and decorate it. You are supposed to check the strands of lights before you hang them. We haven't figured out how to make them work once you find out that they don't when they are already on the tree. You have to buy and wrap the big presents, since you normally have to settle for small if you are taking them with you. You have to hang the stockings, which can be difficult when you don't have a mantle.

You have to hide presents around the house until you have time to wrap them, being sure to get rid of "evidence" like original packaging, shopping bags, and receipts.

You can't forget stocking stuffers. And with that comes a whole new responsibility. Should you wrap the stocking gifts as is tradition in one home, or stuff them in great quantity as is the other? Should you buy the candy now, or wait until Christmas Eve, and if you do wait, will you have enough selection to get something good, or will you only have dusty boxes of raisins to choose from? Is there anything wrong with raisins? And if you buy something really expensive that is also small, should you put it into the stocking or hide it under the tree? And what do you do when the small presents start disappearing and ending up under the couch with the other cat toys?

And don't forget Christmas dinner. No more "helping out with the salad" it is your project now, baby!! Should you sign up for the Honeybaked Ham, and if so, how early should you get to the store to pick it up? How long is the line going to be? And if you have a small kitchen, do you skimp on yams versus mashed potatoes, or do you sacrifice the green beans or the stuffing? Do you do stuffing with a ham? Obviously you aren't stuffing the ham, but you could use Stoffers. Should you? And what about rolls? Should you make your own or buy? And if you make your own are they from scratch or from the "insert spoon here" cans? How early should you make the pie? And what do you do when you have all of that food for only two people who typically don't each that much?

And people say it is troublesome to visit.