Skipping Christmas

Sounds awful." "No, it's wonderful. And it's just for one year. Let's take a break. Blair's not here. she'll be back next year and we can jump back into the Christmas chaos, if that's what you want. Come on, Nora, please. We skip Christmas, save the money, and go splash in the Caribbean for ten days." "How much will it cost?" "Three thousand bucks." "So we save money?" "Absolutely." "When do we leave?" "High noon, Christmas Day." They stared at each other for a long time.

My children know nothing of Christmas. They have so little, and want so little, it makes me feel guilty for the mindless materialism of our culture.

This is a free country...you can do almost anything you want.

(He) paused for a second and once more marveled at the speed with which one person's private business could be so thoroughly kicked around the neighborhood.

He was not the nostalgic type. You live life today, not tomorrow, certainly not yesterday, he always said.

For her, the holidays began in late October and steadily gathered momentum until the big bang, a ten-hour marathon on Christmas Day with four meals and a packed house.