Holiday Traditions. Is it worth it?

"And she settled down for a long Winters Nap... (in a fetal postion, drunk & unconscious...)
"We HAVE to have a REAL, tall Christmas Tree! With snow on it!!" they whine. I don't know about you, but my budget this holiday season is a tad stretched. This year would be a great year for my ATM card to simply buy a wreath or swag and call it a day.

So I cave & purchase a truly pretty 6' tree @ Target for $40. Not too shabby. We get it home, out of the over-stuffed-kid-cluttered mini van, into the dining room & set the tanenbaum up. The kids disappear. Driven more by OCD than holiday cheer, I set to putting lights onto the tree. Kip reappears. I suggest decorating OUR tree with his favorite Littlest Pet Shop zoo members & all their accoutremonts. An hour & a half of 6-year-old artistic ferver. Very nice.

The following morning I enter the dining room and notice all of the Littlest Pet Shop animals & their belongings have been evicted to the dining room table. Hmmm. Kip flashes past me snarfing epithets of death to his brother under his breath. "What's up?" I stupidly ask, knowing the answer. "I hate my brother!" "Does that have anything to do with your de-nuding the Christmas tree? (I didn't really say "de-nuding". It just like the way it sounds in writing this.) "He made fun of me!" Of course. The Joy of The Season is upon us.

I go to plug in the Christmas tree lights and... the extention cord is missing. My eyes are furtively shooting left and right looking for the missing cord. ("Did I have an extention cord? I swore I plugged it in...?") Then Izod beckons me from the family room. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOm! Moooooooooooooooooooooom! Hey MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!?!?!?" "Yes, Dear Heart?" I greet him. "I can't get my video game to work on the TV. Help me." I ask, "Is the system plugged into the outlet, because I think I used the extention cord for the Christmas tree." "I know." He replies "'cause I took it back and now the game won't work."

Why do I bother? I'm considering shoving the tree into the fireplace 'cause Mrs. Claus is seriously getting it up the ass right now. And not happy about it.