It’s long been my dream to just get away from it all for Christmas. Spend it in a tropical location where I don’t have to worry about all the junk that comes with the holiday. This year, my wish comes true! I’m sure it won’t be everything I hope it will be. It’ll have problems I don’t anticipate, and benefits I didn’t expect. Whatever happens, it will be different, and that’s exactly what I need this year. 

Things I Won’t Miss About Missing Christmas:

The big dinner that has to be planned and prepared, fretted and fussed over.

Deciding who goes where for Christmas Eve, and for Christmas morning, and for Christmas dinner.

The tree. I love the smell of Christmas trees, but I can certainly live without trudging through a muddy field to find an imperfect tree, paying more than I’d pay for a nice pair of shoes that would certainly give me more than two weeks’ use, and then hauling it home only to discover that it’s too tall, too short, crooked, ugly, half-dead, and lumpy. And that’s just the beginning. Then you have to string lights, add ornaments, and cram two thousand presents underneath it. And as soon as Christmas is over, it’s time to go through the whole saga in reverse.

Putting lights on the house. Not that I don’t thrill at the thought of freezing to death while stapling lights that only work half the time to the paint job I don’t ever want to repeat, but I can live without that little tradition for at least a year.

Planning a huge holiday party. I loved the party every year, and especially the white elephant gift exchange, but it’s nice to have a break.

The inevitable day-after-Christmas “that’s it?” let-down. This year, post-Christmas-morning activities will include exploring Mayan ruins, cave tubing, kayaking in a clear-bottom boat, and zip-lining through the jungle.