post-holiday crashing

i took my christmas tree down today. it took thirty seconds, spraying thirty thousand needles in the process.

okay, okay, so maybe this wasn't my tree. but all the same, that makes it pretty official over here. the holidays are over. (yes, my dad is still coming to visit and yes, i still have presents from my lil sis on the way, but just to make a more final sounding blog statement...)

the holidays are over.

and what's left in its place is a giant space where my tree and my pre-holiday life used to be. what did i do with all my time before i was shopping and planning and getting groceries and cleaning? if you know, please remind me, because at the moment it feels like a whole lot of nothing.

i'm pretty sure i can't be the only one feeling this way. so i've come up with a small list of ways to integrate more cheer into your non-holiday, post-holiday life.

1. find creative uses for the gifts you can't use, don't want, didn't ask for

pre-holiday's i decided to paint my living room. when the initial yellow wasn't the color i expected it to be, i returned to the local paint store and asked the uber-friendly and helpful *she says with dripping sarcasm* salesman if he could make my color a little closer to the next one up on the paint chip.

apparently, to his eye, this meant dark grey.

now i have exactly the color i want in my living room - thank you Lowes - and a beautiful grey wall in my bedroom. perhaps this doesn't seem totally related to my topic heading, but hey, i had a picture.

2. have an adventure in dining

when red-haired sis and i asked for an order of what the staff were eating at a chinese food restaurant recently, our waiter said "just a minute," ran over to the staff meal table and scooped a portion of greens from their dish onto a plate for us. it was the sweetest, luke-warm gesture ever. we giggled while we ate it.

3. travel somewhere unusual and bring back a memento

i'd been ottoman browsing on craigslist for a few weeks when i came upon this cute grey/green/blue guy (which matches nothing in my house). he was being sold out of a rehabbed furniture store on the fifth floor of a high rise in nyc. when i wasn't sure if this ottoman was the right color (it isn't), the man who owned the store asked if i'd like to see his other rooms. apparently, he kept expanding his business until it took up every other available office on the fifth floor. every door he opened was like looking into a secret bedroom. in one of them, a couple was practicing their wedding dance. strange. fun. and only $42.

toting my new purchase home on the subway was a little less thrilling.

4. rely on your friends

best thing to remember about the post-holiday blues? you can still see all the same family, friends and loved ones, it just doesn't have to be such a production. post-holiday recaps over tea and a gummy japanese pastry are the best thing ever for lifting the spirits.

and if none of that works?

5. leave out one holiday decoration and pretend it's art

remember, life pre-holidays was filled with cheer, too. only, it didn't come with gift anxieties and you had to be a little more creative making it.