Well, it's Christmas Eve. After the build-up and the shopping and the parties, we're down to it. Tomorrow is the Big Day™.

Of course, we still haven't finished shopping (duh), but there's no sense of urgency. The kids and I will go out and laugh at all the last-minute rookies frantically searching through the leftovers for an acceptable gift. ("Look! Toothpaste! Grandma loves toothpaste!")

That's because: A) We're pros. I've been shopping on Christmas Eve for at least 20 years; and B) We know the Christmas Secret™.

The Christmas Secret™ is one which The Man™ doesn't want you to know. In fact if everyone knew it, the American economy might not survive. It's best that we keep it under wraps. Just between us. So, don't go spreading this one around!

At first glance, it looks simple enough. But you need to read the sentence multiple times with varying emphasis to get the full meaning.

You. Yes, you. You are not burdened as the only person in the world that must find the perfect gift. You don't have to carry around a butt-load of guilt about not getting a present for every fricking person in the entire world--much less the bestest one. Lighten up. Enjoy your family and friends. If they use a brightly packaged box to figure out how much they love you this year, screw 'em.

Give presents because you want to, or don't bother. If I might get a bit religious here (oh no, wouldn't want that on Christmas), our church's philosophy on life is much the same as my philosophy on Christmas presents. God forgave all your sins a long time ago. You don't have to sit around beating yourself up over all the bad stuff you've done. You don't have to figure out how good you need to be to make up for it. God doesn't expect a anything out of you. You do good as a response to that grace--a happy dance of thankfulness--because you wanna, not because you gotta. On a smaller scale, it's the same with Christmas presents. Give them out of thankfulness to someone you love. Someone who truly loves you doesn't expect a damned thing out of you.