"...if you've got young kids, it doesn't take long to realize that there won't be many Christmas seasons when the little ones will race downstairs in the morning to see what Santa brought. They won't always be eager to bake with you, spilling flour on the counter in their excitement. Eventually they won't care if you don't put up a giant tree or go caroling or make hot chocolate. They'll allow you to beg off making a snowman because you're tired. But there are only a few winters-and only a few days each winter when it's snowy and you all are home together-that your children will ask to make snowmen with you. Someday, perhaps, you will be staring at the snow from the too-simple room of a hospital or nursing home, dreaming of the days when making snowmen with your children was an option. This realization leads to a different question than that suggested by all these tips on simplifying the holidays. Namely, what are you saving your energy for? This is all there is. Anything could happen and you are not guaranteed another snowman. So make a fuss. Make a show. Spend your energy now."
~taken from What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
