"Soon it will be Christmas Day" ...

Around this time up to a few years ago, I would have dilligently surveyed the designs of xmas cards at various outlets for weeks, gone through a stringent cards' selection process , customized each card with long messages, copied the addresses painstakingly from an address book/class list, pasted the stamp and finally dropped the stack of cards into the post box fervently anticipating receiving xmas cards. Getting xmas cards always brought much joy- from the excitement of getting a unique/foreign stamp to the warmth of well-wishes and sincere handwritten messages.

Today, after much procrastination, i am guilty of sending out e-cards which I once upon a time deemed insincere and even that was after i finally surmount enough effort to type email addresses and xmas greetings. The receipent list has dwindled considerably from a few years back [reason being losing mailing addresses (pri/sec/jc) to just not getting mailing addresses anymore (uni)] and so has the number of cards i receive by mail although my circle of friends have widened considerably back from secondary/JC days- this is but just one aspect how the magic of Christmas has mutated insidiously within me.

What would Christmas be like next year when work beckons and the peak imminent? Is the festivities and joy going to get snubbed amidst all the workload and the mundane chores?