Red, Green...and Blue: The Post-Holiday Letdown

I can’t be the only mom out there who suffers from postparty depression! As stressful as the holidays can be —the shopping, the present-hiding, the premature present-finding (“Mommy, why is there a Tony Hawk Wii board in the coat closet?”...ARRGH!)—I still feel a letdown afterward. Suddenly, I’m not coaxing my kids toward a mall Santa, or watching as the glow from our Chanukkah menorah lights their faces (Dad’s Catholic and I’m Jewish, so all of December’s one big party for us.) I pick the tinsel out of the carpet, pack away the ornaments, and wonder if that’s all there is.

But a few years ago, I found a way to fill the void—by throwing a Valentine’s Day bash for my older daughter and her friends. Soon after New Year’s, I start poring over catalogs for cute party supplies and goody-bag treats. We send out invites, rent a cotton-candy machine, and the fun begins! We do a craft, then play old-fashioned games, like pin the tail on the donkey and Simon Says. (And there are cupcakes, too—what’s a party without ‘em?). It’s that extra little lift I need to see me through till springtime cheer.

Do you get the post-holiday blahs? What do you do to fight them?