Lori Borgman: 5 magic words after the 12 days of Christmas

Lori Borgman, Tribune News Service on Dec 29, 2025

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Christmas holidays generate a lot of togetherness. A lot of togetherness means cooking, cleaning, searching for kids’ missing boots and gloves, digging through trash for a gift card accidentally thrown away, separating grands leg wrestling on the family room floor and plunging the kitchen garbage disposal.

It’s a lot of merry.

Ho, ho, hold it. It is so much merry that it can feel like peace on earth skipped a row.

Sometimes, a body just needs a little time alone — to breathe, eat the last piece of fudge and simply stare at the wall.

If you need a little time to yourself this holiday season, try these five magic words: “I’m taking down the tree.”

You don’t even have to say it loudly. You can say it in a faint whisper and clear a room. You can just think it, and people will know from your facial expressions that something awful is about to happen.

The good news is you don’t have to actually take down the tree to get alone time; simply announcing your intentions will do the job.

Grandkids will grab their coats and run outside. Even if the temperature is single digits.

Adult children will spring from long winter naps and race to the kitchen to wash and dry all the dirty pots and pans.

A son-in-law will go shovel the drive. Even if there’s no snow.

The husband will peel out of the garage to go check the air pressure in the tires and houseguests will summon Uber.

Everybody wants to help put the tree up, but nobody wants to take it down.

For years, people took trees down on New Year’s Day. Others kept them up until Jan. 2, possibly celebrating World Introvert Day, but were too shy to say so.

For those who want the tree to stay, it may help knowing that National Spaghetti Day is Jan. 4. Drape pasta on the branches and you’re good to go.

You can always leave the tree up until Jan. 6, the Epiphany, which commemorates the arrival of the Magi. However, purists will point out that the Magi may not have arrived until several years later.

National Popcorn Day is Jan. 16. String some popcorn and the tree stays.

A recent poll indicated the window of time for taking a tree down spans all the way from Jan. 16 to Valentine’s Day.

The husband, who never likes seeing the holidays come to an end, says we don’t need to take the tree down until the needles begin falling off.

It is an artificial tree.