Mom’s enthusiasm for Christmas never filtered through to point-misser me, though I did beget a holiday custom of my own the year my long-suffering, Christmas-tradition-loving wife requested some help with an Advent greeting to our family and friends. Took some work on both our parts to carve out a PG rating, and the missives have always sounded more retaliatory than jolly, but letter-writing leaves less time for the numerous un-Christmas-like observations that spill from my thoughtless brain like glögg from the snifter.