When do we take down the Christmas decorations? It’s an age-old question -- and a highly debatable one -- that has plagued families for generations. Now, in the DVR age, there’s another all-important post-holiday query: When is it safe to erase the Christmas specials?
For the past several weeks, including the week and a half after December 25th, my kids have watched and re-watched the same animated holiday programs. But it can’t go on forever. At some point, we need to delete Rudolph, Frosty and the gang to make room for new episodes of 30 Rock and Lost. It only seems natural since having animated snowmen prance across your TV screen just feels unseemly.
In my household, we tried to clean out our queue before the new year kicked in, but we ran into strong resistance from certain members of the family -- namely, the ones who still have baby teeth. It’s not like they’re sitting down every January evening for an encore presentation of The Year Without a Santa Claus, but they like knowing the option to do so is there. Maybe it’s because the tree is already gone, and the lights and stockings are packed away. Those recorded Christmas specials are the only reminders of holiday joy left. Perhaps if we slap some early hearts and cupids up on the walls, it will distract the kids long enough for us to erase the Grinch.
