Rebuilding Rob

A few days ago, I was reading on Facebook (because I’m old, so that’s where I get all my social media gossip from) that December 11th is widely considered the biggest break up day of the calendar year.

The Unwritten Point of No Return

A Huffington Post article, among others, attributes this to the fact that the holidays are such an enormously stressful time of year. I’ll get back to that later. I do, however, find it odd that people are evidently choosing to end relationships precisely two weeks before Christmas. It’s almost as if they were waiting, realizing that the 11th is some sort of unwritten point of no return for relationships during the holidays

As a kid, Mother used to tell me that girls would try to get boyfriends before the holidays so they could get Christmas gifts from them. Now I’m hearing that people are bailing on relationships two weeks before the big day.

The Adult Onus

The fact is, the holidays are an extremely stressful time of year. I never understood this so much until I was an adult, having to provide for my significant other and eventually my children.

As a parent, the onus is on us to create Christmas magic for our children. In this society, Christmas is the endgame for the kids’ calendar year. Everything they do builds up to Christmas like some massive crescendo.

Hypocrisy and the Gift Trap

Kids aside, Christmas is even more complicated if you have a significant other. The unspoken expectation is to get some magical, memorable Christmas gift from your SO. Maybe that’s just pressure that I put on myself—after all, I am a people-pleaser to a fault.

But I always find it hypocritical how people will talk about “well, it’s the thought that counts,” when that’s not really the case. People are disappointed if they don’t get certain things that they want. Of course, breaking up with somebody before Christmas, or in this case on December 11th, relieves them of the burden of trying to create instant, lasting holiday memories.

The Takeaway: This external pressure and the stress of unmet expectations are real, and they only add to the complexity of the season. For many of us, navigating the logistics and emotional landscape of our own, often non-traditional, family structures during this time can be the heaviest lift of all.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

• Rob’s Retro Movie Review: This is Spinal Tap (1984) – The Movie That Scaled to Eleven
• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

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The article “The High Cost of Christmas: Why December 11th is Breakup Day” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

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