Last Minute Day

For Shopping and More

'Twas the night before Christmas.

Last Minute Day is a not-so-subtle reminder (as if you needed one) that tomorrow is Christmas, and you need to get your shopping done posthaste.

It's also a reminder that you need to clean the house, prepare the food, and do whatever else it is that you do before the guests - who may or may not be relatives - arrive.

In some locations and in some years, this may include shoveling snow so that there is room for all the cars to park.

If you have relatives that are already on the premises, you may enlist their aid in performing any or all of these tasks.

Some of you probably will not get everything done at the last minute. All I can offer you is shame. You should have started earlier, and you know it. Get your act together before next year.

Merry Christmas.

Wink Day

Is It Really?

On Wink Day, you wink at everyone you see.

Everyone.

If you are physically unable to wink, then a sly smile is an acceptable substitute, but a blink with both eyes is not.

I'm sure you're already wondering what the consequences of all this winking will be. That's the whole point. You want to have fun with this and take it where it leads you, if you're willing to follow.

Could it get you into some trouble? Only if you play your cards wrongly. If you keep it light and fun, everyone will enjoy it.

Of course, once this catches on (which may take a few years) and everyone is winking at everyone else, some of the luster may fade. Until that time, run with it.

Probably not everyone will ever hear about Wink Day, so you should be able to enjoy it for a good, long time.

Merry Christmas.

Dust Bunny Awareness Day

Hop To It

Dust Bunny Awareness Day could be kinda messy.

If you go around the house looking for dust bunnies, you might find more than you expect. Prepare to deal with it.

If all your floors are carpeted, it will be a little tougher to actually find a dust bunny. Then again, celebrating this day isn't really about finding one. It's just realizing that they do exist.

Awareness of the thing is the first step towards acceptance. Dust bunnies just wanna be accepted.

So become aware of dust bunnies today. You (and they) will be glad you did.

For those who aren't sure what dust bunnies are, the picture above does show some real, live bunnies.

No one has ever witnessed the creation of one, but many have seen their destruction.

Merry Christmas.

Play Reindeer Games Day

Rudolph Would Be Pleased

Play Reindeer Games Day is based on one huge assumption: You know what games reindeer play.

Do you?

I didn't think so.

Problem is...neither do I. So I guess we'll have to make it up as we go.

Reindeer probably don't play the same kinds of games that humans do. They have no hands.

They can walk and run, though, so you could play anything that only involves basically those two skills.

Soccer!

Maybe that's where soccer originated. Someone saw some reindeer knocking a ball about and said, "Hey! I bet we could do that too!"

Humans just added the part about doinking it with your head too and the part about referees.

Merry Christmas.

Solve a Puzzle Day

Not Puzzle the Donkey

Solve a Puzzle Day sounds like it could be a lot of fun. You get to pick any type of puzzle and attempt to puzzle it out.

You can choose a jigsaw puzzle, a crossword puzzle, a word puzzle, a logic puzzle, a physical metal puzzle, or any other you can find.

You probably won't have to buy anything to find a puzzle to solve, but you can if you want to.

You can work on the puzzle with one or more friends. In fact, puzzles are often more fun to do that way.

The difficulty level of the puzzle you choose doesn't really matter. If you feel up to a greater challenge, then go for a tough nut to crack.

If you feel like a wimp, try something easy that even a child could do.

You don't have to finish solving the puzzle today. You only have to start working on it.

Merry Christmas.

Unpopular Condiments Day

Non-Ketchup Day

Yesterday was Ketchup Day, so it makes sense that today is the day for all the rest on the condiment family.

Perhaps they should have called Unpopular Condiments Day something like Less Popular Condiments Day, because it's really about all the condiments other than ketchup, which is the most popular condiment of all time.

So the list of condiments you should use (or buy, then use) today include these.

• Mustard
• Pickle relish (sweet)
• Pickle relish (dill)
• Onions
• Salt (actually, tied for first place with ketchup, so it almost shouldn't be listed here)
• Pepper
• Anchovies
• Allspice
• Honey
• Nutella
• Toum
• Anything pictured above

Merry Christmas.

Ketchup (Catsup) Day

Mmm, Tomatoes

First, does anyone say "catsup" anymore?

I remember it kinda being a thing when we were young.

Celebrating Ketchup (Catsup) Day is easy. Just eat some.

If you don't own any, go out and buy some, then eat it.

We used to dip potato chips in ketchup and then eat them. We don't do that so much anymore. I think part of the reason is that there are so many flavored potato chips that they don't need the extra ketchup spice.

What's the most unusual thing you've ever put ketchup on?

Normally I put ketchup on hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. (That's the sausage, not the impudent child.)

Merry Christmas.