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Ah, the holidays. The most stressful, er, I mean JOYOUS, time of year! I don’t know about you, but my life is nuts. Between work and the kids and the house and the butt wiping and the dinner cooking and the dish washing and the laundry and the more laundry and the more laundry, I’m at capacity. Some days I truly don’t think I can handle another thing. So adding the holidays, and all the tasks that comes with them, on top of my already full plate is enough to send me over the edge. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the holidays. It’s a wonderful time of year. I just wish I had some elves to help me get it all done.
And apparently I’m not alone. Responsibility.org, an organization that promotes making responsible choices around drinking alcohol, did some research and found that the holidays, while wonderful, can be incredibly stressful. For moms in particular. Because we’ve got four billion things to do to make the “holiday magic” happen. They also found that one of the unhealthy ways a lot of us cope with the stress is by drinking more. And unfortunately, some parents even drive with their kids in the car after a few too many bevvies.
This issue hits close to home for me because when I was a little girl, my father used to drive drunk with me in the car. I remember zooming through the dark, twisty roads of Vermont gripping onto the side of my seat praying we wouldn’t crash. Praying we’d make it home alive. I begged him to slow down. Asked him to be careful. But he just brushed me off and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t call a cab. I was a little kid and I was helpless.
I don’t want any child to ever feel the desperation I felt in those moments. So I’ve decided to give back and team up with Responsibilty.org to spread the word about responsible drinking this holiday season. Sure, have a glass of champagne to toast the holidays. But please, don’t have several and get in the car with your kids like my father used to.
Obviously I’m still here. Nothing happened. I was lucky and we never got into an accident. But one of my husband’s family members was not so lucky. She was hit by a drunk driver and died at a very young age.
So when Responsibility.org approached me and asked if I wanted to team up with them and make a funny video about holiday stress I was like, “YES!” You know me, I’d rather laugh than cry any day.
So TADA! Here’s my latest parody! Introducing “The Holidays Are Hell” set to the tune of “Jingle Bells!” ENJOY! A big thank you and shout out to my friends and family who helped me with this one: Aaron Fagerstrom videographer extraordinaire, Jacquie, Liz, Beatmaster Z PhD with his mad break dancing skillz, James, Teacher Cathy and her husband Robert who totally stole the show this time, Gabe and all the adorable life suckers. You guys rocked it! ENJOY! And please share with all the stressed out mamas and papas out there this holiday season!
Here are the Holidays Are Hell lyrics if you want to sing along!
Happy Holidays! xo, Deva
#HolidayResponsibly
I quit alcohol, but I can’t stop stuffing my face, just like the video!
LOL – me neither! And I need to get into a holiday dress for real this weekend! Not the one in the video because my husband couldn’t get it to zip up!
I lived in Vermont when I was younger! Those roads were bad enough when the drivers were sober. I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like with an intoxicated driver. How awful.
It was scary, not gonna lie. xo
Love teacher Cathy!!! She is so perfect!! Way to hit it out of the park again Deva!!! So awesome!!
Her part is my favorite part. I mean – she was AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t believe she agreed to it but I am so thrilled she did! And thanks for the love, Malia!
I sure needed this! Unexpected TEMPORARY move in of the mother in law has caused a bit of stress during this holiday season! Working hard on not reaching for that bottle of wine doing lots of baking instead! My poor waistline!
Hang in there, Kelleigh!!!! Is she sleeping in your bed like in our video 🙂 Hope not!
Beyond amazing! I love that Teacher Cathy is in this! Happy Holidays!
Isn’t she AMAZING!!! She totally steals the show!
Hilarious, Deva. Loved the mother in bed with you guys! Your story of being a little girl with a drunken father behind the wheel is chilling. Drinking responsibly during this time (and always) is a great message.
That’s my favorite part too! And yes, thank you, it is such an important issue I am so happy to be able to spread the word.
My favorite part = sitting in the bathroom, eating a brownie and reading a magazine. I’m so going to do that when things get crazy!!
Hiding in the bathroom is KEY 🙂
Deva, this is fantastic! SO FUNNY, true, and thanks for sharing such an important message in such a fun way!
Thank you so much for the comment and for watching, Meredith!! xo
The great things about your vidoes and blogs is that there so true. Lol! Esp the part of your hubby sleeping while you do everything. My wife got such a kick out of that and said that was us. Keep up the great work Deva and happy holidays to you and your family.
Thank you, Brian! Thank you for the kind words and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Don’t take too many naps 😉
Another great video! The posing for family pictures part was like you’re at my home!! ; )
On a more serious note, I never drink when I am driving my kids. Not even one at a BBQ. It was just something I felt when my daughter was born… too many what ifs and the guilt if anything did ever happen. Totally not worth it. It’s a personal choice. However, the amount of negative remarks I’ve received over it through the years is crazy to me.
Anyway, thanks for making me laugh again! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
YOU ARE AMAZING!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS VIDEO…MY DAD USED TO DO THE SAME WITH ME AND IM STILL HERE….I WONT LIE..BUT I USED TO DRIVE HAMMERED ALL THE TIME!!! I AM LUCKY I NEVER KILLED ANYONE NOR MYSELF!! I HAVE 2 KIDS…7 AND 2..I AM 42 AND QUIT DRINKING 3 YEARS AFTER MY SON WAS BORN. I NEVER DROVE WITH HIM AND EVEN NOW WITH MY DAUGHTER AND WE GO SOMEWHERE AND SOMEONE OFFERS ME A BEVVIE I ALWAYS SO NO!! THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE WORD OUT THERE….YOU CAN STILL HAVE FUN AND NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!! I LOVE YOUR SITE!!! I LOOK FORWARD TO IT EVERY DAY!! THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD AND ONE PARTICULAR PART DID!! WHEN YOU WERE SITTING IN THE BATHROOM!!! IT WAS QUICK BUT IT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD…THANKS!!!
I love that you did this! It is also a message that hits close to home for me too. You are creating huge awareness with this video. Thank you!
another really cute video and i totally agree that “The Holiday’s” have become totally overwhelming and not at all what they were/should be. of course (as ususal) it all mostly falls on the mom/wife/woman. the over-commercialization has got to stop…yeah that’ll happen, NOT. maybe if we all cut back a bunch, christmas could return to be half-way stand-able.
at first i thought your santa hat spelled Vice, lol, before realizing it was more sensibly titled Nice! and we can all agree that with the additional festive “fun”…we can so easily turn to our vices/coping devices to handle the frustrations it can bring. deaths from drinking do go up over holidays so remember to use an abundance of caution when inbibing. so glad you made it through your dads’ poor decision-making. i made plenty of terrible decisions myself, so shame on me too. let’s all agree that we are supposed to become older and WISER, yes? love to you and all that find so much comraderie in your blog and videos – x’s & o’s.
lol love it just needs lyirics
Here are the lyrics, Macy! https://mylifesuckers.com/jingle-bells-parody-holidays-hell-lyrics/
Oh my gosh Deva, I love you! I want you to know that you really do add “something” to my life with your blogs/videos. Like a connection with real, crazy life…
Oh, and happy one-year-anniversary 🙂
Good luck with everything “pre-christmas”! 😉
Thank you so very much for saying that Teresa. It makes me feel so good about my work!!! Happy Everything, here’s to surviving the holidaze 🙂