The first mistake I made was agreeing to wear the elf costume.It was December 25th, 10:00 AM, and I was pinned between my mother, Elaine, who was beaming maniacally, and my younger sister, Daisy, who was live-streaming our descent into seasonal madness on Instagram. We were standing in the middle of my parents’ overly festive living room, a room that currently smelled of pine, passive aggression, and burnt sugar cookies, and I was wearing green velvet leggings and a tunic with tiny jingle bells sewn onto the collar.“Say cheese, Sloane!” Mom chirped, adjusting the pointed hat that was currently digging into my scalp.“I’d rather say ‘I quit’,” I muttered, wrenching myself free. “I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman. I should not be dressed as a supporting cast member from the North Pole.”“Don’t be such a grinch, honey,” my brother, Peter, called from across the room. He was currently wearing a respectable cardigan and an expression of smug marital bliss as he handed his wife, Jessica,
Last Updated : 2025-11-22 Read more