Making "core mems" this holiday season

Paint entirely optional

If this is the last week your kids are in school, CHERISH THE MOMENTS, friends! This is my toddler’s second week home (he’s home for a total of three weeks not that I’m counting 🫠) but his older siblings are still being cared for and taught by professionals, so I’m soaking up every moment.

I try to avoid Facebook these days, which means I probably miss quite a bit of prime WTF fodder, but luckily, a friend sent me this bad boy, which I’m happy to share with you all.

In this brief video, the mom in question decorates her entryway with holiday-themed blankets, pillows, wreaths, anddddddddd a coat of paint for the front door.

If decorating for the holidays brings you joy, go forth and decorate! I myself love swathing as many things as possible in fairy lights, festooning mantles in greenery, and indulging my love for whimsical reindeer and bunnies.

But the commodification of “holiday cheer” by several sectors of the mamasphere feels like a different thing. Painting (and, I guess, repainting) one’s front door to coordinate with particular holidays doesn’t necessarily seem critical to creating lasting memories for one’s family, nor should the creation of core mems be the sole provenance of The Mom. And obviously, your enthusiasm for holiday decor (or lack thereof) has nothing to with your membership status to the mythical Good Moms Club! (See also: the distinction between home decor as a morally neutral hobby rather than a prerequisite of good, feminine motherhood).

So, like, cheers to making memories this holiday season, but if you need anyone to release you from the pressure to create core mems by virtue of green paint, I am here to be that person.