Christmas Countdown: A Poem

Twelve shopping days left to Christmas
But get your online orders in now
You'll have to cross your fingers
And hope the gifts arrive somehow

Eleven sequins missing
From your ugly Christmas sweater
You shouldn't have put it in the wash
But at least now it smells better

Ten holiday recipes
You said that you would bake
How many can you find in the store
And pretend that they're homemade?

Nine Christmas movies
That fill you with good cheer
But you don't have time to watch them now
Is it still a tradition if you skip a year?

Eight reindeer pulling the sleigh
Or does Rudolph make it nine?
Either way, you can't remember
All their names most of the time

Seven elves helping Santa
Or are those Snow White's dwarves?
One with wild eyes and a cheeky grin
Is watching you from the bookshelves

Six Christmas cards with long letters
You received before it's even December
These people must know you somehow
But from where, you can't remember

Five Christmas songs only
They play at work on repeat
You hear them so often all day
Now they play in your mind as you sleep

Four kids you have to buy gifts for
And none of them are yours
Don't they own everything in this store?
What do kids even like anymore?

Three broken ornaments in the box
That's what you get for buying cheap
Remember the days of handmade crafts
Things your grandmother made to keep

Two things left on your to-do list
But you only have time for one
Christmas is never perfect
Something's always left undone

One angel on the top of the tree
Grinning from ear to ear
Listening to your annual promise
That you'll do better next year