Is there anything more depressing than hearing a Christmas song the day AFTER Christmas? It makes me want to punch Nat King Cole in the face. When we reach the moment that is literally the furthest away from Christmas we will get every year, there's a sort of resigned melancholy that resonates with those of us who truly enjoy Christmas. Some rejoice (check my earlier blog post for reasons), but many lament the passing of another year and the hibernation of a certain red coat-wearing fat man.

If you are glad it's all over, consider these reasons to be sad. If you feel nothing, Scrooge, I can't help you.

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After a full-blast Christmas season, most of us are worn out to the point of exhaustion. The time spent with family, the commercialism, the "sounds of the season" and the gluttonous embarrassment of feasting are enough to drive anyone to drink, which you probably also did too much of this year for a variety of reasons. Well, buck up there, son. Christmas is over.

And if you really, really love Christmas, as unhealthy as it may be -- donning the Santa hat in July is disturbing, not cute -- no need to be depressed because there are plenty of things to be thankful for now that Rudolph is back at the North Pole.

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Photo by Philosphygeek via Flickr

Like Santa's workshop, only it smells like mushrooms and everybody looks like they want to hurt me.

You pop out of bed on Christmas morning. You've been asleep for a couple of days thanks to that crazy ass holiday party at the office. You crawl out of bed and remember that you need to be at your mom's house in a couple hours for lunch and merriment. As you reach the bathroom and strain your eyes into the mirror, a horrifying, god-awful thought enters your brain. You didn't do any Christmas shopping.

You race around the house looking for things to re-gift. You start thinking up creative excuses -- you've taken a vow of austerity; you've turned against capitalism; but what about starving children in Africa! You know none of this will fly. You have to get something. You realize EVERYTHING is closed with one exception: the gas station.

What the hell can you get at the gas station? Well, here are five things to consider.

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Every year a whole bunch of you (you know who you are) wait until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts. You scramble and go crazy trying to get everything done just in time to see the disappointed look on the faces of your relatives as you reveal your latest holiday blunder. Let's be honest here. This is not laziness. It's passive aggressiveness. You buy odd little doodads for everyone because, well, as George Burns once quipped, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family...in another city."

This year, just dispense with the charade and do what you've always wanted. Get some gifts that will really freak them the hell out. Bring that crazy out into the open and give it a nice deep breath of fresh air. Kill that damn pink elephant and stand your ground as the weirdest damn gift giver north, south, east AAAAAAND west of the Pecos (hat tip: Yosemite Sam).

Best of all, CVS is there to help. Check out these ten offerings from the local drugstore. Not only will it weird out those old biddy aunts of yours, but you can do all your shopping on the last 30 minutes of Christmas Eve. It's a Christmas miracle!

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I'll admit I'm a sucker for a good Christmas lights display. When my parents were not terribly interesting in stringing lights from the house, I made plans. I used graph paper to map out the entire house and figure out what lights would go where. This was a big deal in my world as a kid. Even today, I like stringing lights and looking at impressive displays by others.

While I may not light my house like Clark Griswold, I admire those who give it a shot. The neighborhoods on this list definitely go all out when it comes to lighting the holidays. So, pop on the all-Christmas station in your car (or do like I do, and make a mix of Christmas jazz) and take a drive to soak in some holiday cheer...and perhaps get a sunburn at night.

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Photos By Craig Hlavaty

The only place you want to see when you need to deuce it out while on the road in Texas.

If you travel anywhere in Texas, you have no doubt been to a Buc-ee's super gas station, home of clean restrooms, cheap gas, crack-like Beaver Nuggets, cutesy Texas trinkets, hunting gear and, at peak traveling hours during weekends and holidays, groggy and zombie-like humans hungry for beef jerky and coffee.

The biggest Buc-ee's locations, like the ones in Madisonville, Luling and near San Marcos (with one coming soon to Texas City) are part gift shop, deli, BBQ joint and convenience store.

Imagine that you are on a holiday road trip in Texas and you didn't get anything for the friends or family at your destination. What would you do? Let's throw gift cards and Walmart out of the equation. You could go to a Buc-ee's, of course, and knock out most of your list, and then some. You never know when you may need a Come And Take It bumper sticker.

This week I ventured out to the location in Luling to see if you really could do most of your Christmas shopping at Buc-ee's.

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When you have a sports fan in your life, I mean a serious, hard-core fan, it can be tough to buy for them. Some of them seem to spend entire paychecks on sports gear and stuff related to their teams. Most have tickets to games and probably have a lot of memorabilia that will sell great on Ebay someday.

But, Christmas is coming and you need to think fast or you'll fumble away your chance at an awesome gift -- see what I did there? Fortunately for you, I'm here to help. There are quite a few interesting and unique ideas for the discerning sports fan in Houston despite the fact that our sports history hasn't always been, shall we say, stellar. And since they probably own everything the Texans have to offer, I figured I'd help find you some alternatives.

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We Texans like stuff made by other Texans. We like to believe we are our own little country down here. In fact, some of us wish we were. In short, Texas pride runs deep, which is why we take every opportunity we can to demonstrate it. This Christmas, all over the state, there are houses decorated with Texas-themed displays. From lights bordering the unique outline of the state to all manner of nods to our western cowboy heritage, it's a very Lone Star Christmas up in here.

And in keeping with buying stuff made by other Texans -- or at least people who love us enough to want to make something about us -- we give you ten ornaments to consider for your tree...or not consider as the case may be.

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As Christmas grows ever closer, I know that I find it extremely helpful to keep a wish list for friends and family who don't know what to get me. I don't really care about surprises when it comes to getting gifts. Better to get something I want off of a list I made than a ceramic elephant lamp that doesn't work because when you pull the trunk, the light doesn't go on. Way to go, Anthony Michael Hall!

The Amazon wish list feature is pretty incredible and insanely useful, but what if you find products on sites other than Amazon? It's possible, believe it or not. I know that many of you choose to buy everything from Amazon, including milk and underwear, but a whole world of delights await you on a myriad of other websites.

That's where Wishlistr.com comes in.

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An Etsy ornament could've improved this.

If you are looking for some new and interesting ornaments to decorate your tree this year, Etsy can be a good place to look. The home of all things crafty on the Internet, there are thousands of options for funky, arty, quirky and even traditional adornments for your tree. But, Etsy also has an abundance of really, really odd stuff for sale and that includes stuff to hang from O Tannenbaum.

For starters, there are a ton of horror and zombie options. Zombies are clearly big this year and Etsy is a good reflection of that. But once you dig past the zombies, monsters and severed doll heads, there is a certain level of strange that is reached that defies imagination. When I think back to my childhood and wonder if my mom or grandmother would be cool with the zombie-headed angel tree topper, I think they might let me get away with it for a day or two. But, the ornaments on this list, I don't think so.

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