The last two weeks of school before the winter holidays are like one long, long party. The students take gifts, money and food every day for something fun. The teenagers have finals, but their minds are on gifts. The tween gets his report card three days before Christmas, but his mind is on getting his brown belt in karate. The kindergartener? Well, it’s just an endless school-scouts-church-friends party for her. Bedtime announcements cause chills to run down my spine. “I forgot to tell you I need __ tomorrow morning.” Parents have to be at school every day for fun and not-so-fun things. Spelling bee? Week before Christmas. PTO meeting? Week before Christmas. Concert? Performance? Party? M-team? Let’s just do it all the week before Christmas. Parents don’t have anything else to do that week anyway.