Maybe it was all that egg nog or your brother-in-law's insistent rambling about his office Fantasy Football pool at dinner.
Whatever the reason, for many of us it's as much a yearly tradition as trimming the tree or smooching under a swig of newly endangered mistletoe: the post-yuletide hangover.
Based on years of first-hand reportage, here are 5 Things You Need To Know about getting past the malaise of Dec. 26 and trucking on into the New Year:
1. Get out of the house. In our age of easily accessible air travel, there is a reason why many of us live hundreds of miles away from our immediate and not-so immediate relations. We suggest , which is open Monday and is serving up A Dangerous Method, The Descendants and The Artist in an atmosphere of comfortable, blackened isolation.
2. A cup of strong black coffee. This is for people with an actual hangover—the kind one gets after mixing $10 table wine and cups of creamy egg nog. We suggest grabbing a bag of Stumptown coffee at and then grinding the beans in order to drown out the sound of your born-again Republican sibling's diatribe on tax policy.
3. Treat yourself. After consuming half of one's body weight in pecan pie, why worry about the waistline now? Though in the spirit of prudence (and the desire to someday look good in a bathing suit), we suggest splitting the difference and going for a large cup of frozen yogurt at Silver Spoon on Fulton.
4. Namaste. Tension and the holidays go together like fielding questions about your relationship status from relatives and the well-timed eye roll. Take a deep breath and head over to on Dekalb. You might even find Mr. or Ms. Right sprawled out on a mat right next to you.
5. More alcohol. Your grandmother just admitted that though "she doesn't play favorites," there is "something so special and wonderful" about your little brother. And then you realize that the family supply of wine and grain alcohol is getting low. There's always , or . Take your pick. Just go. Go now.
