Ahhhh, Christmas vacation.

This is one of the few times of the year that I really, truly get to unwind.

Like most parents, I save a lot of my vacation days for the unexpected sick kid days, the orthodontist appointments that have to be scheduled in the middle of the day, the volunteer to help at school days, and maybe an occasional mental health day, which is usually spent putting the house to rights again because I can’t live in the chaos anymore. So much for “vacation.”

At the end of the year, whatever is left over, I use up what I have left to either prepare for or recover from Christmas.

This year, I had enough to do both.

Other than having to deal with the influx of Christmas loot, and finally catching up on laundry while we don’t have three different sport practices every night, I’ve been able to have some real down time.

In years past, the kids and I have tried some various adventures.

We’ve skied. Pro tip: being a professional ski instructor for several years does not in any way, shape or form prepare you to teach your own kids how to ski.

We’ve taken day trips to the Philadelphia Zoo and the Camden Aquarium. Winter, provided it’s a cold one, is a great time to visit the zoo. It’s not quite the feast of odors that it can be in the middle of summer.

We’ve used the time to attend wrestling tournaments and holiday swim meets. Holiday swim meet is an oxymoron if there ever was one.

We’ve taken long trips to visit extended family, and visited with friends who are back in town to visit their own families.

This year, however, we are laying low. Partly because we just got back from the Boston trip, partly because we are trying to introduce a new feline to the family, and partly because we just need some down time.

Since we are usually on a pretty tight schedule, enforced by work and school, and keeping up with homework and instrument practices, it’s nice to just kick back and forget what time and day it is for a little while.

The kitchen is stocked with plenty of Christmas feast leftovers, macaroni and cheese, lunch meat and snacks.

The only two rules for the week are if you’re hungry, eat and then clean up after yourself. Rule number two needs some work, but as we are getting close to running out of dishes, I think they’re going to have to catch on soon.

So that we don’t turn into complete slugs, we have at least one errand to run every day, and everyone has to brush their teeth and not smell too badly before we leave the house. The bank, the post office and the grocery store are the extent of our travels, though, and with this week’s cold snap, I’m glad to hustle back home and curl up on the couch.

Although we’re spending a good part of the day catching up on all the summer blockbuster movies that we missed, I do enforce some reading time.

Santa left a decent stash of books for all the kids, and I’m still trying to work through half of my summer beach reading list. My favorite part is when I set the timer for an hour of reading time and no one notices when it goes off.

I’ve almost gotten through the new Dan Brown, which I feel is already old by now, and I am partially through the next book in the Magnus Chase series. It’s a kids’ book, but Rick Riordan has me hooked, and I read that one on the sly because G is circling like a vulture waiting to read it.

Santa left enough fun stuff under the tree, OK most of it was Lego and nerf darts, so that the kids have been bouncing back and forth between reading and building and Nerf gun battling and a little bit of screen time. So far, no one has claimed to be bored. I’m sure that won’t last, but I’m enjoying it while it does. Santa also left a rainbow bracelet loom for E, so now when they do claim to be bored, I can send them to pick up the 8 million tiny rubber bands that are everywhere in our house.

When we’ve exhausted all the other options, we always have naps to fall back on. Sweet, wonderful, glorious naps. I will take more of them this week than I will for the rest of the year. Since the kids have been staying up late, for once, I don’t even have to argue with them about the merits of kicking back for a snooze. I only ask that everyone hits their toothbrush and some mouthwash when they wake up.

It’s not a conventional vacation, but after a week of being free from a schedule, and sleeping when we want to sleep, eating when we want to eat, reading when and what we want to read, and vegging out when we want to veg out, we’ll all be happy to get back to our routine, our schedule and our diet. Refreshed and recharged is the perfect way to start a brand-new year!

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.