Homage to an uneventful Eid at home

Eid is when your parents get more than two days off from work, when you get to make unreasonable demands for gifts, and the time to cop a decent sum of money as salami.

Despite all that, you don't always have the mental capacity to deal with all the socialisation. Especially if you've had a tough year and finally got a vacation after ages. Or, you're one of the unfortunate souls whose friends and favourite cousins have all headed to their villages, and your parents think it's best to stay in the city. Or, you might fall into the third category, who's too much of a homebody to entertain the idea of stepping out and having fun, even on Eid.

I'm a mix of all three. My family rarely goes to our hometown to celebrate Eid, and I'm a homebody who avoids socialisation.

Here's how a typical Eid goes for me. Dressing up real nice is the first thing I do in the morning, because it is Eid after all. Besides, it's important to show my mother I fully plan on wearing the super inconvenient clothes she advised me against buying.

Of course, the next few hours are spent sitting on the sofa and eating shemai. One might say I'm overdressed for the occasion, but as a firm believer in going full glam for a quick grocery run I refuse to let that stop me.

By midday, the realisation that my mother was indeed right about the dress being inconvenient will settle in. Tenaciously, I soldier on while pretending that the stitches aren't digging into my arms and shoulders.

When evening rolls in, I use my inductive reasoning to conclude that since no guest paid a visit all day, I should not expect company in the last couple of hours either. However, just as I change into my ratty T-shirt and settle in front of the TV, the calling bell rings and the door opens to reveal every single one of my relatives who are in town.

I greet them with a smile, acutely aware of how I, advocate of dressing up for every little occasion, am the most underdressed person in the room.

Spending Eid this way can be quite relaxing, if not somewhat boring. A day without worries of deadlines hanging above my head isn't all that it's cut out to be, as sitcoms don't really feel right without the academic stress.

While it's not a totally bad day, I have to admit that scrolling through social media watching everyone spend their Eids much more eventfully is slightly upsetting.

So, if you're a homebody like me whose big travel plans for Eid is a quick trip to the drawing room, consider adding a couple other entries to your itinerary before you end up with a two-digit salami.

Zabin Tazrin Nashita is holding back the urge to overshare on the internet at fb.com/zabintazrin.nashita