None of us finds it easy to keep the holiday season under control.
But, chances are, no matter how complicated your festive preparations have been, they don't have a patch on those of Rex Smith.
Not only has the recently-divorced father of two managed to pull off a basically bi-coastal Christmas, he's also arranged it so that he can still take three bullets in the back, eight times a week.
For Smith, it's a living.
Cast as Joe Gillis opposite Diahann Carroll in Livent's Ford Centre production of Sunset Boulevard, Smith meets the same tragic end in every show.
All of which makes it a tad tough to get in the seasonal swing of things, he concedes.
"There's a price to be paid for that, no matter whether it's spring, summer or fall," the 40-year-old actor says.
But he's very clear that it's a price worth paying.
"I find that where I am right now is the most satisfying work I've done since Pirates," he says, alluding to the 1983 movie of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates Of Penzance, in which he starred opposite Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. "That last 20 minutes (of Sunset) is Shakespearean in its scope."
If Smith's professional life is Shakespearean, though, there's an element of the operatic in his private.
A few years back, Smith, then a resident of L.A., was cast in the same role in the West Coast Sunset, opposite Faye Dunaway.
That production fell apart about the same time as his marriage, leaving him the non-custodial father of two daughters, now aged eight and five.
It was tough, but Smith says he's come to terms with the divorce.
"I didn't run off with the secretary, so I don't carry that degree of guilt," he explains. "But I was dedicated to those children. I still am."
So much so that he flew to California Christmas Eve after his matinee to spend Christmas with them before bringing them back to Toronto for the duration of the holiday.
It's not the first time they've made the trip, and for Smith, the visits are wonderful, right up until he takes them to the airport to return to California and their mother.
"At the red line, I have to say goodbye," he says quietly. "It's hard."
To compensate, Smith is revelling in his life in Toronto - taking cooking classes, entertaining, painting, designing clothes, even working on a script for a piece of musical theatre.
"In a perfect world," he says, a trifle shyly, "it would be a vehicle for Kevin Kline and me to get back together.
"This is my clean slate," he says, gesturing fondly beyond the window to a sidewalk full of Toronto pre-Christmas bustle.
"I'm living in an urban environment. I'm working in theatre. I'm taking real advantage of everything this city has to offer. I would like this show to enjoy a really good run here.
"I'm happy here and I'm glad I have eight shows a week."
Even with those three bullets in the back every show, he's learned a lot: "Those basic building blocks, you know - time heals, things happen for a reason."
But romantically, he's not involved. He simply hasn't met anyone yet and when he does: "She's got two women in front of her," he says, still primarily ever the adoring father.
"I've lived a hundred men's lives," the one-time pop star concludes. "At 40, being single is not as thrilling. Funny thing is, it's exactly the same as it was."