Ha! I had not heard "Christmas in the gym," but it does make sense.
I've been mulling over my last two rack pull sessions—365x5 + unplanned 370x5 on 1/13, then yesterday's 380x5 + unplanned 405x1—and realized that had I been training with intent as I try to do during the warm months that I never would given those unplanned exploratory reps/sets a try, since I wouldn't want to negatively impact my recovery. But during this maintenance season, I don't mind the freedom to fail as much, as it won't negatively impact any planned programming.
So I think that's the true gift.