all part of the terrain, I'm afraid. I too had "hard" christmases. . . Crying is a great release though, (I've done plenty ! ;-)) and so is regret, as long as you do not turn that into a rod to beat yourself with. It is difficult to get 'past' the past though, (well, difficult to use the ordinary mind, the way we do) but you can. You will.
Seriously, do try the EFT. It will not suppress any of what must come up. Instead, it dissolves it. It changes things from gripping you in their chokehold, to you feeling neutral about them--and then to be able to just feel TRUE compassion for yourself and everyone else, no torture. < This is where the real healing happens.