I don't really disagree with you, but I've been on the other end of this before and there was a major incentive to get it in before the break: all the context in our heads.

If we waited several weeks until after the christmas break, we'd lose a lot of mental context. It's also a horrible dark cloud hanging over your head. When dealing with a big migration, it's really ideal to do it while everything is still fresh. Context switching can be very expensive