WASHINGTON -- For those holding out hope for a resolution to the so-called fiscal cliff, this was a lost Christmas.

Little to no progress was made in staving off the $1 trillion in spending cuts and across-the-board tax increases that are set to be triggered at the end of the year, multiple sources acknowledged. And while President Barack Obama cut short his vacation in Hawaii in hopes of sparking a deal before the new year, each side is now in a position of waiting for the other to act first.