Christmas ?

Christmas ?
L

Lloydy

Registrant
How do you deal with Christmas?

Is it -
the greatest event of the year?
wonderful?
a bit of fun?
not bothered about it?
don't like it
AAARRGGHHH! ?

I do appreciate that for many this is a very important religious festival, which I appreciate.
But what about the 'other stuff' that Christmas brings with it, like the stress and worry of getting everything ready, finding the present that's "just perfect", entertaining family and friends, and those people who you actually hate but have to be nice to because it's Christmas!

I find it very stressful, personally I would find a nice quiet cottage to rent somewhere and retreat from mid November to about early January.

But more to the point, how do we cope with it?

Dave
 
Dave,

I enjoy Christmas for the most part.

Religious festival? Yes, I enjoy that aspect as well.

Stress of all the shopping, etc.? I try to do some shopping, but try to avoid the stress of it.

People I hate being around? I avoid that. I figure if I don't like being around them, they probably won't like being around me either so why bother.

I try to do a lot of watching my favorite Christmas movies, listen to my favorite Christmas music, Read my favorite Christmas stories, and eat my favorite Christmas treats even If I have to buy them because it's too much stress on my wife to make them.

And hey, if you get that cottage, let me know. I'll drop over the pond for a nice quiet visit!

Lots of love,

John
 
I don't care for Christmas. Never have. Maybe it is because I was born 2 days after Christmas. My birthday was always forgotten after Christmas. I remember hearing this a lot: "this is for Christmas AND your birthday." I think I just grew up thinking Christmas was more important then me. I already felt unimportant as it was so being reminded each time my birthday came around didn't help. Plus I hate the stress of it, the whole gift giving thing. I see how it stresses people. My wife is more into it then me. She likes to hang a wreath and put lights around a window. Sometimes she has a little tree. Some years she send out cards. We usually don't do gifts but we have bought something for us together a couple of years. One year my sister in law made us stockings and so the following year we went to town and went in opposite directions and bought each other gifts that would fit in the stockings. We limited it to $30.00 worth of gifts and met back up after a couple of hours. That was kind of fun. But overall I find Christmas too commercialized and annoying. If I was alone I would probably take my dog to the beach where we would have it all to ourselves.
Sorry but that's how I feel. Bah humbug :rolleyes:

Dale
 
I dont do so well at Christmas . I try and stay away from the crouds as much as poseble .
When i see X-Mas it bothers me . I dont like that some people get the idea that Christmas is about what is in it for me . i just dont care much for it .it is a depresing time of year for me
People have forgotten that it started as
"CHRIST" MAS a Mas for Christ
 
As I am Christian, it means a great deal to me, always has. Yes, the modern world has cheapened it with all their gifting and shallowness, but you know the foundation is there if you keep it. I dont feel the stress of presents and such, as for me that doesnt matter. It is the sharing and celebrating with my family and friends that I cherish deeply. It is how the spirit dwells a little stronger in me around this time of year that I love.

Watching my childrens faces light up when they see all the lights going up, and as they anticipate the presents is priceless. Hearing my baby say look at the pretty lights, is beyond measure. This is the stuff of life. This is what I healed for and fought for when my life was a mess. This is what makes it all worth it.
 
Phoster I'm so happy for you!

Well this is my case and Christmas. I'm the youngest of 4, (I'm 37 now) and none of us had kids. Both of my parents are still alive with no Grandchildren, a fitting testiment to their parenting skills if you ask me.

I'm just about to tell them that I won't be spending this Christmas with them at my Brothers', I'm going to spend it with a new friend that I made that has kids. It's hard to feel good about Christmas without any kids around. Also, I am still pissed off about where my life is and yes plenty of it is because of me, but most of it is because of them and I'm tired of pretending that all is good, because it's NOT.
 
Hauser, i know you arent alone. my family is far from perfect, but we are at least functional enough to be in one room together. i'm sorry your's isnt. i hope one day that will change, and you can all come together again. if not, fill your life with your own family and friends. no one has to be alone unless they want to be. family is where you make it.
 
Wish I could get a cottage in the lakes.
I hate Christmas, but it is very spiritual for me.
For the kids I say it should still be magical, but I dont indulge in much.

At least I dont have to put up with family parties and get togethers.
I pretty much hate the wastefullness of it all, :p

ste
 
Hey Phoster we get along just fine but it's so empty. Without any kids around it's just depressing to me, because, lately, I've made a really cool friend and he's got 3 great kids. They love it when ever I come over and he told me that I'm really good with them so I'll spend X-mas with them instead.

Plus........I've got this underlying dissapointment with my parents that just drags me down. They love me but they sucked as parents when I was little and needed to be safe. I can't get over that right now I guess.
 
Hmm. One emeritus in the sling, one worried about X-mas . Actually 'X' is Greek for Christ, so it is legit/licit etc.

In my old age here at Froggy in the Dell, no relation to "Winnie ille pu" (Latin) mole in the hole or whatever, we don't get stressed, we hibernate. Actually the most serene Christmas/Noel was spent in the Alps working in a Trappist Monastery, founded in 1132. LOTS of snow, only decoration was bird of paradise in an earthen jar before the altar and a spiked hot chocolate, cookies etc after the Midnight Mass. Then back to bed. It can be a state of mind. I also spent it on USN icebreaker in Antarctica where there was a big to do when a swabby was found doing something strange with a chicken from the freezer. We ate a lot of canned ham and shrimp after that. I won't mention the penguins at this time. SPCA might be looking.

froggy12
 
I just don't like the stress of shopping, I hate malls - they feel claustraphobic, I don't like crowds.
So I have learned to go to the small, traditional,market towns that are all around here. That's something I've learned to do after running like a crazy fucker from the huge local mall a few years ago!

We have no kids, and all our nephews and nieces are now grown up with kids of their own, so we see less of them, especially the Canadian branch of the family. But we make the effort to go and visit everyone we know with kids, which is good fun.

Our 'grown up' families are now small, my wife's wonderful parents are now both sadly dead, she has a brother locally who I get on with and we'll be pretty drunk together before the night's out!

My dread this year is my parents.
I just know it's going to end in tears! And there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it.

Dave
 
Dave, emeritus
I have a friend who is a retired Abbot, so I write him as Rev Emeritus Bernard, OCSO. He thinks it's funny. Anyway, my parents are dead, I have a sister who thinks she is a paragon of everything. It's hell dealing with Ms Perfection, so I try to avoid the occasions of sin. One cousin isn't bad but there are too many babini around. I go to friends is I can but I'd rather take a long train ride but can't. I can't drink because of anti-depressants so I go throw snow balls at trees if we have snow. Oh well. And I love sending rude emails! Well, you certainly are not a lad from Shropshire, so have a large shot or 3 of Glenfiddich and say: "Life's a bitch but interesting" or make believe.

froggy12
 
Dave, PS,
Thoreau's pond Walden is only a 15 minute drive from here. Pretty, but full of twits who wander about going 'oooh, aghhh' and hope that osmosis or karma or whatever is 'in' will work. That's when I want to throw snow balls. They're usually big city folk with a Volvo or a Saab. I tend to say bad things when I am around them, so I stay away. Boy, am I a grumpy froggy tonight.

froggy12
 
at this moment i can't express the real hurt of christmas -

i will turn it into a day of giving of myself -

or something like photos -

i can't indulge in my hurt -

it doesn't do anything -

so though in my heart i love christmas very much -
the christmas i would love to have - is with very special others -

like you all - or just one a significant other -

christmas is a nice day -

and yes -

i think the way i would spend it - if i had a dog

would be like dale -

a day at the beach - and my digital camera

a good book - a blanket -

and some cheese a crackers - and a hidden bottle of port -or cognac :)
 
yes and my dog too. :)
 
Dave,

Christmas is the best part of winter for me. In the unusual case where there is snow on the ground for any length of time around here, well, snow and nighttime can be bothersome. Or it was the last year we had any.

But Christmas means so much to me, for religious reasons and for the chance to bring some happiness into the world. Money's tight again this year, but not as bad as last year, so I can get my kids some stuff.

I usually avoid the malls. I used to go with my kids to get their picture with the store Santa, but that ended a few years back. I do a lot of my shopping online now, since the kids are looking for some certain Legos or CD or books or whatever.

I like listening to several songs that have grown on me over the years. "Listen to the River" (Luka Bloom) and "Happy Christmas" (John Lennon) are two of my favorites.

These last couple weeks I've been making a point to get outside in the air and sun a couple times each day. There's so little sunshine to be had that I really don't want to miss it by being in the office.

Thanks,

Joe
 
Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does.

Two funerals, and a pile of other crap this week already.

It's our off-road club party this Saturday night, and we've booked into the hotel for the night so I guess a few of us might let our hair down a bit.
Well, I would if it still all there ;)

Froggy, I can feel the depression mounting but I try my hardest to stay off the happy pills. Prozac and the other SSRI's just make my panic attacks intolerable, so I just ride through it.
But I let people know how I'm feeling and they help me, they cut me some slack when I'm being an arse or can't find the motivation to do something.
But they don't let me get away with taking the piss though, if they think that I'm putting it on they let me know, and most of my friends have a bullshit detector that makes it impossible anyway.

I can't wait for spring to come, I hate the short miserable days, I hate the crappy side of Christmas, and I hate the 'family and friends' politics that seem to surface with it.

The best thing that's happened for ages was that on Sunday I took my newly built competition 4x4 out for it's first real competitive event and it performed really well all day. I've just got to learn to drive the damned thing now! :rolleyes:
It rained all day, the mud was everywhere - I mean "everywhere" after lying on my back in a small stream to reconnect a battery cable :D

But even after a very long journey in torrential rain towing the big trailer, getting home late and having to unload and clean up, and the "dissapointment" ;) of only getting a second place in my class, it was worth it.
It's taken nearly 4 years to build that motor, and the satisfaction of a great day out puts all the shit into perspective.

One of the funerals was a lad I compete against, he'd have been thrilled to see the finished motor out there competing.

I guess everything has some kind of perspective, we balance the good and bad stuff all the time, hopefully keeping the good stuff on top.
Perhaps we need to assess what we CAN DO to tip the balance in our favour?
It doesn't need to as mad as 4x4 trials, anything that challenges us mentally, and hopefully physically, must help us?
I know that without my hobby, ok it's passion! I'd be in the depths of depression.

The hard part is dragging my arse into the workshop to make it happen.
I just have to do it though, because I know what the alternative is.

Here's some pic's of my 'passion' - I'm the one driving on the correct side with his head on fire!
Dave



 
Try to concentrate on what you can do, not the negative. Yes, good friends will kick your butt if they suspect you are giving them a load of bullshit. And the lack of light does make a difference.

The pics show a lot of wet and mud. Looks like my garden in April. Now we await the snow and won't be long. Time for froggy to hibernate, but I just chill out and put on my thermal longjohns.
ribbit

froggy12
 
Dave,

of course, for some of us, Christmas is not until a bit later (think of all the after Christmas sales I could hit for shopping for MY Christmas!)

I think it's nothing really special for me. Just more of a time to be away from home and family doing work. But it is nice to shop some for some friends and 'family'. I don't know. Maybe if I had a family (directly, like wife and children), I would think on it differently, but for me, it's just 'not a big deal'.

Leosha
 
Dave,

Christmas is a very hard time for me - perhaps the hardest time of year - so many mixed memeories (hard to explain - but every year was the happy of gifts mixed with the sad of my mother and uncle) - last year was a real bad Christmas (thanx mom) - I am honestly very scared of this Christmas...

My condolences on the two funerals - makes a hard time of year even rougher...

is so good that you was able to go out with your off-road club - I so much love the challenge and the commeraderie of it - but unfortunatly had to sell my vehicle due to money problems a bit over a year ago - sure hope to be able to get back into it soon

Love those pics - thanx for shareing them

we just got to keep kicking our butts forward to do the things that bring us enjoyment...

TJ jeff
 
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