Who's looking forward to christmas???

It`s just a glorified Sunday as far as I`m concerned. Bah Humbug indeed.

 

I like the food, the drink and the company of family (well, most of it, anyway ). It's just a shame that the season goes on forever. Two days of it are more than enough. It's nice to buy little kids presents but I really don't understand the idea of swapping tat with the world and his wife and I think the season would be much nicer if we didn't have to do it. Does anyone really want to clutter up the place with a Boots 'three for two' gift? 'So-what' presents are the equivalent of garage flowers - they show how little you care. One year, after struggling to buy gifts for OH's vast family on a very limited budget, I suggested that maybe we should all just stop buying stuff. Consternation. You'd have thought I'd suggested impaling Santa on a Norwegian spruce, stuffing a yule log in his gob and then setting fire to it.

 

I'm with Stu and Dai on this one, fully paid up member of the Bah Humbug group.

It's good to have a little mid-winter break and celebrate the Solstice/Birth of Jesus/Eastenders Special (delete as applicable), but most people now seem to treat the whole thing as an annual festival of greed and gluttony.

Oh, and the next time I hear someone smugly declare "I've finished all my Christmas shopping already" I may not be responsible for my actions.

 

In our house Christmas Day has always been a Family Day.
When the kids were young it was all about them. Now they've flown the coop they come back on the day for a Family get-together.
My record was to lock up on Christmas Eve and not open the front door again until Boxing Day.
I'm up early to prep the Turkey (my Stuffing is better than OH's-by far), Beef and veg's,
OH concentrates on Trifle, Apple Pie, Choccy things etc. (she prefers Puds to Turkey - What??)
By 10am settle down and relax until 2pm, then mayhem until the food hits the table at 3pm-ish. then heartily make holes in the proferred foodstuffs.
Party games, general banter, TV etc. for the rest of the day - with liquid refreshment of course.
Kids etc. leave around 2am and off to bed.

There you are Dai. No Humbug. Just a great family get together. 34 years and no arguments on Christmas Day.
Rest of the year, different question!!

They now come round with their family

 

Why spend a fortune on extra food when it is, after all, just another day? There is only so much you can eat for goodness sake.

 

Well I love it always have, decorate every year inside the house, teen grand kids think it is naff, under tens love my Santas Cavern (computer room with lighting) Yes I even put up streamers
Well St Nicholas is the patron saint of Sailors aswell (big kids)

The BEST "Wizards of Winter" Holiday Lights Display - YouTube

Jack McH

 

I'll be having my Christmas day picnic with my other half in the car, overlooking the sea and a rocky landscape, with not another human being in sight. Just gulls and may be seals for company. Perfect!

 

I hate being bombarded with ads trying to sell me everything from pins to elephants, all with pictures of reindeer or robins on it in the name of 'festive'. They may seem 'a good idea at the time', but look very tacky come 27th December.

I hate TV ads with lisping children, perfect families, people gambolling about in fake snow, or anything which suggests without their particular product my Christmas, and that of my family, will be totally ruined.

I hate the never ending list of CDs from '.. the exciting new talent that is ....' someone you've never heard of, and never will again; the DVD boxed-set of something that's already been repeated on TV at least 10 times; or the 'how I made it big in showbiz' book by some Z-list celeb.

I hate the idea of 'games for all the family' - in my experience the grandparents don't understand it and promptly fall asleep, the parents have probably had a row and aren't speaking to anyone and the children would rather play with the box it came in.

I hate the thought of a new suite or carpet in time for Christmas - I'd rather have it January when all danger of spilt red wine, incontient rellies and children vomiting all over it is passed.

I hate the 'Santa' who arrives in shops and shopping malls mid November; the awful piped Christmas music and the sickly arrangements of otherwise perfectly good Christmas songs and carols.

I don't want 'pine tree' smelling mince pies, mince pie flavoured crisps nor 'luxury' biscuits (that are just the same as any other biscuit, except for the addition of the word 'luxury') or enough cheap booze to float an aircraft carrier.

I hate the Blue Peter Advent Crown; screaming, over-excited, hyped-up children; carol singers who swing off your doorbell from 1st December and think two out of tune lines of 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas' is a) a Christmas carol and b)warrants a monetary reward.

I hate getting Christmas cards from people I met 10 years ago on holiday, on a course, on a train, in a lift, whose address I promptly binned but who now suddenly want to be new best friends.

I particularly hate 'round robin' letters; the Christmas special of every TV prog; the 317th repeat of 'The Snowman', 'The Great Escape' et.al., and the expression 'The Big Day' - life does not begin and end on Christmas Day, (it is as others have said, just Sunday with extra veg.)

That said - my husband will be home; our daughters are coming to stay for 4 days with their husband/fiance/boyfriend respectively. They will decorate the tree and make a much better job of it than I can; they'll do some of the cooking, much of the washing up and walk the dog. We won't have expensive gifts - a limit of £10 for each person (chocolates and 'smellies' are considered a cop-out and are thus banned!) means everyone will have to put some thought into what they buy and no-one will be in debt until next Christmas. We'll put the TV on and promptly talk all the way through every programme ... there'll be a lot of talking (it's the first time all 8 of us will have been in the same room, at the same time, for months) and there will be a great deal of love and laughter.

Am I looking forward to Christmas? You bet

 

Fidget wrote ...
Am I looking forward to Christmas? You bet


Wow,.. for a moment i thought you were on a downer .. true what you say though .. ps you forgot the Sound of Music.. Micky

 

Sheal, that sounds like utter bliss, I'm so envious.

I'm seriously thinking of spending the entire day volunteering in the soup kitchen this year - any suggestions?

The best bits are ringing the bells, eating the turkey and switching on the fairy lights.

I'd also say spending time with my family but we do that anyway, and December 25th often isn't the most convenient time for that - long journeys in the depths of winter are not exactly a pleasure.

 

Mahdahhlia, I'm sure you must have some sort of Haven you can escape to, a park, wood etc.

I've had a barbecue at Christmas time before now. I hate being trapped by the same old stuff year after year which is why I've abandoned it. I don't send cards anymore either.

 

I like Christmas, i like a little surprise, so i look forward to Christmas Day, to see if i get one. I like the twinkling lights and a roaring fire, yummy mulled wine and homemade mince pies... mmm can't wait now:yess:
However, i am rarely at home for Christmas, and might be going away again this year, although i think i have just changed my mind

 

I could escape to somewhere, the top of Great Gable, (or even Charnwood!)but I'd probably be on my own as the BF wants to spend much of the day with his children or his parents. I could spend the day with my family but it would involve travelling quite long distances and getting trapped in the dining table/ kitchen/couch triangle which can get a bit oppressive.

 

My sister and I have decided to buy Mum a new television for Christmas, as she has a very elderly model which will won't work when the area goes digital. It's been an uphill struggle to persuade her that an upgrade is necessary but we've tried to sell the idea to her as best we can. We've pointed out that, with Freeview, she'll have a much wider choice of junk to complain about and, if that fails to entertain her, a built in DVD player might be fun.

She's been very lukewarm about it all but she's just contacted me to say that, yes, she'd like a new telly and it would be very nice if it had one of those STDs.

 

Christmas is not a childrens affair here, it's an adults occasion.
We give each other 1 or 2 gifts, they'll be qiute extravagant i suppose, but really it's just another day.

Yesterday i booked us a xmas day meal at a local restaurant, the price was very reasonable and doing something different will be great, i like it when the whole xmas period's over and the normal routine starts again.