Christmas Over - How Was It On A Scale Of 1-10?

[DMark]

With 10 being "the best Christmas ever!" and 1 being "the worst Christmas ever", how was yours?

Feel free to elaborate if you wish.

[freckafree]

I'm gave it a 5, but I think I adjusted my scale considerably after reading about that poor woman who lost her three daughters and her parents in a Christmas day fire. :-(

[ZipperJJ]

I say about a 6. Saw lots of family and my niece is old enough to "get" Christmas for the first time now.

Minus points for lack of SO and mega minus points for no snow!

[An Gadaí]

Pretty much my worst. I think I'm going to stop celebrating it.

[Rushgeekgirl]

It turned out to be not so horrible. We had a bit of excitement. My ex-husband I haven't seen in 22 years, the father of my oldest, found us a few days ago on Facebook and last night he called her. It was an emotional experience for all of us. A good one, I think. I hope. I don't think I've ever seen my daughter so happy.

[Athena]

I give it an 8, which is astonishing.

We just about didn't celebrate this year, as it's been a pretty bad year. Lost my grandmother, an aunt, and my mother-in-law, and my mother has been diagnosed with cancer and is going through chemo. So we aren't exactly cheery around here lately.

Mr. Athena and I decided no decorating, no tree, no gifts this year. And we held to that up until a couple weeks before Christmas, when I saw a book I knew he would love, so I bought it for him. Then he saw something for me. And then the weekend before Christmas, we decided to get a modest tree, because where would we put the gifts if we didn't have a tree?

My sister-in-law offered to host Christmas, so we went over there, and everyone was in good spirits, including my Mom & Dad who have every reason to be down, but they weren't. Sis-in-Law & family made a great meal, and she even had planned a game with gifts for the winners for after dinner.

All in all, what was shaping up to be a not-too-great Christmas actually turned out pretty darn good. I think a lot of it was that by deciding NOT to do much, neither me nor Mr. Athena stressed about anything. I think we have something to learn from that.

[aceplace57]

I gave it a 9. A bit surprising because it was the first Christmas since my dad died.

Mom and I have become much closer and supported each other this holiday. Things went really well.

[even sven]

i gave it a 10. I'm back home with my family for two weeks- a wonderful respite from my uber-busy life. Everyone was here and while everyone's health isn't perfect, on the whole we are doing pretty good. I got to bond a bit with my cousin, who I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with. I also got to spend some time with my favorite uncle. Our family is changing and evolving, but it's not all bad getting-older stuff. My mom is sooo happy with her boyfriend, and my cousin is growing up to be a pretty smart kid, and a good family friend has really become a part of the family, and we are all richer for it.

My mom LOVED her gift (I'm flying her back east to spend a weekend with me) and my other gifts turned out beautifully. I got people calendars off iPhotos with pictures from my lastest travel adventures. The printing turned out full-on gorgeous. It really is a quality product with a great presentation...I was pleasantly surprised.

Dinner turned out beautifully, and I was able to contribute, which feels good.

Overall, just a really time with family, something to treasure.

[DMark]

... a lot of it was that by deciding NOT to do much, neither me nor Mr. Athena stressed about anything. I think we have something to learn from that.

Which is why I too gave this a high score (9) this year. SO and I decided not to buy a single gift for each other. Money is tight, but there wasn't anything either of us really needed so why?
We made lots of phone calls to friends and family - very nice - but just the two of us were here. Made plenty of food, lots of goodies with too many calories, watched a few films on TV and basically just had a nice, quiet time together. The most low-key, stress-free Christmas in decades and yet it made it even more special and just right. I agree - we learned something from this.

[Silver Fire]

Four, I guess? I don't know, it seemed needlessly stressful somehow and we wound up taking the baby (he's just over a year old) into the ER on Christmas Eve because he had an uncontrollable fever approaching 104 and had some other worrying symptoms, which kind of ruined the whole "waking up before dawn" excitement for his older brother who actually opened all his presents when we got home from the hospital at like 1 o'clock in the morning. The baby still doesn't give a shit about his presents, most of which are still unopened.

I want to break the news to my oldest -- who, at 8, probably is only keeping up the charade for my benefit anyway -- that Santa doesn't actually exist so we can skip Christmas all together and spend the time and effort on vacations or something.

Bah humbug.

[Rachellelogram]

3. I got to see family on Christmas Eve, which was nice for the first couple hours. The next day, cabin fever or aquadementia set in, and Christmas Day itself was terrible. I got a Kindle Fire (along with my sister). Hers worked, mine came broken. So now I have the headache of returning it. And then I have to drive all the way back down to my mom's to pick it up (because she didn't want them to ship it straight to me, why? I have no fucking idea). And instead of letting me call Amazon, she insisted on making it ("I paid for the damn thing, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!"). She verbally abused the hell out of an Indian call center rep for 20 minutes... Merry fucking Christmas. I'm really sorry, guy. But the she-bitch cannot be contained. When she got off the phone, she actually had the stones to say, "Well you know, every other call he has today is going to seem easy by comparison!" I glared daggers and told her she was a bad person, because the best judge of one's character is how they treat their perceived inferiors. Her incoherent, irrational screeching caused me to storm out of the house and drive home several hours sooner than I had planned.

If I didn't already have a week-long vacation scheduled next week, I'd be contemplating self-harm. But I can't rate the holiday a 1, because a couple good things came of it. My sister no longer thinks I'm overreacting when I describe my mother as a shrill hell-harpy. And I got some really nice yarn, and eventually I'll have a working Kindle. I'm trying to stay optimistic, although this was definitely the worst Christmas I've ever experienced. At least things didn't come to blows?

[John Mace]

I gave it an 8. We had a great dinner with a wonderful group of people. Lots of good food, wine and conversation. Only the most minor bit of drama (someone made a rather personal, and inappropriate, comment to me at the dinner table creating a bit of tension, but I was able to diffuse it after about a minute).

I really wanted to play golf on Christmas day, but couldn't get that arranged.

I didn't have to interact with any of my family except for phone calls. Christmas with friends is so much more fun!

[Ibanez]

Under 5 just because of the usual bullshit with my sisters in-laws. They honestly believe Christmas revolves around their family. They were disapointed as expected, and upset when I told them I wasn't going to their place for dinner.

Since when does my sisters in-laws should have anything to do with me ? Sister has the gall to try and guilt me into it and had to say listen they're your in-laws not mine, so back off with this retardedness.

Bunch of infants I swear.

[dangermom]

I'm giving it a 10. Best Christmas Ever.

First, everyone in my family is employed. My brother finally got a job in his field. My husband got a good job in September--last Christmas he was unemployed. Everyone else has a job too. So that all by itself made it an excellent Christmas.

Then, we were able to afford some presents (because of the employment part). Last year I did fine and everyone had a nice time, but I produced everything out of cardboard and spit. Which was quite satisfying in its own way, but the fact that I could buy a Lego kit and a pair of knockoff Uggs was a lot easier.

And we all had a great time with family members, hanging out and relaxing, all that sort of thing. There was a very nice Christmas service at church. Nothing too exciting or extravagant, but it has just been really pleasant and lovely all 'round.

[Jaledin]

8. It was nice having a little job on Christmas Eve playing music with my regular guitar player (he liked the croissants I gave him too), and it was really great having some cash and getting to spend an unusual night with my immediate family and some friends of the family (my uncle couldn't make it, which was too bad). After my sister and her family took off, my parents, our two friends, and me drank a shitload of scotch, after careening through some bottles of very nice wine -- I mean *very* nice -- after dinner and had fun. And I got a ride home from the couple of honor in a really cool off-the-lot BMW, which was totally nice of them -- otherwise I would have had to crash there, which would have been great, but probably a bit awkward in the morning, not to mention slightly hung over for everyone.

[nonacetone]

I had a great Christmas, but I had to give it a 9, only because my mom passed a year ago. I miss her.

[Mosier]

I had to work. Despite that, it was a 7 due to Christmas magic being particularly strong this year, and family coming together.

[Dusty Rose]

I was going to vote a "2" but then I realized that was just self-pity talking. My Christmas wasn't that bad, it just wasn't that good. I've certainly had much worse.
I'm going with a nice, neutral "5."

[slm2955]

My Xmas was way better than I expected...overall I give it an 8:).

[BMalion]

10


I'm still alive, I have a swell house, a great tree, a wonderful dinner and I was surrounded by little kids. What's not to love?

[ProbablyProcrastinating]

Four, I guess? I don't know, it seemed needlessly stressful somehow and we wound up taking the baby (he's just over a year old) into the ER on Christmas Eve because he had an uncontrollable fever approaching 104 and had some other worrying symptoms, which kind of ruined the whole "waking up before dawn" excitement for his older brother who actually opened all his presents when we got home from the hospital at like 1 o'clock in the morning. The baby still doesn't give a shit about his presents, most of which are still unopened.


I'm sorry about your baby. :( I hope he's on the mend now.

I gave ours a ten. We were all together and my sister hosted a fabulous brunch.

[voguevixen]

One. I got exactly two Christmas cards: one from my parents and one (oddly enough) from a couple of my favorite HS teachers, which is astonishing because I graduated in 1989. (Couple as in they were both teachers of mine who happen to be married to each other.)

Got ONE gift (an Amazon card from my mom in the card). Even my Secret Santa on the board exchange didn't send me anything. (Unless it's lost in the mail.) Even my husband didn't get me anything. We're separated but still friendly and I got him a gift anyway.

Worked both Xmas eve and Xmas day. (At least I got time-and-a-half on Xmas day, and the cafeteria had free turkey/ham dinners for us.)

Thanksgiving was awesome though - I spent it with my parents and brother and his new wife and my nephew and niece (also a big Bieber fan - we had MUCH to discuss!)

[flodnak]

9.

Not quite the best Christmas ever, but we four were all together.

[Indian]

3

too bad.

[FairyChatMom]

I picked 5 because it didn't totally suck. I just don't get into Christmas any more. It was lots of fun when we were kids, and it was fun when our kids were kids, but now it just feels like a forced obligation, probably exacerbated because once again, I'm the one making the 2+ hour drive since everyone else lives close together. Eight Thanksgivings and Christmases since we moved here from Florida, and my side of the family has come here exactly twice. They don't like the long drive... :rolleyes:

Sorry, obviously I have some issues there.

[HeyHomie]

Utterly mundane on every level. Nothing bad happened, but everyone is broke so gifts were minimal. And the "festivities" consisted of the same thing they've been every year since I've been married: everybody sits in Mrs. Homie's grandma's living room and gossips visits.

[Roland Orzabal]

I give it a 7. I went over to my dad's; we cooked and ate a nice turkey dinner, watched football, and went to sleep. Couldn't really have been more quiet and relaxing.

Given that, I'd rate it higher, but for some reason it just didn't feel like "Christmas" this year. Very few people had outdoor decorations, it never got all that cold, and we haven't seen a single flake of snow. I didn't see any signs of holiday spirit to speak of — even the usual onslaught of Christmas music seemed halfheartedly done.

Ah, well, 2011 was hardly a banner year for anything else, either. Here's looking forward to a whiter Christmas in a brighter new year!

[otternell]

What an awesome Christmas! Spent way too much money, but got some fun things, and will enjoy paying off the CC over the next couple of months. I didn't have enough time off, but work is busy and there's nothing that can be done about it. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all at various family gatherings, so Monday was my only day to unwind, and that was spent cleaning up and doing laundry. So I guess that could have been better, but everyone's spirits were up (and only had to deal with the in-law kids once), so no complaints! I'll get time off next weekend.

[LegsAkimbo]

3.

Pretty pathetic but it could have been worse. Husband gets cheaper and less fun every year and now we seem to have totally cut out the one big fun gift we give ourselves (sometimes it was a big TV, or a game system, or some other really fun extravagance). He now gets more pleasure from self-denial so I am just stuck. No family, one phone call with a friend who was off to celebrate with others. Our first year with a fake tree and the cats insisted on climbing it and bent all the hinged branches down and knocked off and broke several special ornaments, so the tree was a total wash. It's so damn hot here this year that the fireplace went unused, we were close to needing AC in the house, and I am sick of being hot all the time. Dog still has his terrible fall allergies since leaves are still falling and we have other fall features that make him itchy.

On the other hand, all that is pretty minor compared to problems we could have. So, from a totally selfish standpoint, 3.

[CrazyCatLady]

Bout a six. I've been sick for weeks, nothing serious but just enough too make me feel like shit, so I am and have been exhausted for ages and it seemed like every time I turned around someone else needed something else from me. Our Bataan Death March travel plans were even more exhausting than usual because of work scheduling. * My granny with Alzheimer's has had a mini stroke that nobody else had noticed (she's on the outs with a fair chunk of the family for dementia -related reasons.)

But we were mostly together and nobody at my in-laws picked any fights or locked themselves in the bathroom to cry. And my little niece got me a present she picked out all by herself and paid for with her own money. So overall I really think wanting more than that would just be greedy.




*FCM, at least your family is only two hours away. His is an hour one direction and mine is nearly 5 in the other. And no, neither of them come to see us because of the long drive, even though they both bitch all the time about how they never see us.

[Hypno-Toad]

It was pretty much a non-event in that nothing great or bad happened. The drive up and back was uneventful. The food was good. I got stuff I wanted but also some real white elephants. Just glad to be back home.

ETA: 6.

[Silver Fire]

I'm sorry about your baby. :( I hope he's on the mend now.

Thanks. He's okay. And we've decided we're going to do something awesome in a couple weeks to make up for it because I just don't feel very good about this Christmas at all.

[RealityChuck]

It was not going to be a good one, since my father's funeral was a week before. He was stricken just after Thanksgiving, and it cast a pall over the entire month.

Having our daughter visit helped, but it was a little difficult to celebrate, and the weather was more like October than December, so it didn't feel like Christmas.

[Max Torque]

Gave it a 2. My parents are mad at us, so they came over briefly on Christmas morning (didn't eat breakfast or stay for lunch), hung out for a bit, then they took their gifts and left. My wife's father and stepmom, meanwhile, started fretting about bad roads (skies were clear and roads were barely wet, no snow in the forecast), so rather than staying another day as planned, they hurriedly packed up and split, leaving us with our sweet little girl crying because her grandparents have left her. So basically, for Christmas we got rejected by two out of three sets of parents. Yay us.

[Loach]

A good solid 2. Christmas has sucked since I've been in the long drawn out divorce process. So lets see:

Grandmother died on Christmas Eve. Its sad but I can't be totally heart broken over it. She was 104 and certainly had a good run. But her timing sucked.

After spending Christmas morning and afternoon with my ex my kids call me while I'm on the way over and tell me that they want to stay there with their cousins. Didn't see my children at all on Christmas.

What brought the number up from a 1 is my wonderful girlfriend. Other than that, Bah Humbug.

[beowulff]

I gave my wife 9 presents, and she actually liked all of them (or at least acted like she did, which is close enough). So, I gave it a "7".

[Becky2844]

It turned out to be not so horrible. We had a bit of excitement. My ex-husband I haven't seen in 22 years, the father of my oldest, found us a few days ago on Facebook and last night he called her. It was an emotional experience for all of us. A good one, I think. I hope. I don't think I've ever seen my daughter so happy.

I'm glad Rushgeekgirl. I thought about you all.

[Becky2844]

I gave it an eight. It started at Thanksgiving. Of last year.

Last year my older son wanted to help with the dinner so I told him I was going to roast some carrots and potatoes, and could he quarter them for me.

The next thing I knew, he'd sliced the potatoes into french-fry like sticks. My younger son said, "Oh no! He screwed up the potatoes! Thanksgiving is ruined."

This Thanksgiving the guys took the turkey out of the oven. Older one instructed younger one to help lift it out by that plastic ringy thing around the legs. Younger one tugged a little too hard and the bird seperated. "Oh no!" Older one yelled. "He pulled the ass-end off the turkey! Thanksgiving is ruined."

Christmas. This one. I thought I'd planned out the meals well enough but with three men in the house food can disappear pretty fast. Christmas eve there was nothing "good" left to eat. So we put some boloney on stale hot dog buns, older son took a picture of it for posterity with his new camera, and of course everybody said, "Oh no....!"

Then we pulled out the Christmas Day ham & fixin's, opened our presents early and went to bed fat and happy.

Yeah, at least an eight.

[alice_in_wonderland]

Good solid 9.

Surprising since my dad died at this time last year (well, early January) but it was lovely all the same.

[Khadaji]

I saw good friends, I gave my mother some things top make her life better. I ate her good home cooking. It was a nice. I woman to love might add to it, but other than that, life is good.

[El_Kabong]

6, based on:

I'm by myself with nearest family 1500 miles away, but was invited over to a long-time friend's house for Christmas dinner, but he and his wife have become the stereotypical old married couple who bicker endlessly without really being aware they are doing it so as the only non-family guest I was a bit uncomfortable, but they and their daughter seemed to quite like the gifts I brought them, and dinner was pretty good, so overall more positive than negative.

[pseudotriton ruber ruber]

10. My favorite person in this universe, daughter #2, got through immigration without a passport, and we spent three days together not celebrating Christmas but eating fresh wild-caught salmon and veggies while she told me all about her semester in Scotland. I don't get to see her much, but every time I can't imagine loving her more, and every time I always do.

[Kasper1014]

8. Instead of giving the kids gifts this year, we went to Florida. Stress free...except the packing.

[Trinopus]

Well... Christmas Eve was awful... I had a minor nervous breakdown... Uncontrolled weeping, massive depression, suicidal thoughts... But by Christmas Day, I was a lot better... These things happen...

(I wish I could say that it was due to the spiritual guidance of three ghosts...but really, it's because I have a loving and understanding family...and some good medications...)

[ProbablyProcrastinating]

Thanks. He's okay. And we've decided we're going to do something awesome in a couple weeks to make up for it because I just don't feel very good about this Christmas at all.

I am glad to hear he is better. :) The Russian Orthodox Christmas falls on Jan 7:

http://russian-crafts.com/customs/christmas.html

[dogbutler]

I give it a 9. I spent Christmas Eve with a lady friend of mine. Christmas Day, I hung out at home with some close friends and some assorted dogs. No stress, no drama, no work.

[Misnomer]

I give mine a 5/6, so I chose 6.

My parents and brother are (relatively) healthy, everyone liked their presents, there were no arguments, and the traffic to/from Baltimore was light. So the day wasn't total crap; plus, I'd spent a nice Christmas Eve at my favorite piano bar.

I agree that Christmas just didn't seem to be very special this year, and it seems that many of my friends feel the same way: it was ok, but no big whoop.

That said, I still feel sad for everyone who rated their Christmas at less than a 5. :(

[Eureka]

I went for 8-- I did very well in the gift exchange (both giving and receiving), and Christmas Day was nice.

It would have been nice to have more time off around the holiday, though, than work in retail generally permits.

[LawMonkey]

10. First Christmas ever with one of those, y'know, signifcant other critters. Plus there's the bit where she took me to a drag show for my birthday (Dec. 24). And mom got me an antique stereoscope and a boatload of cards (for which I now need a box). All 'round awesome xmas. :D

[MLS]

A perfect 10. How could it not be, with an almost 2 YO granddaughter? Plus I tried out a new entree recipe and even my son-in-law, the executive chef, said it was good.

[Sattua]

A 7 I think. Now that I'm the mother in the "family with kids" generation of the family, I really understand why some people find the holidays stressful. I got everything bought, wrapped, shipped, baked, cleaned and decorated though.

Positive points because the decorations were great, my parents were moderately helpful with food preparation and baby-entertaining, and my husband scored a total home run with my Christmas presents--diamond earrings, Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, and tickets to South Beach. And it was the baby's first Christmas, which was lots of fun. She looked like a little whirling dervish, trying to decide which new toy to play with first.

Negative points because we all had miserable head colds, and the baby's turned into a fever the day after Christmas. It's the first time she's been sick. Taking care of a baby who's too sick to sleep, while you're sick yourself? The definition of "sucks".

[control-z]

7. It's nice to see family and get together, but it's a lot of hassle getting the gifts ready, and I really don't want to be gifting everyone that gifts me, but if they gift me I feel like I need to gift them.