Well, we had a joyous last day of school before our two week winter recess, and the kids actually left the building singing … all on their own without any prompting! LOL
It’s on to the staff party and on to two joyous weeks off! It is important to me that you all enjoy this time of year in whatever way that you choose and that makes you happy, so I ardently hope you do!
Love you guys! 
Love you back.
We are having a party at Dialysis center. Boy, what fun!!
Some kids caroled down the hallway. That was cute.
Not interested in the goodies/treats. But there is a happy vibe.
Happy Christmas all!
I just signed off my computer and am officially on break for two weeks! I’ve never done this before.
I use the term “break” loosely. My days booked up pretty fast with stuff I have to do. There will be time to relax, right?
Right?
I’m hoping for at least one day to check out Clair Obscur. My uncle bought it for me several months ago and keeps nagging me to play it.
One thing I’d like to do for Christmas is make cookies with the boy. Maybe the 24th.
I also have to make chili Monday for a holiday party for my writers group. We usually have one, but this one will be sad, because we lost a member on Thanksgiving Day. I’m planning to read bad poetry in his honor (he hated poetry) and we’re exchanging books he might have liked. His widow may or may not attend. Expect crying. And chili.
I appreciate your “Happy Holiday Season” greeting since not everyone celebrates Christmas. For me, the only holiday I celebrate in December is the Winter Solstice, which this year is on Sunday, Dec 21. Imagine the relief ancient people felt in the Neolithic period (around 10,200 BC) when they first realized the days would not grow any shorter. It would definitely have been something worth celebrating.
I will celebrate in my own quiet way when it’s all over.
But I wish all good things to those who enjoy this time of year.
I’m definitely celebrating! I hate driving in the dark.
Be Happy, fellow dopers.
(We will celebrate the solstice tomorrow, 3:03pm, Sunday 21st December (UK))
We wisely had our Chanukah party last week after the kids show, when we were all taken out to lunch, which was optional, and a couple people chose to do other things (one may simply have chosen to work a half-day, but it’s nobody’s business-- only requirement is to RSVP in a timely manner, and then go if you said you would, since the school spent money, and even that is flexible for illness and emergencies). So yesterday at 3:01pm, when the last kid was officially paired with a parent (official time was 3:00pm, but traffic was backed up), we were free!
5 minutes of leftover clean-up, and I clocked-out at 3:06.
Due to ancient by-laws, my bonus is still a check, so I had to go to a physical bank to cash it, and then had to run to the pharmacy, due to recent laws about what can be delivered. I also had some cash on me because some generous parents sensed that I did not need another $20 Starbucks card (I teach preschool, and also Hebrew school, and have almost $100 backed up on my Starbucks account), and gave me cards with cash in them, which fortunately is traditional in Judaism, so I didn’t get chocolates, nor homemade muffins.
There is quite a bit of cash in the house now, and I am off for two weeks.
Happy whatever.
I’d like to wish you all a happy holiday!
Don’t wanna leave anyone out, so here’s what I say:
Have a great Thanksgiving, happy Solstice Day,
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and Hogmanay!
Have a Merry Christmas, and before I am through,
Happy New Year’s to You!!
and have a very nice Festivus as well
Hosted a holiday party last night with my writer’s group, toasted a recently deceased friend. I made chili and cornbread and it turned out great. It’s nice to be with friends.
Today is “Date Day,” but a lot of things non-date related are going on, or maybe this is what qualifies as a date for an old married couple. Started with my husband going to Secretary of State, then we’re getting the results of my son’s ADHD evaluation (there will be zero surprises.) Then I have some errands to run, then we might pick out a new TV, I guess that’s fun. Then hopefully we can squeeze in dinner at Ruth’s Chris before we pick up the kid from daycare.
What can I say? You gotta keep the romance alive.
You sure do. IOW everyone should.
Sounds like today will be more “date couple hours” than “date day”, but that’s still sooo much better than no date at all.
So yes, our son has ADHD, but also the testing suggested something is going on with his executive function that ADHD would not explain, so the doctor ordered additional tests, which will now be on the 29th and 30th with results the 31st. That’s five appointments in two weeks and yes they scheduled all these at the last minute so we didn’t have to pay our deductible next year (we’ve already hit his OOP max this year.) So nice of them! But also a complete whirlwind.
We cancelled dinner because we were eating a late lunch and just decided to make it a really good lunch. We found a fantastic burger joint. One of those rare finds where everything is delicious, from salad to sides.
Then we picked out our TV, and that was a lot of fun, actually. We had a good vibe with the sales guy. We went from 65" to 75" and got the best thing we could find. Pretty big upgrade (Sony Bravia 9.)
And that… was our date.
My grandparents called to cancel their plans with us tomorrow for Christmas Eve. I was going to make them Cornish hens. I am sad but honestly I am so, so tired. We’re thinking of just celebrating Christmas, gifts and all, tomorrow. Just the three of us. Bake gingerbread cookies. Watch the classic cartoons. I may or may not do the Cornish hens. Might make it this weekend instead.
Just something we haven’t had in so long… Down time.
I’ll share a funny holiday memory from many years ago along with greetings and good wishes to everyone at the end of this year.
My brother had some untreated mental health issues when I was growing up that would often erupt unpredictably.
One time he got up in the middle of the night during the holiday season and spray painted the entire nativity set gold.
Not sure if he was trying to capture the whole gold, frankincense and myrrh vibe.
Even the livestock got hit.
Isn’t there something in Xian mythology about somebody worshipping a golden calf? 
That is perfect lol!
Yesterday was nice. We watched the Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas. I loafed. My son opened his gifts at a rate of one per hour and we left the rest for today. Finished up this morning. Getting ready to go to the in-laws. It will probably be fine.
Most of the cool things I got for Christmas I bought for myself, but I think I made out pretty good. I leaned into the materialism a bit this year, as I do occasionally. I got a system for organizing my cross stitch projects and supplies. I’m so excited.
The kid’s favorite gift is a handheld microscope. He’s been running around looking at various objects all day. He’s also loving the set of hourglasses we got him, in various increments.
Husband got a tripod from yours truly for his amateur photography adventure. He adores it. It’s pretty cool, because now he can be in the videos and pictures he’s taking.
Merry Christmas 
It’s a very quiet time for us. We had some of my wife’s relatives over yesterday for a brunch. They told us we could come to theirs today if we liked, but honestly, we prefer the day to be quiet and stressless. So no family visits, no gift exchanges, and a decent if not extravagant dinner later. Vienna Boy’s Choir is on the Dot Echo, the cat is snoozing, and I’m fussing around on the intertoobs. Happy holidays, however and whenever you enjoy them.
Your quiet day sounds so ideal.
It’s very important for my husband to be around his extended family, so we did the extended family holiday party thing.
I realized my son and I react approximately the same way to these events: we spend the first half hour freaking out (him loudly, me quietly.) It’s roughly equivalent to dropping a cat into a bathtub full of water. But then… we adjust, and by the end we are feeling pretty comfortable and having fun.
So it went this time around. We both ended up having fun.
Never?! That’s interesting! So, how was it?
“Goldfinger”!! LOL