I’m going to see my daughter and I’m very excited about that. The rest of the whole seasonal frenzy (and the music it rode in on) can bite me.
Here in the US… meh. I enjoy having my grandson and a few close friends over for a German Christmas, but that’s about it.
At home in Deutschland? I’m a happy boy, with my mulled wine, walking around in the snow, enjoying the Christmas Markets and exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve!
Quasi
This. Exactly.
My mom passed last fall, and my grandma passed less than a year before that. I used to do up Christmas BIG TIME for them, and my own small family (my husband and our daughter).
Now…It’s just not there for me, really. Sure, I have my husband and our (adult) daughter to think of, but if I didn’t put up a tree/decorate the house/acknowledge the day, I don’t think it would kill me, ya know?
But, my husband and daughter expect to have all the yummy treats, and stuff that goes along with the holiday, so I guess I’ll do it without bitching too much. I’ll try to feel fucking festive, but it’ll take some convincing.
Actually, I was about to post this myself. It seems weird to be excited about Christmas now. How about enjoying Halloween and Thanksgiving before we start anticipating yet another holiday?
Shrug.
Normally I don’t really do anything for Christmas. All my friends are off doing their own thing with their families or whatever, so I’m pretty much left to my own devices. I’ll probably end up visiting my parents, but that’s just a long drive so I can watch them give my nephew presents. I haven’t gotten anything for Christmas in years, despite giving them out myself.
I’m quite excited. We’ve already started rehearsing some of the music we’ll be singing at Advent carol services and at Midnight Mass.
I haven’t give the secular side of Christmas any thought at all yet.
Yep, all the changes make it difficult to enjoy Christmas the way I used to. I think if I could find a food kitchen to volunteer at for the day, that would be a good way for me to get back into the spirit of it.
I picked really really freakin unexcited.
I pretty much hate Christmas now. Loved it as a kid. Loved it as a young adult. I remember being thrilled to have my own Christmas tree and my own Christmas ornaments. I was so excited to share it with my own kids.
Now the only present I want is a Get Out of Christmas Free card.
It is just so much extra work, especially putting everything away after. Bleah.
and I hate cooking.
I would opt out if I could without hurting people I love, but I really can’t. I do as little as possible.
Also my brother killed himself almost three years ago on December 16. So that makes me hate it more, but I was already hating it.
I even hate getting presents. I don’t need more stuff.
I love the idea of Christmas this far out. Softly falling snow, hot cocoa around the tree, carols quietly playing, just lovely.
Then it gets closer. Freezing cold, slush, cards not sent, presents not bought or wrapped, snapping at the family and screaming the 999th time I hear Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.
Post a new poll on December 21st and see what I pick then.
Couldn’t really find a poll option that describes me. I’d say technically I don’t celebrate it, because I haven’t put up decorations of my own since moving out of my parents’ house and coming out as an atheist at the age of 18. But I still visit my mom every year for the holiday and help her put some stuff up, because she appreciates it and railroads me into participating. I also like exchanging gifts and looking at colored lights as I drive by them. But that’s the extent of what I like about Christmas. The commercialization aspect annoys me. I try to avoid spending time in retail places during December, and I despise and avoid Christmas songs because they get stuck in my head for days.
Christmas is just plain depressing for me. I have no local friends, no family, it’s just me and the dogs. Since my Dad died I haven’t decorated. No one to exchange gifts with. I tried ‘pretending’ by cooking up a nice big Christmas dinner, but with it being just me… too damed depressing.
Hate it anymore.
You could get some reindeer antlers and Christmas sweaters for your dogs.
Right now I’m neutral. I don’t like seeing Christmas trees in the stores in September. But ask me again in a month, and I’ll be a Christmas loving fool!
I’m looking forward to spoiling my nieces, the younger one is a newborn so she won’t know what’s going on but the older one is 3 and understands Christmas pretty well.
You left out “I don’t celebrate Christmas, and though I’m not pissed off now, I’ll be pretty annoyed by the end of December.”
In lieu of that, I checked “don’t clebrate/don’t care.”
The person that made Christmas exciting for me won’t be here, he’ll be in ICE detention. I can’t afford to buy our little girl anything and I don’t even know if I’ll be able to lug the stupid tree down from the attic by myself.
Honestly I just wish it would hurry up and pass but I have to pretend and make merry for my girls.
I picked “other”. See, I am excited about Christmas, it’s my favorite holiday, but in addition to the secular aspects it’s also, to me, a religious celebration.
So while I do enjoy trees and ornaments and cards and food and presents, I could do without them if I had to, because the birth of Christ is more important. I like to think that all the frippery part of the birthday party, and I don’t believe He minds it.
Now, where did I put my Christmas fudge recipe?
I am not a fan of Christmas. What has killed it for me over the years (besides my growing agnosticism) is the bloody Christmas music, which people start playing after Labor Day. From Thanksgiving through Christmas, I simply want to take a shotgun to the P. A. system in every frickin’ store in the frickin’ mal.
Mutter, grumble. Bah! Hambug!
Neutral right now, but I suspect I will start getting mildly annoyed eventually. I usually do the last few years, what with the early commercial super-saturation.
My family always celebrated a secularized Christmas when I was young and my mother still gets into it a tiny bit. But really it is not a holiday I’ve ever been that thrilled with - maybe because my birthday is close to it and the dreaded combination Christmas/birthday present was a recurrent theme when I was a lad. Don’t really do my birthday anymore either ;). Just call me Eeyore.
About the only major U.S. holiday I’ve ever had much affection for is Thanksgiving, the Holy Day of Gluttony. But as it happens this time around it looks like I’ll be working Thanksgiving ( 2-10 p.m., no turkey for me ), Christmas AND on my birthday. Yayyyy!!
I’m pretty pumped. I grow a special Yuletide Moustache[sup]TM[/sup] starting Nov. 1, which stays around, much to my wife’s chagrin, until Jan. 1. The first of November also kicks off cocktail party season at the Lendervedder house, even if most said cocktail parties are just a one-man affair. Plus, and most importantly, I’ve got two little kiddies who make this a really fantastic time of year and I can’t wait to get shopping for them.
I’m annoyed at all the stuff that’s out so early.
Ok, I keep it in the back of my mind and have already started purchasing presents but that’s more of a budget constraint than a WHOO CHRISTMAS! thing. That and I HATE huge crowds while shopping, so the mall in December is a level of hell for me. I troll a lot of craft fairs, which can be crazy too but isn’t as bad for some reason.
I enjoy it. I like getting together with my family, having food and just basking in each others company (I know not all families are like this and we’re hardly perfect but we manage to get along most of the time and it’s nice).
I think this one will be bittersweet though as Velociraptor has told me (last night) that another kid says Santa doesn’t exist. Ok, I temporized a bit, (I think Santa is more about the spirit of things anyway than ‘WHOO PRESENTS!’ and so exists in that way but don’t take away my stocking. Actually, I’d be happy with just a stocking for me, I keep telling Dad this but he persists and gets a list of assorted things I’d probably buy for myself anyway later). But… yeah. I told him Santa’s elves are people who help out and he was all ‘You and Grandma are elves right?’ so I confirmed that and he was all ‘YES! I knew it!’ and that was the end of the conversation. Maybe this year we should discuss more about being one of his elves and let him in on the donating to help others.