Am I the only person who is not going to do Christmas even though she’s supposed to? Or am I just not observant enought to see other threads?
I’m probably a terrible person but I’m not having Christmas. I told my mom and dad and they were okay with it. They said they would skip it if they could. I don’t really know why they can’t but that’s not important. I emailed my brother about it. I thought I was pretty straightforward. But he responded with an “I don’t understand.” We don’t really get along very well.
I just don’t know if I made the right decision. I’m a bit scared.
I would feel guilty or relieved but I don’t know, I guess I shocked myself. I only told people if I was afraid they would get me a gift, and what I said was I’m not going to celebrate Christmas or exchange gifts this year but I hope they have a good one. Everyone is cool with it but my brother. I feel weird! I hope I’m not the only one.
There were a few other threads where people expressed the same feelings as you.
Me personally, I’d like to skip christmas sometimes too. However, it’s much less of an ordeal for me (only being 19) than it is for parents and adults. The older you get the less you receive and the more you give.
Ooh, enjoy yourself just a little extra and think of me while you’re doing it, okay? I’d skip Christmas if I could, but I have children (and their grandparents) who would be very hurt and upset if I did. So I’m spending this last week before Christmas running around and trying to remember every little damn detail so that everyone can have a perfect Christmas, because if they don’t, it’ll be my fault. Because I’m now The Mom.
Have fun not celebrating. Lift a glass of something that doesn’t involve egg or nog to those of us who are still stuck on the treadmill.
I once had a friend who would declare, every year about Dec. 18th, that he wasn’t going to buy any Christmas presents. This was after all his family and friends had already bought him something. I don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s doing time for killing his wife.
>So I’m spending this last week before Christmas running around and trying to remember every little damn detail so that everyone can have a perfect Christmas, because if they don’t, it’ll be my fault.
Mmmm. Mrs. Napier does this too, but she’s frantic and irritable and snappy and often downright mean about it. To a large extent, how nice a Christmas we all have depends on how many times we get yelled at. I really love the family taking time off from jobs and being together, and I like giving gifts and everybody in pajamas draped over the livingroom furniture playing with their presents and picking at the tray of lunchmeats all afternoon - but the weeks leading up to it are Hell - it’s pretty hard to say whether it’s worth it.
I’d love to skip Christmas, but my mother would start rending her garments and beating her breast and all that if I were even to suggest that. She’s nuts about holiday togetherness, even though there are only three of us in my family and we all live together. We see each other every single day, so it’s basically just another day. I have a very small family – all 4 grands are dead, my dad and his brother are estranged, and my dad’s sister tries to reach out but we’re not really interested because it’s been 20 years, so it’s not like we have a large reunion or anything.
It’s just another day to me, but to mother IT’S CHRISTMAS, HOW CAN YOU ACT LIKE THIS ON CHRISTMAS YOU LITTLE BASTARD.
My Christmas celebration is restricted to baking up a storm for the coworkers weekly until the big day, and then it’s over. This is an extremely stressful time of the year for us (retail), so extra chocolate and baked goods are always welcome.
Just keep this in mind. All those people on television who are joyously having perfect Christmases and New Year Parties are actors, and they’re only pretending to be happier than you. Most people don’t get along perfectly with their families, and they don’t get perfect gifts for everybody. If you don’t have a perfect holiday, you are normal. Being normal is no reason to feel guilty. You probably won’t feel as wonderful on New Year’s Eve as those actors in the champagne commercials seem to feel. No amount of alcohol will fix that.
Take care of yourself over the holidays. We need you back here in January, so be careful.
Mom_Crayons and I started boycotting Christmas a few years ago. It has been devine. In another thread I mentioned how I hate what Christmas does to people the stress, the anger, the mall-rage. People buying presents while resenting it the entire time because it’s for that “brother-in-law they hate but have to have over for dinner anyway even though they can’t stand the thought of him in their house”. I’ve overheard people say truly evil thing about their family members over the holidays.
So one year we decided that what would make Christmas really grand, would be to enjoy some seriously slothful time. We’ve done nothing for Christmas ever since! No cooking, no big family gift exchange – meh, we can do all that when we get back home and stop by when the pressure to The Big Holiday is over. People are so much happier and relaxed the day after Christmas (that’s Boxing Day to you Yanks.)
Even better, sometimes we go to a five star hotel and do nothing there. We sit by the in-room fireplace, lounge in the jacuzzi’s we each get in our giant bathrooms, play boardgames, watch pay-per-view movies, we read books, while hotel staff brings us food, wine, and caters to our every whim! We wallow in decadent slothfulness and pampering.
Dear, Og! Nothing is better than a Christmas of nothing! Nothing at all!
Never in my memory have I ever celebrated this holiday. My parents haven’t observed it since I was a very small child. (Yes, it’s for religious reasons. Yes, I’m Christian. No, I’m not JW. No, I don’t want to get into beliefs and start some huge debate. Just sayin’!)
EVERY YEAR, I’m so relieved that I’m free of all the trappings of the holiday, as I see people running around frantic and harried. Some of my in-laws do participate, and as I hear my SIL talk about how tired she is and how she still has to find so-and-so a gift, the sense of relief just grows stronger!
(And if anyone wonders, no, I didn’t feel deprived as a child! People often seem to think that I was!)
I’m going to have a really quiet Christmas – it’ll be me, my mom, and my brother. (Yay! I haven’t seen him since early this year!) We’ll probably just sleep late and sit around and do nothing much all day.
Heck, the most holidayish thing (any holiday!) I’m doing this year is going to a Yule ritual tonight run by a friend of mine.
If my SO wasn’t going out of state to see HIS family, it might be a bit more exciting, but he is. sigh I’ll miss him. I’m pretty sure this is the last holiday of any consequence we won’t be together for, though!
I’m confused about whether everyone’s problem is with the whole Christmas holiday, or just with the present part of it. Because Christmas is not just about presents, despite popular belief.
Maybe I have a weird perspective on it. My family’s a bunch of atheists who love Christmas for a lot of reasons–decorating, food, togetherness. Presents are a fun part of it, but our gift-giving is really quite low-key.
I guess I’m curious as to whether there are other objectionable points to Christmas, other than the “gift pressure.”
I list myself as a Christmas Conscientous Objector (CCO). (I got the idea from another Doper, although I can’t for the life of me remember who.) Since I’m Jewish, all Christmas would really be for me is exchanging gifts with friends, and I don’t really want to do that, so I opt out. This was accomplished by a short notice in my AIM profile:
“Please note that I am a CCO (Christmas Conscientous Objector). I expect no gifts from any of my friends except their goodwill and company; in return, I ask that you do not expect material gifts from me.”
The only comments I’ve gotten on it are “oh, wow, that’s a good idea”. The only friend who would absolutely insist on getting me a present, is currently in jail awaiting bond (a dipshit mutual friend brought drugs into her car, and then he consented to a search of her car–which (obviously) he didn’t even own!–when they got pulled over, and now she’s in jail and he got off with a fine–I’m ready to pound his face in), so it’s not much of an issue.
Relax and enjoy the time off, take it easy…)
Just sayin’!)