I’ve never had a SO either, but I’ll be spending Christmas with my parents and my brother and his family. Then Boxing Day through New Year’s Eve will be spent visiting friends and generally enjoying myself.
Will be spending Christmas Day home by myself – which I’m absolutely looking forward to. No interruptions, no phone calls, everyone else busy with their Christmases. I like this time of year for that, rather than get down about it. Got a bit of a nice meal planned, hopefully I’ll sleep, surf the Net, maybe watch some telly. Bliss!
Like Queen Tonya, I actually find no longer being married a bit of a relief at the holidays - Christmas has always been a BIG deal with my mom and two brothers, and having an outsider, no matter how beloved, has never really worked all that comfortably. I’m the youngest, at 49, and we still have a *huge * gift exchange that takes hours. However, we have that Christmas shortly after Thanksgiving these days, since one of my brothers comes from Hawai’i, and the airfares are significantly lower at that time of year.
On Saturday the 24th, Mom and I will roast the free turkey the grocery store gave her, in large part so that I can have the leftovers to make stuff with. We’ll probably watch a movie as well.
On Sunday the 25th, Mom and I will have a token gift exchange just to mark the day, and cook a couple of Cornish game hens for dinner. Another movie.
On Monday the 26th, I will use some of the leftover turkey to make a lovely turkey-mushroom pie, which I will serve to my Dad and his terrific wife, and we’ll have our gift exchange then.
The new year I’ve pretty much always ignored, except for the joy of having time off from work.
My friend/business partner, who just broke up with his g/f, decided to check the online dating thing he signed up for last time they broke up (last April). He chatted with one girl, and discovered she’s right here in Bellingham! She wasn’t ‘full of herself’. She looked familiar. They were both born on the same day, and are both 29. Turns out we shot her sister’s (or friend’s) wedding. He looked at her website, which had about 150 photos of her. Only they didn’t look exactly like her. It was a ‘photo documentary’ of her progress as she dropped from 300 pounds to, as my friend put it, ‘petite’. She doesn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas.
So I told my friend to bring her along. I have plenty of prime rib. Like four slices that, before cooking, are over 1¼ pound. So maybe there will be three of us for Christmas dinner. (As usual, I’ll be the ‘third wheel’.) Or they may decide to do something on their own and I’ll be alone.
Misnomer: I didn’t even know there was an Italian version! I like plain ol’ cheesecake: graham cracker crust, and the filling. No topping.
The first time I posted my prime rib and Yorkshire pudding Christmas dinner, Mauvaise said she’d marry me if I could make a Midland trifle. 
Dinner with friends on Christmas Eve, then family on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. For New Years, I haven’t made any plans. I don’t think I really want to do anything. I’ve heard that around 10 or 11 that night, people will “escort” my city’s float up to its place in the Rose Parade (the float travels very, very slowly, and people walk along behind it), and that you can walk around all the floats that night as they’re lined up for the parade in the morning. I’ve never done that, but I might this year, just to say I have.
For Christmas, I’ll make myself a nice dinner (haven’t decided what’s on the menu yet), open a very nice bottle of wine, and relax with music, reading and/or movies.
For New Year’s Eve, weather permitting, I’ll be headed to rural Wisconsin to spend some time with friends at their lakeside cabin.
Single life is good.
I’ll be with Mama & Papa Doug, who are nearby (a little too nearby actually). My frizzy cousin Fran will be here for Xmas dinner (roast beast & pudds, as always), then on the 26th we will put on a lunch for a cow-orker and her 2 kids (boy 9 & girl 2).
We’d hoped to go in for the music at a couple NYC churches, but barring divine intervention in the TWU strike, t’ain’t gonna happen.
It’s cold here, bright, could use more snow, but won’t get any. I could use more brandy, and will get some.
Don’t get me wrong, I have serious love for New York-style cheesecake. Most of the time, if I’m in the mood for cheesecake that’s what I’m thinking of – and I, too, prefer it untopped, though every now and then some raspberry coulis is a nice touch.
However, Italian cheesecake (which my grandfather used to make) is definitely worthy. 
It’s made with ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese, and usually has a hint of citrus – lemon, orange, or both. In fact, one variation has bits of dried citrus baked right in to the cake (another variation has chocolate chips, which is my mother’s favorite; I prefer it plain). Making a good Italian cheesecake is definitely an art: I had a slice on Sunday night that was way too orange-y, and not firm enough. There’s a chain around here called Bertucci’s that makes a surprisingly good Italian cheesecake.
Well, I only said I’d “seriously consider” it … I don’t threaten marriage lightly…
Yeah, the new-years make-out session is the stab in the heart to me. Never had anyone for it, even when I -was- dating. Timing just wasn’t right. This year, if I’m very lucky, I’ll get to see the woman that tore my heart out being proposed to as the chimes strike midnight! Yay!
Not celebrating xmas at all is similar. I think the great Maurice Minnifield summed it up best:
New years’? Just another weekend, except that I have to remember to write 2006 on the rent cheque. I’ve never gone to any special parties or anything.
I did the wait-for-midnight-in-front-of-City-Hall thing one year and was more concerned about being pickpocketed in the crowd than anything else. The last time I paid attention to the change was 2000. I don’t even watch it on TV anymore.
This will be the third Christmas my partner and I have been together as a couple. It will also be the third Christmas that we haven’t spent together.
Maybe next year… 
People are shocked shocked shocked to know that ACBG and I do not spend Christmas together. He goes to see his family and I go to see mine. So what! We’ll be together New Year’s and January 2nd is his birthday which we can celebrate together too, so we got us a whole lot of celebratin’ to do the week after Christmas.
Still, AngelicGemma if you and your partner desire to spend Christmas together, may you get to do so next year.
Suppose it will be just the not-having-someone-to-smuggle-up-to that I’ll miss really. Im juat really tactile… so I love all that stuff - mind you - dont know why Im saying that…if I HAD still been with my partner this Christmas, it would probably have been FAR from all snuggles and lovey dovey!
Johnny L.A.?
Hi Johnny - how you doin’? Erm …what time’s dinner (just to make up the numbers you udnerstand…)
Mint Julep?
Aaaaaw…hope you’re okay?
Misnomer?
ME TOO!!
Ybeayf?
Just miss having someone to be close to and to hug…SUCH a romantic little me…
Oy!?
Ex-partner always used to go into a major depressions at the holidays - started Christmas eve and finished well after New Years! So in THAT sense also - glad to get shut! BUT has certainly left me wondering what the heck to do with myself…!
Arr Matey!?
Aaaaw…! ‘tore your heart out’…!?! That sounds just REALLY raw! Im so sorry. You be okay?
Angelic Gemma?
I hope so too!
Swampbear
You’ll have a GREAT New Year’s though - so THAT will make it all worthwhile!
ENJOY!!!
So …its feet up, a good film, a good read, a visit or two with friends and family and dinner at Johnny’s!! 
And for New Year’s…? Whats on where…?
Haven’t decided yet. Probably around eight-ish.
This is my first holiday season alone since, well, the Reagan Administration. Saturday, I’m going over to spend the night at the ex-missus’ (my kids’ request). Sunday I go to my sister’s. I will probably get drunk that night. Before I met the missus, I had never had a good New Year’s, so I’ll just have to get used to that again. It could be worse; I could be with my most recent “special friend.” I’ve actually blocked e-mails from her, in order to avoid the narrow occassion of stupidity.
I never have an SO for this time of year, so I’m used to this. I’m spending Christmas and New year’s with my parents. I plan to catch up on some phone calls that I owe people. We’re also probably going to go to a casino sometime during this holiday.
Sounds great - though allow for me just a little won’t you - it’s a lOOOOng walk from the UK!
p.s. what’s the weather like?
Right now it’s about 12°C. Pretty warm for this time of year. Must have a warm front passing through. It’s very windy today, with occasional showers. In the summer it will get over 30°C.
As of this moment, it’s rather questionable…things were progressing pretty smoothly, I thought, but now, who knows? Why do people get so emotionally crazy at this time of year?
I am single. Christmas is never a problem - it’s pretty much expected to spend it with the family. New Years is the problem. I’m a very self-contained person - I have friends, but am not always invited to do things. This year it looked like I was going to spend New Years’ alone. What made it worse was that it’s my birthday. But, it’s been decided that I will be driving to my parents’ for the holiday. Much better.
Susan