So, what are we all doing for Christmas?

[chris]

Chris, re the Veggie meal for your MiL - Mushrooms (or anything) wrapped in Filo pastry look good and are easy to do. I may even do that for myself - and thanks
Vegetarian Society Christmas

Thanks for what?!

[veggiechicken]

Thanks for asking Wish I'd never said Thanks now

[chris]

Asking what?! eh?!

*confused*

Are you coming to ours for xmas then?

[veggiechicken]

That's what I meant - as you well know I was trying to be subtle - it never works

[chris]

Well, I don't like mushrooms so you've lost out there

[Mikey]

I didn't know VC was your MIL Chris, that explains a lot...

If you want to go to a really good panto Chris, I'd go to the Grand Theatre in Porthcawl, it knocks socks off Cardiff and Swansea IMHO, and its cheaper.

[Two_Sheds]

Because I'm awkward and hate turkey ...

Crikey: try being awkward and hating Xmas ...

[veggiechicken]

Crikey: try being awkward and hating Xmas ...

After years of practice I can do it, Two Sheds and I'm sure you can too

[Two_Sheds]

I now love spending Christmas Day on my own.

I hesitated to post this, because people tend to think you're an evil person if you don't "do" Xmas, but then I thought that actually, I wanted to try to put across how I feel, and try to explain why I don't join in.

Christmas, ime, has always meant tempers getting frazzled, credit cards getting busted, people getting stupid drunk, having needless arguments, crying children, crying adults, days of cooking food that won't get eaten, days or even weeks trawling the horrible shops buying presents that will only end up on eBay the next day, too much washing up, too much expense, too much waste ... I just don't get how that's all meant to be fun. (Himself spends 3 days in the pub, the tree and decorations put themselves up (and back away again in the loft), his presents buy and wrap themselves, and he still gets his dinner on the table when he rolls home, so I guess it's fun if you're him )


I love a good party, I love my friends, I like a good meal with lovely people, but I'm not a Christian (I'm not religious at all) and I don't like being told when to "have fun". I don't buy into the commercialised, fake "festivities". So stuff yer turkey

No, seriously, if you enjoy it then do it. But if you don't enjoy it, stop pretending to, and don't feel guilty.

This year I'll be relaxing, not cooking for anyone else, instead staying in and reading all the good books & watching all the movies I've saved up for myself, cooking a lovely dinner (probably roast) for the two (four including pets) of us and having a bevvy I expect. I'll walk the dog on our beautiful beach, which will be deserted on Xmas morning and hopefully the weather will be good (clear, sunny and cold) so I can get some good photos.

[veggiechicken]

if TwoSheds can write an essay, so can I
When my husband was alive there was some point in celebrating Christmas because we could enjoy it together. Buying pressies for each other was fun, and we'd buy lots of stupid silly things that took hours to unwrap, sitting up in bed on Christmas morning. But the rest of the day would be awful, having to put up with the in-laws all day and look delighted at the stuff that they had wasted their pension on - just to give us something. Boxing Day would be my parents turn and we'd go through it all over again. Some years there would be distant inlaws staying until I was tearing my hair out and lying about having to go back to work immediately after Boxing Day, just so that they would go away.
After Tony died, and all of the inlaws had too, I decided to spend Christmas my way, without any pretence. I only send cards to my closest family and make a donation to a cancer charity instead. The same goes for presents - immediate family only and I expect very few in return. I don't decorate the house apart from a couple of sentimental little things. I'll go and see my Mum on Christmas day at my brother's and play with the kids toys, take Mum back to her flat and then, maybe, go into my neighbours for a drink. Treat it just like any other day really - and unless any meaningful person comes along in the future to share it with me, I shan't be changing my ways just to conform.

[julesapple]

Go for it girls......it should be a time for doing something for yourselves.

[Alison]

I love a good party, I love my friends, I like a good meal with lovely people, but I'm not a Christian (I'm not religious at all) and I don't like being told when to "have fun". I don't buy into the commercialised, fake "festivities". So stuff yer turkey

I know what you mean about being "told" to have a good time - it's for a very similar reason that I boycott Valentine's Day. The commercialisation thing really gets on my nerves but I tend to make a lot of presents and although we give to quite an extended family, they tend to be fairly small gifts rather than the hundreds of pounds on each person that some people bankrupt themselves for. However, I think what makes Christmas different for me is that both me and OH (as well as most of our friends and family) are off work at the same time for over a week so it's one of the few times in the year when we can get together and have a right good laugh. Suppose I'm lucky that the inlaws are a good bunch and on the whole we all get on well, leaving nobody being put upon.

[Potstubsdustbins]

So in actual fact you do a sort of Christmas but in your own way, a way you enjoy. I just call that grown up, I have to because its what we do.

I too had years of Christmas madness with relatives and inlaws now its just so much better.

Potty

[HeyWayne]

Going to be the first year I am not part of a family - going to be odd, and very difficult, but will cherish the time with Bean.

[julesapple]

Chin up Wayne. Think positive. You do still have Bean. ((((Hugs))))