christmas!

[Nicos]

i get sooo excited, santa's real ain't he????

Of course he is ...and don't anyone tell you otherwise !!!!!!! !
Noel is t ferfet time to be yourself with no inhibitions that society puts on you!!! ...if you want to be a child...then get on with it...( we are always here to support you!!!!)
It's a state of mind....and although a tad early in the season.......go for it....( quietly!!!)

[MrsC]

Of course he is ...and don't anyone tell you otherwise !!!!!!! !
Noel is t ferfet time to be yourself with no inhibitions that society puts on you!!! ...if you want to be a child...then get on with it...( we are always here to support you!!!!)
It's a state of mind....and although a tad early in the season.......go for it....( quietly!!!)

lmao, thanks for that, i'm like this all year, it keeps me young lol!!!!! it's not just christmas its halloween, bonfire night etc etc! my god what have i started with this thread?

[Seahorse]

I'm a Scrooge by nature and I uterly detest the 'it starts in September', 'you're a horrible parent if you don't buy this piece of overpriced rubbish' side of it BUT I do love the days from Christmas Eve to New Years Day. My big thing is the food -I'm not that ancient (yet!) but when I was a kid in the 70s, Christmas was the only time you got certain 'special' foods and I'm trying to continue that sense of wonder with my own children. It's a lovely time for me too because I cake bake and cook to seriously OTT levels and no-one thinks to criticise!

I'm not religious in any organised form but I do think the winter blow out has a very valid and important place in all our psychology.

Claire

[bubblewrap]

Chrismas is for little children and shopkeepers Turkeys dont like it and you might think he his a miserable old get but i dont care i drove a milk tanker for thirty years and worked 25 christmas's out of the 30 so it become's just another sunday so Bah Humbug you can keep it jacob

Could change your Dickens name to Srooge

[Digger-07]

Can I have a summer next year please?

[TPeers]

I remember that on Christmas eve Dad always finished work at lunch time and would do the 'Christmas fruit shop' in the market near the office on the way home.

It was the only time of year when we got satsumas and dates and a few bags of nuts - Brazils, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts.

That with the smell of mince pies IS Christmas to me.

[Headfry]

I Love it......just me and Mr HF and the two cats! lots of lovely food, get up when we want, dinner when dinner is cooked, none of this 1pm lunch race stuff! open fire, veg off the plot (if it ain't on the plot its not on the plate)
We love our families and our friends are dear to us, but as Mr HF, through work, would spend a lot of the year away, when we first got together we very nicely said to all that Christmas was ours!

[Winged one]

I love Christmas too, but in recent years have felt a bit too frazzled by it all. The pressure of travelling down to either my or OH's home, eating a dinner in both (mandatory for a number of years till we put our feet down), trying to get nice pressies for loads of family who don't appreciate them, and being too busy at work. The toddler was born on St Stephen;s day a couple of years ago, which meant we couldn't travel that year. So we got to relax about most of the day.

I am looking forward to it this year. I was looking for ideas for making pressies on another thread - I started jars of vanilla sugar for a couple of people who love baking over the weekend. And I have some lovely muslin, ribbons and fake flowers to make lavendar bags for a few of the ladies in the dark winter evenings.

We are unlikely to be travelling this year (but that is not yet certain). And I intend to avoid a lot of the stress by making a lot of pressies, and buying the rest early. One day trip to Newry in mid-Dec will take care of a lot of the food shopping (we go for a big stock up about 3/4 times a year, so it's due about then anyway). And the builders should be gone, so even if the extension is still a mess, we will have the extra space to put up a proper tree and i can hang ALL my decorations on it.

I think Christmas has really arrived when, a couple of days beforehand with most of the house under control, I make myself a nice drink, sit on the sitting room floor, turn off the lights in the room an just bask in the glow of the tree lights and candlelight, and think about hte year - maybe not in a religious sense per se, but just peaceful reflection.

And on the day itself, assuming we stay here, the plan will be to go to Mass (my uncle is a priest, so I do on that day for him), make a few visits (not in any rush and if we don't get anywhere, we will over the hols), have a walk on Dun Laoghaire Pier and then go home, put dinner (some kind of roast, maybe turkey but we've done others) in the oven and open the presents under the tree while playing some nice music. Won't have our own veg this year (except maybe some brocolli from the freezer), but hopefully next year we'll be better organised.

Then again, my sister announced last night that she has arranged to get married in Scotland on 22nd Dec. So I may have the worst Xmas ever in terms of stress.....

[Rowan]

I work in a library, and we have an American couple who are regular customers. Last year, they were thinking off eating out on Christmas Day, and asked me for ideas. I mentioned in passing that Christmas Day isn't necessarily a good day for driving, as it's the one day in the year the AA don't work. Puzzlement - until I remembered that, to Americans, AA=Alcoholics Anonymous, not Automobile Association!

[jacob marley]

Could change your Dickens name to Srooge

No i can't but i have ebbernezer in my email ad