So Xmas is coming .. whatcha do for it and the goodies too

[Nathan Caroland]

With the holidays coming up, particularly for the folks that are into celebrating Christmas, Haunika (I butchered that I think) and whatever else goes on at this time of the year that my heathen brain doesn't know about ... what do you do for the season?

The Caroland Clan does all the lights and decorations outside the house (almost a ritual now .. and a pain!) with blow up thingies, garland, lights, wreaths, etc. Inside the house we do two trees, one in the foyer, one in the living room which gets the full treatment and then of course the goodies that go underneath them for everyone which is mainly the grandparents spoiling the shit out of my kids.

Family usually congregates at our house (dunno why ..) and this year we've got more than usual showing up which has shaking my head at just how much I am going to be putting out for dinner for everyone (no one ever takes that into consideration for some reason). Big ol' dinner, Honeybaked Ham, goodies and the like and then some TV, talking, whatnot.

I've tried to keep Xmas low key present wise for the last few years, mainly as I think the kids got all they need and frankly I don't feel like facing the hordes of humanity for shopping. I get a tickle out of folks that start holiday shopping 4 months in advance, but also understand it too!

So what do you do for the holiday? Shop till you drop? Did you go Black Friday shopping - my mother did and invited me - hah, not likely!

Curious what the holidays mean for you and yours. For me, its just about family time and being lazy, not much on the whole 'gift' thing myself, but I think that is more me than anything as I get older, as I really don't care about birthdays or the like anymore either.

Odd?

[EricJ]

Well, my moms side is Jewish, and my dads side does Christmas, so I always did both.

Typically we get get together one of the 8 nights of Chanukah, usually on a weekend when we can all manage to. Recently it has always been at my grandmothers place, as she was getting so elderly that we couldn't really bring her anywhere else. And My mom and sister typically would cook up a traditional jewish meal. However with my grandmother recently passing away, this year is sort of undecided at the moment, I sort of think that my mom is avoiding it as it will be the first traditional family event that she'll be missed at. So in short, that part of the holidays is "undecided" as of now.

But Christmas always tends to be at my parents place up the california coast from me, in the Redwoods. It's really peaceful, no lights or anything, just family and presents. Although since my family is basically crazy, I always know there will be some exciting interactions at some point durring the day. Sometimes I wish it could just be my parents, sister and me.

Wow, my holidays sound pretty depressing! But it is all somewhat heartwarming despite it all.

As for presents, the big question every year is how much will my dad spoil my mother, I think she gets about 10 gifts from him, no matter how much he proclaims he's cutting back this year.

For me, I'm mostly just hoping to get a new camera (digital SLR), so that I can get myself back into photography, and of course manage to take photos of minis again.

[r2-j1]

I give my avatar a santa hat. :laugh:

I usually don't do much decorating, as all the festivities will be at my parents house. But my Grandmother gave me christmas tree last year, I think I'll put that up some time this week.

I'm kinda like you spending time with the family has become the big aspect. If you told me at age 12 that I would look forward hanging out with my brothers during the holidays, I wouldn't have belived you.

[Ritual]

For me, being a not very religious person, Christmas is mostly a family gathering tradition. When I was a kid, of course, the gifts was important, but now I find them more and more a nuissance. I don't know what to wish for, since the only things I lack are too bloody expenisve to expect someone to buy me for Christmas. Also, people don't know where to buy the minis I want or the music I listen to. Likewise, it's a pain to find out things to buy to my relatives, since they mostly have everything they need too.

And, I really hate Christmas shopping!! I get physically sick from hearing Christmas carols from the speakers in every store and seeing the amount of crap they put on the shelves and expect people to buy. The fact that people DO buy all that crap does nothing to make me feel any better about it!

So, we try to keep the gifts at a minimum in our family and only buy things we really need. If that means getting a combined birthday present and Christmas gift at some other point during the year, so be it!

I also try to keep the decorations at a minimum. A star that gives off a nice orange light and a small box of decorations and that's it! Just something to make Christmas something out of the ordinary.

This year, me and my girlfriend are celebrating Christmas with her parents who live way up in the most northern part of Sweden! Hopefully, we will have a real winter there and peace and quiet! It's a great difference celebrating Christmas in a village with 700 people right in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by complete wilderness, than staying in the big city being surrounded by heavy traffic and 1.5 million people (that's the biggest you'll find in Sweden).

[pae]

Even though I'm one of the faithless, I still celebrate Christmas. I'd prefer to skip it altogether, but I participate to humor my wife and my family. I don't want people to get me anything, but they invariably insist, so I end up getting stuff that I don't really need.

Traditionally, the holidays are for gathering with your family and all the assorted parties that go along with that. Since I really don't get into the family thing (and honestly think alot of them are a pain in the ass), the holidays are my least favorite time of the year.

We put up a tree in the house, and I typically spoil my wife with gifts. Sometimes my mother (and occasionally my father as well) decides she wants to come out to visit us (uninvited, but what can you do when she buys plane tickets and then tells you she's coming?). This year, thankfully, it will just be me and the wife. I suspect it will be the nicest Christmas ever.

[matty1001]

Well since iv been living with my Dad (1 and a half year) we don't really notice christmas until the 25th of December, because everything is closed! We don't bother with decorations, although we do have a bauble that we hang from the living room light, (I nicked it last xmas at a work xmas do, was very drunk, £70 worth of drink in me! and woke up with a huge lump in my pants! (No innuendo....please!))

We normally walk to my Mam's on xmas morning (6.00am, 4 mile walk....cold, really cold!) then go to my Granny's for a dinner, but she's in hospital with cancer this year so it looks like my mam and little brother are coming here to get away from that for the day.

Present wise it aint huge, iv got some money this year but thats went on paying for a trip to New York for my degree. But LAura and her family go mad with presents, so im getting a Vallejo Model Colour set plus loads of stuff from that lot. (Makes me feel really bad when i give them a few bottles of wine and a bag of nut's!)

[vincegamer]

I put lights all over my patio.

I live in a condo and I think I may be the only one who does lights for Christmas.

Every year we buy one more string of lights or other lit-up decoration, so the patio is beginning to get crowded.

My family and my wife's family each live several hundred miles from us, in different directions, so instead we throw an annual holiday party for any of our friends who are local.

(and if you happen to be in the DC area December 16, PM me.)

[wiccanpony]

:dancing2: Having friends who come from all the walks of Faith, I have a bit of everything. I decorate the living room and front door for the Holidays. I do love a plastic tree, miss the smell but don’t miss the mess.

Yule ( Winter Solstice), Feasting and small gift exchange, handmade that I usually order off the internet.)

Dec 25.. again Feasting ( boy, is my butt growing) gifts for my Christian buddies.

Added Kwanzaa this year.....girlfriend want’s to get in touch with her roots. More Feasting of course

Ho Ho Ho Burp Ho Ho Ho!!

[vincegamer]

Christmas

Kwanza

Chanukha

Winter Solstice

It's the Christmakwanzachanustice spirit!

[matty1001]

Well since iv been living with my Dad (1 and a half year) we don't really notice christmas until the 25th of December, because everything is closed! We don't bother with decorations, although we do have a bauble that we hang from the living room light, (I nicked it last xmas at a work xmas do, was very drunk, £70 worth of drink in me! and woke up with a huge lump in my pants! (No innuendo....please!))

We normally walk to my Mam's on xmas morning (6.00am, 4 mile walk....cold, really cold!) then go to my Granny's for a dinner, but she's in hospital with cancer this year so it looks like my mam and little brother are coming here to get away from that for the day.

Present wise it aint huge, iv got some money this year but thats went on paying for a trip to New York for my degree. But LAura and her family go mad with presents, so im getting a Vallejo Model Colour set plus loads of stuff from that lot. (Makes me feel really bad when i give them a few bottles of wine and a bag of nut's!)

Hehe quoting myself, but, looks like things are changing!!! My granny's getting out of hospital either tomorrow or Wednesday!! So it looks like she is going to be around for xmas! (My family ahve had serious doubts over wheter she would still be here or not come the 25th)

Her cancer is still inoperable but the hospital are giving her xmas leave (sounds like shes in the forces!) because she appears to be handling herself well on the ward. But, if anything go's wrong she will go back in (prety obvious really)

Sorry to sort of high jack a thread but this is excellent news for me (and my family of course!)

*EDIT and by the way i find it easier to post these personal things over here at Wyrd (as opposed to CMoN) because this is a more 'peronal site and doesn't have thousands of different users reading the forums. (Hope that makes sense!)

[james sequeira]

I'll proberly drink on christmas eve and go to bed really late, get woke up on christmas day by me mum telling me i have to get up for a meal,I'll spend the rest of the day wishing I could go back to bed or drink more faster lol.

For presents im not really fussed as long as its useful cant stand rubbish ill never use or stuff people buy which is meant for kids. I'll proberly put money in cards for people this year and buy chocolates or flowers lol depends what my funds are like, just treated myself to a huge warmachine order and a new gaming pc.

[Jabberwocky]

Glad to hear about your Grandmother, Matty. It is these things that are truly the gifts of the season...

[Duende]

I'm not really into decorating so much for holidays, but I do have some window lights up and a psychadelic 6 ft. fiber-optic tree. Christmas usually entails my brother and I going back to my parent's house which is about 100 miles away. All the gifts get put under the tree, and in the morning, the kids distribute the gifts and eveyone takes turns opening theirs. The "kids" used to be my brother and I, but last year my daughter started taking over the "duties". This year she'll have help in the form of my brother's new fiancee's kids helping (ages 17, 6 and 4). It's going to be a crowded house this time, but I look forward to us all being together.

Then Christmas evening is over to my grandma's house (who turned 91 this year), to hang out with the extended family (my father has 6 brothers all but one had kids of their own and some of those kids have kids now). So it's a big gathering, my grandma sets out a buffet-style meal, then the men gather around the TV to watch whatever the sport of choice is, the women gather to gab like a flock of hens, and all the kids run around getting on everybody's nerves. There's not much gift-giving, usually it's mostly money-holders, but being able to catchup with the cousins that come in from all over the country is what it's really all about.

That's about all. Nothing exciting or flashy, just "over the river and thru' the wood to grandmother's house I go...."

@ Matty - Good to hear about your granny! Enjoy every minute you get to spend with her! And, yep, this site's more personal. Like I said elsewhere, CMON's like a big busy bar, while this place is like a gathering in Nathan's living room. I hope he's serving hor'dorves.

I may try baking cookies this year... although I've been accused of being able to burn water.. :dong:

[lauth81]

Well, unfortunately my family is pretty small. It´s just me and my 2 sisters and their husband/boyfriend plus a kid. Add the fact, I´m not a religious person at all, so there´s no higher meaning in the holidays for me. For that reason I don´t do special decorations or such for these days.

One of my sisters coming over on christmas eve and we´ll have a late lunch together. In the evening (thank you time difference! ET noon games in the US are primetime in middle europe), I´ll start watching football with some friends. On christmas my other sister and her family come over and I´ll cook lunch or dinner (not decided yet) for us all. In Germany, you have a second day of christmas (26th), but I don´t know what´s up for this day yet. Maybe meeting friends from my football team and have a go at the bars and clubs ...

Traditionally, gifts have always been rather small in my family. I guess we have some kind of silent understanding, that it should not exceed the monetary value of 20 euros. I normally do the shopping somewhere in November and this year almost everything was bought online. Praise the internet for a way around the people packed stores in pre-christmas time.

One of my sisters usually ignores the things on my wishlist, because they are "not things to be given on christmas". Ah well ... :damnit:

[witchfire]

christmas wont be merry this year around here :

one of my brother in laws & an uncle were just diagnose with cancer

[Akenmaat]

Normally, we (meaning me) put up decorations outside on our balcony - we live in an apartment - and in the living room (which includes a tree). We exchange gifts amongst our very small circle of friends and our parents. As far as family goes, they are all too far away to ever see any of them anymore now that we're all grown up. The only family we get to see is the one sister-in-law I have and both sets of parents.

Growing up, my mom used to spend hours and hours baking a bunch of different traditional Norwegian, Swedish, and German sweets to have around for the month of December. A couple of years ago, rather than both of us baking the same things ourselves, she and I have started having a "Baking Day" where I go over and help her make all these treats, then get to take home half of everything.

This year is going to be a little different, both good and bad. The good news is that an aunt and uncle are visiting for a week, and my aunt is excited about joining in on the fun on Baking Day. Plus, my dad gets to see one of his eight brothers he hasn't seen in years.

The bad news is, I just found out this morning the dealership I've worked at for the last five years is closing down by the 31st. I'll be able to work at our second location, which is farther away and costs a LOT more gas to get to, but only one day a week. Time to try and save up what little we can now.

So, even though Christmas isn't about giving gifts for us (we celebrate for religious reasons), we're still really bummed that now we can't give anything to the people we care about. It's no cancer, but it's still a big blow. My sympathies go out to you, Witchfire. I've lost a significant portion of my family to cancer.