Merry Christmas everybody!!!!

moosey2me · 12-03-2013, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catra121

Merry Christmas Bram!

Well...this is a really crazy time of year for me. I work retail so I'm working 6 days a week now with only Monday's off. We're open until midnight every night until the 20th when the company decided we're just not going to close at all until the 24th. That's going to be interesting. Last week was really rough on me...getting ready for Black Friday and then the 12 hour shift on Black Friday itself. But...that's over now and going forward most of the work I do will be less physically taxing on me since a couple months ago I started a new position that is more office work than before (but getting ready for Black Friday means we're all on the floor trying to get things ready).

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went out and got our Christmas tree. We've been getting a real one for about 5 years now and I love going out with him to pick it out. And thankfully...it was warmer yesterday so it wasn't too bad. The trip out took a toll on me though (or maybe it was just the weather changes because I woke up this morning to a terrible rain storm) and I'm glad I have the closing shift tonight to give me a few extra hours to rest up and try to make it to work.

Boyfriend brought up the rest of the Christmas decorations and started unpacking them. I'm hoping that over the next week I can get stuff put up little by little so it's all done by the weekend. Might be next Monday though since that's my next day off. Either way...I'll just be happy to get everything up and in it's place for the holidays.

I really do love this time of year even though it's crazy and there's so much to do...even though I can't do as much as I want to with putting up the Christmas decorations and all. It can be frustrating but I do my best to not push what I know are my limits.

On the other hand...I have (sorry if this annoys anything) finished my Christmas shopping between online shopping and picking some things up where I work on a slow day last week). Everything is also wrapped (managed to get that done yesterday morning). So once the Christmas tree is all decorated it will have a bunch of gifts under it too. I like to wrap all the gifts in different wrapping paper too so that it looks all eclectic and fun under the tree. Still waiting on a few online items to arrive...then it will be time to write out the Christmas cards...so much to do. If it makes you feel any better...I still do have to buy candy canes for all the associates that work for me to put on their Christmas cards. I do try and make sure I get one for all my associates around Christmas time...so that's still something I have to buy.

Hope everyone is doing well and has a great holiday season!!

I remember when I was able to go shopping then..It was fun..I would meet my best buddy for shopping and breakfast.It was fun.Now I cannot go because I would need a wheelchair to go..You know that would not work..I order on line now.I felt bad you had to work,but I am glad you still can work..Hang in there.Glad to hear you went to get your tree.That is special moment to share.

chaos · 12-03-2013, 07:15 PM

We celebrate Yule in our house (aka Winter Solstice). We have a live tree outside that we'll bring in nearer to the 21st because the house doesn't get much light inside. The tree is smallish and our decorations are not much, I only really do it for DD.

But I did buy one whole present! I got a tshirt from a company that gives part of the profit back to the artist. I have a really hard time dealing with the commercialism of it all. I'll buy some more things for the kiddo online. I have a couple Doctor Who things in my Amazon cart for her. I want to get some nice geeky board games for us all. I need to find an architecture kit for the kiddo too, I've found some but deciding is hard.

Brambledog · 12-04-2013, 04:14 AM

(Having just finished this, I apologise in advance for the history lecture!!!)

I love the idea of celebrating the winter solstice instead chaos

after all, the old pagan midwinter festival is the root of our modern Christmas. They would feast and sing, and bring evergreen boughs into their homes to remind them that life carried on even through the darkness and cold. The feasting part was important because many folk starved in the winter, it was a lean time, and only those with good food stores who had had a good crop made it through comfortably. That feast time probably saved a few lives.

Early Christians used several of the existing feast times as their holy days because it made sense to use something that was already there, but I hate the way the original christian idea of giving gifts (from the wise men) has eventually been warped into modern Christmas - all about excess and advertising, and spending more than you can afford, and companies trying to convince us that it's perfectly normal to spend £300 on a laptop for a gift...

The old midwinter festival is a much better thought, after all, it's all about family and friends having a good feast together and ignoring the weather!! Trying to hold on to your own modest ideals and traditions is very difficult when you have children whose friends will get the latest iPhone as one of their presents!

Hey ho, we do our best for them, and for me that's nothing to do with how much we spend!

I like the gift bag idea, I've used them occasionally for awkward things, but it would certainly be easier on the hands. I always loved wrapping the gifts, but I usually ended up wrapping everything on Christmas Eve!!!! Always a late night! I don't think I could manage that now.

It's lovely hearing everyone's festive thoughts and ways of doing things

Gives me a little warm Christmassy glow (no I haven't had any port yet lol).

Bram.

Bratette19 · 12-04-2013, 07:51 AM

This is actually my favorite time of year. I too am behind, we try to do one Christmas thing every night! Maybe be something small like watch a movie maybe bake or even pick out cards to send to peoples, maybe reading a child's book. I love this time of year.

Brambledog · 12-04-2013, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bratette19

This is actually my favorite time of year. I too am behind, we try to do one Christmas thing every night! Maybe be something small like watch a movie maybe bake or even pick out cards to send to peoples, maybe reading a child's book. I love this time of year.

That's a really good idea Bratette, I might give that a try with the family....

Bram.

Lottie · 12-04-2013, 01:36 PM

I am unapologetic about saying "MERRY CHRISTMAS"! I never say Happy Holidays. When I was in Florida last Christmas Day a sky-writing plane flew overhead and wrote "Happy Birthday Jesus" . That was cool!

SloRian · 12-04-2013, 05:36 PM

Merry Christmas!

This is normally a really lovely time of year, but we're having family issues, so it's kinda sad

But on the good side, I finally, FINALLY got smart, and kept a piece of paper in my wallet with "gift ideas" on it, and whenever I thought of something or saw something that I thought someone would like, I actually WROTE IT DOWN then and there! And I ended up with a really lovely and fun list and a lot less stress! My daughter loves wrapping presents, and this is a fun activity that we do together. We love to make them really pretty. This year, I found some really pretty black-and-white wrapping paper, and they're turning out really nice with some bright colored ribbons (love the wired type) and decorations.

I can't wait to go back to California to visit my family and spend time with them at Christmas. I found a very unique present for my parents - I bought (sharing the cost with my two sisters) one of those slide conversion machines (you can get them for under $100 so sharing it 3 ways isn't bad) and we will convert all of their vacation slides to digital images, and then load them on their laptops (yes, Grandma and Grandpa have laptops! they're so cute sitting in their two little rocking chairs together with their laptops) and have them slideshow in the background. And doing the conversions will be a team effort, and will be such a nice time together as we talk and remember our lovely vacations. I think they'll really like it!

catra121 · 12-05-2013, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosey2me

I remember when I was able to go shopping then..It was fun..I would meet my best buddy for shopping and breakfast.It was fun.Now I cannot go because I would need a wheelchair to go..You know that would not work..I order on line now.I felt bad you had to work,but I am glad you still can work..Hang in there.Glad to hear you went to get your tree.That is special moment to share.

Regarding Black Friday...just a tip for anyone who wants to go out but can't handle the crowds. My store and stores like us (Macy's, Kohls, JCPenney, etc) were completely DEAD between 2am-6am. So if you need a wheelchair, walker, cane, crutches, etc...that is actually a perfect time to go where you can be part of the experience (maybe even get breakfast after).

Personally...if I didn't have to work I would not leave the house on Black Friday for anything. But I do know that for a lot of people it's a tradition or fun thing to do...so I just wanted to say that you don't have to miss out on the experience if it's just the crowds that keep you away so long as you can make it out during those slow hours.

Chemar · 12-05-2013, 01:10 PM

Hi everyone

Just a reminder that we would prefer members keep posts free of debates about religion.

This is a multi cultural, International community, and different members celebrate their holidays in the way that they choose.

It is fine to have a thread discussing holiday traditions etc etc...but please avoid discussion that could be seen as religious debate or that could offend those who do not celebrate in a specific way.

thanks

Chemar · 12-05-2013, 01:12 PM

ps remember too that we have a Sanctuary forum for posts of a mainly religious nature http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum27.html

but even there our guidelines are:

Quote:

This "Sanctuary" is a place for people of all spiritual beliefs and faiths to offer support and compassion to each other in the form of prayers, meditation, and expressions of spirituality. This forum is for support, not religious debate.

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