[SallyC]

I believe in celebrating Jesus's Birth on Christmas Day, even though
He was, probably, not actually born on that day, with song, joy
and prayer. .

But I also like to celebrate Christmas the Holiday, with the tree,
the presents, the food, the Family, the fun and all that makes all
people jolly & gay and all that fahdahrah!!!....which has nothing
at all, really, to do with Jesus.

Our Christmas eve/day, in the last 10 years, since DH passed away,
has been easy & simple, but always fun and full of love and giving.

What are your plans? Quiet, pleasant and simple or a full out
Family/Friend Bash, like ours used to be, before everybody up
and died on us?

~~~~~~~~

[Kitty]

Since the kids have grown up and moved out it's pretty quiet around here.

We do all get together during the holidays but it's much lower-key now.

I can't cook like I used to so there's alot of pot-luck dinners and store bought goodies.

But, that's okay. Anything I don't have to make tastes better to me!

There's no out of town company so it's pretty quiet around here. Kind of like it is the other 364 days of the year.

[Erika]

Love the kitty in the tree...and the comment .

I view Christmas as two things, as you do Sally. One, the celebration of a great birth and mankind's awakening to that which is the foundation of our true nature; and two, a year-end festival of giving and sharing of love and joy.

Typically on the days before Christmas, if I will be going to my Dad's & Stepmom's, or on Christmas Eve day, if I will be staying home, I prepare things for a nice dinner for the 25th...including a treat for Willy, and this year for Ziggy as well.
Then from around 6:00 PM until the wee hours of morning, I spend in meditation and prayer, where ever I am.

Christmas day is quiet if I am at home; and if the weather & the body are OK, Willy and I go for a walk in the snowy woods and leave seed bell treats hanging in the trees for the birds and squirrels. Sometimes, I'll just sit under a tree and meditate again while Willy goes off on a toot, or lays beside me.

Or, if I am at my Dad's & Stepmom's place, I celebrate Christmas with them. We usually have a nice dinner, and they will often invite people from their church who would otherwise be alone, to join us.

It is still up in the air if I will join them this year or not, but this is the time of year for hope, prayer and faith, isn't it?

With love, Erika

[tkrik]

Each year, things seem to change some. We always had Christmas Eve at my house - my girls and my then bf - and Christmas day at my parents house. Since 2010, it's been a little different each year. Last year, we had Christmas morning at DD23's house. DD22 and I drove over to her house and had coffee, breakfast, and giving as well as some good laughs and lots of fun. Later in the day we went to my Mom's house for dinner with family. This year, since my girls now live together, they decided they are going to come get me on Christmas Eve and bring me over to spend the night. I'm not sure what our plans are for Christmas dinner, either my brother's house or my Mom's, but I'm sure someone will let me know as it gets closer to Christmas.

[doydie]

As I have said before Thanksgiving is at our home but Christmas is for the married folks to go to inlaws homes. Then we gather for Christmas o a day that we all can be together here. There are 4 families that do live here though so we always get together, well just to be together. I think last year we had sandwiches!!! But Jan 4th is our big time together. Can not wait. My brothers who live out of town are short on money and can only stay one night in a hotel so the one in Georgia comes the night before and then leaves in the evening and has a loong drive home. The one in Kentucky comes in the morning and spends the night in a hotel. It is so different now that Mom is gone. I do't think they ever missed a Christmas no matter what when she was alive. Now if things don't work out, they don't come. We have a big dinner, then the men clean up. while they are doing that the married women go into a closed room and do stockings. We are 'the royal order of the stocking stuffers'. We have had to change the rules the last couple of years because our nephews have been living with a girl, not the same one, and both of them have 2 children by them. So the live in girlfriends are in our group. When we are done with the stockings, we all gather in my family room, all 25, and open presents. One of the younger ones put the Santa hats on and pass out stockings and then pass out the presents. My brothers never lived here but consider this home because Mom lived here.

[Darlene]

Christmas will be here at home. DD and her family, except her daughter, will not be here. DS since he and his family live here in the same town they are always with us. All of us will come to our house. GF with cook breckfast, then we open the presents. (we will all be in our BJ's)

They will go back to their house, do some cooking while make goodies at home. Then meet back (most of the time at least one of the GK stay with us).

May you all have a wonderful time.

Darlene

[barb02]

I will be traveling back to Ohio sometime next week. I am just hoping the weather cooperates. Christmas eve - we go to mass and then to my sister's house.I love going to the children's mass and seeing all of the kids in their Christmas finery. It is also my birthday, but I am lucky anymore if people even remember to tell me Happy Birthday. My mom and sisters do remember at some point during the day. We rarely have all of the family together at one time anymore so it not as noisy as it used to be.

Then my mom still insists on doing Christmas day even though she lives in a two bedroom apartment. I end up doing a lot of the prep work for that.

[Mariel]

Like Sally, I find that most of the significant people in my life have gone. I spent my husband's last Christmas in the hospital where he had gone, where he died 12 days later, on Epiphany.
I sometimes am invited to my son's house for Christmas dinner, usually at the last moment. Last Christmas they didn't invite me, but went to a friend's house for dinner without even telling me. This Christmas they may feel they need to invite me as I baby sit a lot for them. They exclude Christ from Christmas, so it is never exactly as I would like it to be.
I will probably go to church on Christmas eve or morning. It will be a new church as I had to leave the old one due to them poisoning the rugs with carpet cleaner, and refusing to use steam cleaning. The newer church will have a floor without a rug. I don't know anyone there except the Lord. It is the way life is for a person with Porphyria, always chemically sensitive. But at least I still can drive there, and for that I'm grateful.

[ewizabeth]

I will have Christmas Eve off work for the first time in four years so I am really looking forward to dinner at my sister's house, (she is about an hour west of us). She lost two beloved pets last week within two days of each other so I am anxious to see her and give her a hug.

Christmas day we will go to mass, and I have not been going regularly since I work most Sundays and I am exhausted just from work. I never thought I would be one to miss church but now that I am chronically exhausted it happens all the time.

DH got me a new garage opener for Christmas, something I needed I suppose. I buy things for myself if I need something so I don't need anyone to get me anything, but I really enjoy being with family for the holidays.

[doydie]

Mariel to you. This time of the year must be hard on you now. Your son should be more sensitive to your needs, especially this year. I hope your new church just envelopes you with love. Is there a small group there for widows, women living by themselves etc. You all have unique needs. I hope you have confided in your pastor.

We may have one more this year. My oldest GD has a best friend that has a lot of family trouble. Her Mom has been living with this guy for quite a while. So he was a surrogate Dad to this young lady. Well they have broken up. her Mom works 12 hour shifts and frequently works extra shifts as needed so Haley many times is just at home with her dogs. That's no life or an overweight 12 year old. That age has enough insecurities as it is. So she spends a lot of time with my daughter and her family. She would like to be adopted by them Her Mom is working on Christmas and Haley is kind of asking if she can come along.I don't mind at all. We have the very dark African american disabled man with spina bifida that my brother and his family have adopted. He have my SIL Mom now that her Dd has died and Mom has early dementia and can't be left alone. We have my youngest daughter's room mate who is a 5'3 little Vietnamese guy, so funny by the way. So might as well bring a really nice 12 year old overweight, insecure young lady. I really don't know what we are going to do with the family room furniture this year with this many people coming. But you just learn to set another plate. Heck, they are paper plates, so who cares.