Grinch

[chico2]

I cannot help feelimg a bit(lots of bits!)like a Grinch,it seems I am the only one who does
I have people coming X-Mas Eve and X-Mas Dayfor dinner and the thought of all that work makes me tired alreadyand want it to be over,am I alone in this???

[CearaQC]

Heck no you're not alone.

I dread the holiday season every year. Don't like buying presents and wish I didn't receive them. Don't decorate and only have a small intimate family dinner. As soon as Christmas day is over, the black cloud dissipates.

Christmas should be about having good times and reflecting over the past year, looking forward to the next year and just enjoying fellowship, friends and family.

[clm]

We don't have any little kids around anymore. My neice and nephew are late teens and early 20's now. Kids were the fun part about christmas.
I like the time off work to get some stuff done around the house and to just plain relax.
Christmas dinner is always such a big hoopla.
Mom insists on cooking the dinner herself and she seems to enjoy it, but the turkey is always dry as dust, my sister gets on my nerves minutes after I get there and it's always too hot and noisy with all the people. I get there early enough to give her a hand getting the stuff ready, clean up afterwards and am so happy to get out of there to get back home.
We don't go anywhere for Christmas eve anymore, all the pets have made a great excuse to stay home and my home is not big enough to have everyone to my house.
New years eve we don't do anything either. I'm not fond of watching people getting enebriated, the older I get the less tolerance I have to seeing people drunk and stupid. Besides, hubby and I are lucky if we manage to stay awake until midnight to see the new year in anyway.

No Chico2, you're not a grinch. Too much emphasis has been put on buying gifts and creating the perfect family day, which is great if you have loads of money and a perfect family, a cook and a housekeeper.

Cindy

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by chico2

the thought of all that work makes me tired alreadyand want it to be over,am I alone in this???

Count me in ! I have to pick up my mom on Sunday , family gets to my place on the 25 , stay overnight , leave on the 26 and I'm back to work on the 27 everybody already knows : I am not doing ANYTHING for new year!

And yes , I have to cook the turkey

[krdahmer]

My mom would agree with you I'm sure Chico... she is just waiting for one of us to take over! But she has through her experience learned a few tricks to not getting so overworked she can't enjoy the day.

1. paper plates, plastic cups... when you get down to it, as long as the food tastes good, no one cares what you serve it on! ( I even talked my m-i-l into this one, to the angry looks from my husband and father in law... I told them that when they got off their butts and do the dishes they can decide what we eat off!!!)

2. plan & prepare... my mom has simple tried and true recipes most of which are made one or two days ahead of time and reheated in the oven before dinner. She is so organized (I am so glad I got that from her), she has lists for shopping, a cleaning and baking schedule and they start about 5 days before xmas. Oh and when we offer to bring things, she no longer does the 'oh no I have it covered' thing... she asks us to bring things (and I love it, everyone likes my bean casserole so much it is requested every year... surprisingly makes me feel important and helpful... and it's one less dish she has to make!)

3. The tree, the smartest thing I think yet... they have the space, so simply cover it with a large plastic bag and store it completely decorated, so every year it's just plug in and WHAALA!

4. Delegate the dishes... use the excuse it's good to get up and move after you eat. (my mom has us trained, we actually offer to help... it only took 20 or so years but we finally got it! )

And you put that all together and for the past few years my mom has actually been able to have a few cocktails and sit down WITH us and enjoy all her hard work! Well and my dad's hard work of course... he no longer sits down and watched sports and waits for dinner to magically appear... for many years now since he retired (as your hubby is too!! ) he is in charge of most of the cleaning, the cheeseball, salad and also plays bartender. It runs much more smoothly than what i remember from when we were kids... and my mom is a whole lot less snarly!

[krdahmer]

Oh and one I picked up at a binge eating support group... the bathroom is a great refuse from pesky relatives!!! Just excuse yourself... light a candle or spray some air freshener and take 5 minutes of calm for yourself. So they think you're taking a big dump... at least they are outta your face for a few minutes!!!

[14+kitties]

Having to do all the extra work sucks for you.
I have felt more like a grinch this year only because of my mom's health issues. Other than that I love Christmas. It's the only time of the year I bake anymore, the only time all 3 of my kids and my 2 stepsons are with me at once, and the only time I can spoil my kids. My stepsons get spoiled all the time. It also helps that I love to cook big meals, right down to the dutch apple pie.
My youngest son in a chef in training so once I cook the turkey he takes over the carving, my daughter loves to whip the potatoes, my son in law helps set the table, my oldest son mooches
So maybe it's not the Christmas thing, it's the whole family thing I love.
However... I HATE shopping!!!!

[14+kitties]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Writing4Fun]

Originally Posted by krdahmer

Oh and one I picked up at a binge eating support group... the bathroom is a great refuse from pesky relatives!!! Just excuse yourself... light a candle or spray some air freshener and take 5 minutes of calm for yourself. So they think you're taking a big dump... at least they are outta your face for a few minutes!!!

Sounds like it could also have come from a "frazzled moms" support group! I used to do that all the time to get away from the kids for a few minutes. Except that they've figured out where I hide and now they hang around outside and talk at me through the door. How do they find me? Easy! They look for my shadow - named Phoebe! She's always near whatever door I'm hiding behind, so I'm really easy to find!

Yeah, Christmas is a real mixed-emotion season for me, too. Half of me can't wait 'till it's over (I hate all the shopping, and my 70-yr-old mom refuses to let us take over the cooking, so she's always exhausted by Christmas night and we all feel really guilty), the other half can't wait for the day to come so we can get together with family who we don't get to see very often because we're in another province. And it's always fun to watch the kids open their presents ... and maybe they'll let us play with them a little, too.

[BusterBoo]

Sorry to say, but I am also a "bah humbug" person! This year is particularily bad for many reasons. First, this will be our first Christmas without my Mom who died on August 4th and Harley (August 11th). Dad will find this very difficult but we will try and get through it together.

Next, the trip to Mexico last week has really messed up my shopping schedule. I haven't finished buying Christmas gifts, I haven't finished buying the food that I need to make a full turkey dinner on the 25th, my hubby's daughters finally let me know yesterday that they won't be having dinner with us on the 25th (that's fine by me!!! - 3 less mouths to feed!!), the tree is up in the living room, not a decoration anywhere to be seen......I am on day 3 of a nasty cold/flu and haven't been to work since Tuesday, but too sick to do anything in the house......I have to prepare for Christmas Eve at my mother-in-laws place (buy or make something)..... and the list goes on and on and on....

Hubby is playing hockey tonight and going out for a Christmas beer with his hockey buddies after.

Am I tired???

[chico2]

Well,it's not as bad as I sound,I am just always really happy when it's over.
After all,I am the one who invite people,the same people for the last 3 years,friends with no extended family,just like us.
My youngest son(37yrs) will be here too and the guys that are coming,can really eat and appreciate everything,which is great.
Hubby is also a great help,does all the appetizers etc..helps with dishes.
This year I am using fancy paper-plates for the appetizers,but have to set a nice table with nice plates.
As for presents,my boys wanted money(fine with me!)so I ended up only having to buy 2 presents.
My other son is in Alberta and my oldest will be here X-Mas Day with his girlfriend.
It was more fun,in the days when the boys were small,not much money,but loads of fun!
Still,once January hits,I'll be waiting for spring