Christmas Future -
- Thread starter Andy
- Start date
F
flutterbee
Guest
I have always loved giving gifts. Ever since I can remember, that was the best part.
But, secretly, as an adult....I do miss the receiving part some. Just a little. I miss being surprised. But, then I'm single so that's what you get.
Anyway, I see where he's coming from.
(Is that bad?)
But, secretly, as an adult....I do miss the receiving part some. Just a little. I miss being surprised. But, then I'm single so that's what you get.
Anyway, I see where he's coming from.
(Is that bad?)
It's not bad. It's the truth we face as we grow up and take on responsibilities. The magic of Christmas is much different as a child.
I do miss those days when Christmas was all about Santa and the gifts under the tree. For some reason for me the Santa gifts were the highlight. So, I make sure that Santa is the one that brings the best ones for the kids. I remember one year when easy child was a toddler and wanted a certain doll. I told mother in law not to get it for her because I believed it should come from Santa. mother in law was a very selfish old lady and wanted to be able to tell easy child that she was the one to give her the gift of her heart. mother in law pouted about that for a long time! Oh well, go ahead and whine, I am making Christmas special for my little girl. I want her to give Santa the credit.
I don't like giving a list of ideas to certain people. My mother in law and sister in law will combine forces and fill my entire list. That is not fun. I don't want to know what I get for Christmas. So, I have learned to be careful of what I ask for. I think sister in law has figured me out. I hope so since I did give her a little longer list this year and there are no longer in-laws for her to join forces with.
I do miss those days when Christmas was all about Santa and the gifts under the tree. For some reason for me the Santa gifts were the highlight. So, I make sure that Santa is the one that brings the best ones for the kids. I remember one year when easy child was a toddler and wanted a certain doll. I told mother in law not to get it for her because I believed it should come from Santa. mother in law was a very selfish old lady and wanted to be able to tell easy child that she was the one to give her the gift of her heart. mother in law pouted about that for a long time! Oh well, go ahead and whine, I am making Christmas special for my little girl. I want her to give Santa the credit.
I don't like giving a list of ideas to certain people. My mother in law and sister in law will combine forces and fill my entire list. That is not fun. I don't want to know what I get for Christmas. So, I have learned to be careful of what I ask for. I think sister in law has figured me out. I hope so since I did give her a little longer list this year and there are no longer in-laws for her to join forces with.
trinityroyal
Well-Known Member
Andy, I think your difficult child has a delightful view of the world.
For me, the magic of Christmas isn't the gifts (although I do love seeing Little easy child's face light up when he opens his presents). It's the cripsness in the air, the fresh snowfall, belting out Christmas carols in the yard while building a snowman, going to Church and hearing the choir sing, and all that stuff. Ooooh....and the chocolate spoons from the coffee shop that they give you to stir your hot chocolate at this time of year.
I agree with you Andy, that I don't want to know what people will get me for Christmas. husband's family is a bit obsessed about getting Just. The. Right. Gift. and they pressure me for a list every year. Thing is...I don't need anything, and I'm delighted with whatever people think to give me. So asking me what I want for Christmas is a silly question.
Usually I cobble together a list of research books that I need for work, and send them that. They're often stunned...she wants the Information Technology Infrastructure Library: Change Management volume for Christmas? Oh well...
For me, the magic of Christmas isn't the gifts (although I do love seeing Little easy child's face light up when he opens his presents). It's the cripsness in the air, the fresh snowfall, belting out Christmas carols in the yard while building a snowman, going to Church and hearing the choir sing, and all that stuff. Ooooh....and the chocolate spoons from the coffee shop that they give you to stir your hot chocolate at this time of year.
I agree with you Andy, that I don't want to know what people will get me for Christmas. husband's family is a bit obsessed about getting Just. The. Right. Gift. and they pressure me for a list every year. Thing is...I don't need anything, and I'm delighted with whatever people think to give me. So asking me what I want for Christmas is a silly question.
Usually I cobble together a list of research books that I need for work, and send them that. They're often stunned...she wants the Information Technology Infrastructure Library: Change Management volume for Christmas? Oh well...
totoro
Mom? What's a difficult child?
MMMM~ Donuts
K gets very Star*Y eyed when she see sprinkles... they just make you stop thinking.
Now he will just never leave home, so he will never stop getting presents.
N asked me this morning if she could move back in when she grew up? I said where are you going in between?
That really confused her, I think she was visualizing DONUTS...
K gets very Star*Y eyed when she see sprinkles... they just make you stop thinking.
Now he will just never leave home, so he will never stop getting presents.
N asked me this morning if she could move back in when she grew up? I said where are you going in between?
That really confused her, I think she was visualizing DONUTS...
Marguerite
Active Member
Here's something from me to share with your lad -
When I was very young I worried about the same sort of thing. People kept saying, "it's better to give than to receive," and I felt bad because inside I really LOVED to receive, plus I had no money to buy things with so it never really felt the same. For me, any money I had was from collecting bottles on the side of the road; I was rarely allowed out to do this so it was pure luck more than anything else. That, and tooth fairy money. Not enough to buy presents for everyone in a family of 10. And my few coins were worth far more to me than anything I could buy with them for someone else, so I always felt very guilty about this. I also had to use what coins I had to buy things like film for my camera, and pay for processing. It was only b/w film and a very cheap 'kiddie' camera (before the 'Instamatic' days).
But along the way I was learning good things without even realising it. Christmas Day was always fun - not just opening the presents, which I always enjoyed because first, I was getting presents; second, I loved watching other people have fun, and third, we had a room full of people all getting high on good company. But also lunch afterwards, all the lovely food which we managed to finish; the relatives who would visit later on or the next day (more party, more play with cousins) and the beach - the fringe benefit of a summer Christmas. We would go to the beach either Christmas afternoon or Boxing Day (next day) and spend the entire day there, pre-sunscreen. It all linked together, Christmas after Christmas, to build memories.
The best connector, the one where I learnt the most - the night before. Our church would borrow the local builder's truck and we would all pile on it (with a large iron-frame piano strapped to the back of the truck cabin) and drive around the community, singing Christmas carols. They probably had a list of people who needed cheering up or who were lonely, but we would sing our best (and we were good - full harmonies, three and four parts). I started singing harmony when I was 8. Sometimes people would come out on the porch to listen, other times there would be a twitch of a curtain and maybe a shyly raised hand as we drove away afterwards. it didn't matter - we knew we'd been heard. We NEVER got fed (too many of us) but there was something combining the joy we brought mixed with the anticipation of the next day's greed, that slowly morphed into an overall delight at just enjoying Christmas again for what we could do to make other people happy.
It happens. The more you do as a child just to celebrate Christmas apart from gifts, the more you will remember the spirit of Christmas fondly as an adult.
What I have now I'm an adult - I have my wonderful memories of gifts past, of Christmas fun past, but also those wonderful memories of the warm summer nights singing carols on the back of a truck to people we never saw. For me the feel of a summer night with the heat wrapping around you like a blanket and the sound of cicadas pulsing a rhythm you can sing to - that is Christmas. The adult in me knows what it feels like to have your heart touched. The child i was remembers the singing and the anticipation. Together, I think Christmas is even better for me.
So there you go, Virginia.
Enjoy.
Marg
When I was very young I worried about the same sort of thing. People kept saying, "it's better to give than to receive," and I felt bad because inside I really LOVED to receive, plus I had no money to buy things with so it never really felt the same. For me, any money I had was from collecting bottles on the side of the road; I was rarely allowed out to do this so it was pure luck more than anything else. That, and tooth fairy money. Not enough to buy presents for everyone in a family of 10. And my few coins were worth far more to me than anything I could buy with them for someone else, so I always felt very guilty about this. I also had to use what coins I had to buy things like film for my camera, and pay for processing. It was only b/w film and a very cheap 'kiddie' camera (before the 'Instamatic' days).
But along the way I was learning good things without even realising it. Christmas Day was always fun - not just opening the presents, which I always enjoyed because first, I was getting presents; second, I loved watching other people have fun, and third, we had a room full of people all getting high on good company. But also lunch afterwards, all the lovely food which we managed to finish; the relatives who would visit later on or the next day (more party, more play with cousins) and the beach - the fringe benefit of a summer Christmas. We would go to the beach either Christmas afternoon or Boxing Day (next day) and spend the entire day there, pre-sunscreen. It all linked together, Christmas after Christmas, to build memories.
The best connector, the one where I learnt the most - the night before. Our church would borrow the local builder's truck and we would all pile on it (with a large iron-frame piano strapped to the back of the truck cabin) and drive around the community, singing Christmas carols. They probably had a list of people who needed cheering up or who were lonely, but we would sing our best (and we were good - full harmonies, three and four parts). I started singing harmony when I was 8. Sometimes people would come out on the porch to listen, other times there would be a twitch of a curtain and maybe a shyly raised hand as we drove away afterwards. it didn't matter - we knew we'd been heard. We NEVER got fed (too many of us) but there was something combining the joy we brought mixed with the anticipation of the next day's greed, that slowly morphed into an overall delight at just enjoying Christmas again for what we could do to make other people happy.
It happens. The more you do as a child just to celebrate Christmas apart from gifts, the more you will remember the spirit of Christmas fondly as an adult.
What I have now I'm an adult - I have my wonderful memories of gifts past, of Christmas fun past, but also those wonderful memories of the warm summer nights singing carols on the back of a truck to people we never saw. For me the feel of a summer night with the heat wrapping around you like a blanket and the sound of cicadas pulsing a rhythm you can sing to - that is Christmas. The adult in me knows what it feels like to have your heart touched. The child i was remembers the singing and the anticipation. Together, I think Christmas is even better for me.
So there you go, Virginia.
Enjoy.
Marg
amazeofgrace
A maze of Grace - that about sums it up
well he hit the nail on the head on that one!
