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Like or dislike the holidays and why?
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<blockquote data-quote="Tiapet" data-source="post: 612409" data-attributes="member: 455"><p>In the years growing up I'd have to say I loved Thanksgiving, didn't really like Christmas at all. Thanksgiving because it meant that family would get together (close and extended, which could mean aunts and uncles too from out of town plus grandparents, always grandparents on maternal side). The lead up and preparing was so much fun as a child. Getting the food ready, some days before and helping Grandma. Then having the extended family coming in but just the fact that everyone was there. It was a big to do and the table was huge, set with the best china, silver, linens, and crystal. Even us kids got to us it. Lots of different pies. Christmas I didn't care so much for because it was never a big to do and I just didn't get into it. I'm not one for "present" to begin with even as a child but it just didn't matter. I only cared about the time off school and wished for snow to happen, which sometimes it did but in small amounts. As an adult, I still cared a little about Thanksgiving as in the earlier years my own family got together with my parents and sister but it was really short lived (maybe the first 4-6 years). Then my exh got on the outs with either my sister or my mother and things got real rocky so it became iffy. Christmas was always rough because of the difficult children behavior. Of course as they were little it was nice because they didn't realize we didn't have much so didn't understand they didn't get much too but behaviors also came into play once they started turning 3 (respectively with each of them) and then it was all bets off. I recall that I did "try" to get back into the Christmas spirit very much once exh and I were split because the whole atmosphere was different, other then difficult child's behaviors (that would be about at the 13 year mark of marriage had we stayed together). Family was ok of course because he was no longer around. It was a bit better and difficult child's were slightly better in general too. "I" could feel happy about feeling in the spirit and actually went all out in decorating the whole house that year. First time ever other then just the tree. Now, as of about 3 years ago, Thanksgiving is not much of a big deal because we're a small family and we're away from extended family distance-wise (of course this year it won't matter at all as you know because I "no longer have" family by choice). It is also because no one really cares about the meal in itself. My oldest daughter LOVES the tradition of the big family meal and sitting down, the preparing as I had instilled that in her but she also knows that it's a big fuss for nothing as no one really eats it here now. We even pared it down to the barest minimum and it still didn't work. 1 year I even ordered it from a store (would NEVER do that again!). This year we have totally alternative plans and I think it actually might turn out to be the best one yet for us all. As for Christmas, they have all been very much better in the last 4-5 years! We decorate the house (except last year where we only did the tree last minute). The kids had good Christmas and mostly good behaviors. Of course it goes so darn quick, over in a second. We do the gifts, the stockings and then breakfast is prepared. Kids go off and occupy themselves with what ever floats their fancy of their gifts and then usually we watch movies or something on TV for the day and have dinner later in the day. Much, Much more calm and different then in years past. It's also very strange to me because I'm from up North and Christmas time in the south doesn't quite feel the same since moving down here 7 years ago. The air isn't cool usually, it's warm. You do still have all the lights and the same atmosphere with people but it just doesn't "feel" like it to me. Perhaps because I'm Older and had a lifetime of being north during this time of year? I don't know. I hope in the future, God willing, when my kids go on and have families of their own and "if" I am still alive or they do have families of their own (2 are saying NO to kids), then we can have new family traditions and combine them with some of the old and it will feel better, newer, and MINE now? I hope so but it's just a dream for me and though I know the reality is really, really slim that it will happen, I do like to envision it sometimes. Oh, I had to mention that 1 year me and my family (mother, father, sister) lived in FL briefly (a year and a half) and my mother being homesick for up north and it being Christmas.......my father went out on the roof (it was a very small apartment single level duplex, like most in FL) and poured a box of Ivory Soap flakes off of it so when we told her to look out the patio window she saw "snow" for Christmas that year. Close enough to at least let her smile for the moment.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tiapet, post: 612409, member: 455"] In the years growing up I'd have to say I loved Thanksgiving, didn't really like Christmas at all. Thanksgiving because it meant that family would get together (close and extended, which could mean aunts and uncles too from out of town plus grandparents, always grandparents on maternal side). The lead up and preparing was so much fun as a child. Getting the food ready, some days before and helping Grandma. Then having the extended family coming in but just the fact that everyone was there. It was a big to do and the table was huge, set with the best china, silver, linens, and crystal. Even us kids got to us it. Lots of different pies. Christmas I didn't care so much for because it was never a big to do and I just didn't get into it. I'm not one for "present" to begin with even as a child but it just didn't matter. I only cared about the time off school and wished for snow to happen, which sometimes it did but in small amounts. As an adult, I still cared a little about Thanksgiving as in the earlier years my own family got together with my parents and sister but it was really short lived (maybe the first 4-6 years). Then my exh got on the outs with either my sister or my mother and things got real rocky so it became iffy. Christmas was always rough because of the difficult children behavior. Of course as they were little it was nice because they didn't realize we didn't have much so didn't understand they didn't get much too but behaviors also came into play once they started turning 3 (respectively with each of them) and then it was all bets off. I recall that I did "try" to get back into the Christmas spirit very much once exh and I were split because the whole atmosphere was different, other then difficult child's behaviors (that would be about at the 13 year mark of marriage had we stayed together). Family was ok of course because he was no longer around. It was a bit better and difficult child's were slightly better in general too. "I" could feel happy about feeling in the spirit and actually went all out in decorating the whole house that year. First time ever other then just the tree. Now, as of about 3 years ago, Thanksgiving is not much of a big deal because we're a small family and we're away from extended family distance-wise (of course this year it won't matter at all as you know because I "no longer have" family by choice). It is also because no one really cares about the meal in itself. My oldest daughter LOVES the tradition of the big family meal and sitting down, the preparing as I had instilled that in her but she also knows that it's a big fuss for nothing as no one really eats it here now. We even pared it down to the barest minimum and it still didn't work. 1 year I even ordered it from a store (would NEVER do that again!). This year we have totally alternative plans and I think it actually might turn out to be the best one yet for us all. As for Christmas, they have all been very much better in the last 4-5 years! We decorate the house (except last year where we only did the tree last minute). The kids had good Christmas and mostly good behaviors. Of course it goes so darn quick, over in a second. We do the gifts, the stockings and then breakfast is prepared. Kids go off and occupy themselves with what ever floats their fancy of their gifts and then usually we watch movies or something on TV for the day and have dinner later in the day. Much, Much more calm and different then in years past. It's also very strange to me because I'm from up North and Christmas time in the south doesn't quite feel the same since moving down here 7 years ago. The air isn't cool usually, it's warm. You do still have all the lights and the same atmosphere with people but it just doesn't "feel" like it to me. Perhaps because I'm Older and had a lifetime of being north during this time of year? I don't know. I hope in the future, God willing, when my kids go on and have families of their own and "if" I am still alive or they do have families of their own (2 are saying NO to kids), then we can have new family traditions and combine them with some of the old and it will feel better, newer, and MINE now? I hope so but it's just a dream for me and though I know the reality is really, really slim that it will happen, I do like to envision it sometimes. Oh, I had to mention that 1 year me and my family (mother, father, sister) lived in FL briefly (a year and a half) and my mother being homesick for up north and it being Christmas.......my father went out on the roof (it was a very small apartment single level duplex, like most in FL) and poured a box of Ivory Soap flakes off of it so when we told her to look out the patio window she saw "snow" for Christmas that year. Close enough to at least let her smile for the moment. [/QUOTE]
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