Have a Christmas rant? This is the place for you!

[kathie859]

My only rant is that I wish my mother could be here for Christmas. I got through Thanksgiving without her (she just passed this October) but it was beyond hard. I have good days, I have bad days, and I have days where I can't stop sobbing. I'm really just hoping that I can make it though Christmas morning and evening without breaking down infront of everyone.

I still miss my Mother especially around the holidays. She's been gone 10 years now. Every December I get an amaryllis bulb and watch it grow. Mother LOVED amaryllis and marveled at how quickly they grew! I smile every time I see it in my kitchen window.

I hope that your raw grief subsides and that you'll be able to remember all the wonderful times you and your DM had and smile. I have a mental catalog of experiences in my head of some fun and crazy times my DM and I had together. And, OMG, they are legion and a huge source of comfort for me.

 

[LisaInNc]

My rant is that my daughter will be turning 12 on Christmas Eve and it's just gone by too damned fast!

Lisa

 

[lovin'fl]

My DH and I were having some problems and we separated for a week (now he's back ). I was so not in the mood for Christmas but I forced myself to decorate, shop and mail out cards this past weekend...just need to wrap and buy a few last things. May not bother with cookies this year, though I bought a jumbo roll of choc chip cookie dough at Giant today...so that may be it for cookies. I definitely am NOT doing the annual gingerbread house with my DDs....just don't want to clean up that mess and they aren't asking about it, so....
Also, I somehow hurt my big toe...didn't really do anything to it...just woke up Saturday morning and couldn't walk on it. Went to urgent care yesterday and they took an xray...didn't really see anything but put it in a big splint and gave me crutches and told me to stay off it for about 3 days. I am also supposed to go to an orthopedic. I left there, got in my car, yanked off the splint and ditched it and the crutches...just don't have time to be bothered with this and it's likely nothing wrong. I stayed off it most of the day today and it was feeling better, so I got up and cooked dinner and cleaned up the kitchen (wiped up, swept and did dishes)...now it's killing me again. Arghhhhhh!!!

So sorry for those of you who are having your first Christmas without a loved one. I hope you can find some peace and joy during the holiday.

 

[StephMK]

I hate my Christmas tree this year. We decided to get rid of our regular lights and go with LEDs this year, and it looks awful, even the kids think so. The rest of the house looks so warm and welcoming, but the living room looks like a nightclub, I don't even want to turn the tree on. Not to mention, my beloved star topper doesn't work with them either so I just stuck a stupid bow up there. I know its a pretty petty rant but its really ruining my Christmas spirit!

Well hopefully you will look back and laugh about the year the tree made the house look like a nightclub. Sorry it's not the look you were going for. We still have the old style lights so I appreciate the warning about the new kind.

:We can't afford Christmas gifts! I don't want to ear what everyone else is doing for Christmas. I don't want to hear how DH's boss just got to go to Disneyland while we are struggling to pay bills and groceries! I am thankful that we have grandparents who love to buy our kids toys. I am just praying the toys the boys want are in stock right before Christmas.

I'm sorry, that is tough.

No rants here. DH is a huge help with the decorating, purchasing, shipping and cleaning.

Are you posting so those of us with less than helpful DHs can throw snowballs at you to feel better? DH likes to conveniently help just a little towards the end of it all then sit back and say "wow, hon, you did a great job, sorry I wasn't able to help more" I just wanna smack him by that point but I"m too darn tired!

My only rant is that I wish my mother could be here for Christmas. I got through Thanksgiving without her (she just passed this October) but it was beyond hard. I have good days, I have bad days, and I have days where I can't stop sobbing. I'm really just hoping that I can make it though Christmas morning and evening without breaking down infront of everyone.

I'm so sorry.

The lights must have decided to stay on my good side, because when I went to show my DD the offending lights, they were miraculously lit.

They must have sensed your anger and the potential outcomes. Of course, if it were my house, they'll behave nicely until Christmas morning then go out just in time for everyone to be sitting around the tree for pics or gift openings.

My rant is over DD18 flying out to see her bio dad "since he's alone" for the holidays. This is only the 2nd Christmas we've ever spend apart since he usually came to see her or didn't visit at all at the holidays. I nicely bit my tongue and didn't mention the choices he's made that has led to him being "alone" and how we've missed her at college this semester.

Yeah, I know we're driving distance close and he's hundreds of miles away but I would not have moved this far if he'd been a more consistent visitor earlier on. I'm glad I raised a considerate DD but still... not sure he deserves all that she gives to him.

ANd the kicker is that I had to buy her ticket and he is paying me back when she visits. He will and may send extra but still. I know, I should have insisted on him sending payment but she was the one who set all this up and really wanted to go.

Now it will just be the 4 of us since it's my parents year to see my DB then they'll fly out to us 2 days later. DD will be home that day too but Christmas Day we'll be home alone.

I think that's why I'm having issues getting in the mood. It's not going the way I want it *stomping my feet*. In all, I am thankful we will all be together at some point.

 

[SaraJayne]

My DH and I were having some problems and we separated for a week (now he's back ). I was so not in the mood for Christmas but I forced myself to decorate, shop and mail out cards this past weekend...just need to wrap and buy a few last things. May not bother with cookies this year, though I bought a jumbo roll of choc chip cookie dough at Giant today...so that may be it for cookies. I definitely am NOT doing the annual gingerbread house with my DDs....just don't want to clean up that mess and they aren't asking about it, so....
Also, I somehow hurt my big toe...didn't really do anything to it...just woke up Saturday morning and couldn't walk on it. Went to urgent care yesterday and they took an xray...didn't really see anything but put it in a big splint and gave me crutches and told me to stay off it for about 3 days. I am also supposed to go to an orthopedic. I left there, got in my car, yanked off the splint and ditched it and the crutches...just don't have time to be bothered with this and it's likely nothing wrong. I stayed off it most of the day today and it was feeling better, so I got up and cooked dinner and cleaned up the kitchen (wiped up, swept and did dishes)...now it's killing me again. Arghhhhhh!!!

So sorry for those of you who are having your first Christmas without a loved one. I hope you can find some peace and joy during the holiday.

I was going to offer how sorry I was about you and your DH, but then I saw the eye roll, so not sure what to say now.

I'm sorry he came back?

 

[Jaya]

My Christmas rant is my job. I am a contract attorney. I've read a lot of DIS threads this year about having to pay for your own company party, or how big the bonus is.

-no Christmas bonus
-no Christmas party, paid for by us or otherwise
-we can have Christmas eve and day off, but we won't get paid for either, so if I want to earn any money Christmas week I need to be back at work on Wednesday, and maybe work Saturday to make up for missing 2 days


I am kind of surprised they even heat the building for us.

I used to work for a national company that had a huge headquarters and many branches in several states. One year about two weeks before Christmas we were informed that there would be NO Christmas parties paid for by the company (in past years the Christmas parties had been very nice). We were instructed to cancel all plans and see if we could get any deposits back from the venues where the lunches or dinners were planned, etc. We were not even to have any "pitch-in" parties if they were being held during office hours. Well, Bah-Humbug. But the breaking point came when it was announced that the national headquarters would still have their big "Winter Carnival" because "so many people would be disappointed if it were cancelled". Needless to say, office morale hit a all-time low over that. Talk about feeling like a red-headed stepchild....

 

[bellebud]

I was going to offer how sorry I was about you and your DH, but then I saw the eye roll, so not sure what to say now.

I'm sorry he came back?

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

My rant is people have over commercialized Christmas. It's not about presents and decorations it's about Jesus coming to earth and being born as a man. Rant over!

AMEN!! thank God I work at a lutheran daycare where we talk to the kids about the REAL meaning of the season.

My vent:
My tree is black! I had to paint my own and used dark green. It took two coats to cover the cardboard, so its black. Not green black, not green with black acents, JUST BLACK!
My cats ate my newspaper tree
I have to buy ham buns for work pagent and have to miss WWE monday to attend!

My non christmas rant is my cat has discovered how to leap from the couch back to my shoulder when im typing, well I guess it is Chrismas related, shes getting hair in the keyboard i have to return to mom at Christmas

 

[Bnb0627]

Wish DH liked the holidays more. He thinks its just another day why all the fuss. He doesn't want to travel on Xmas day, this year he doesn't even want to cook (he's a chef). He wants to go to the CHINESE BUFFET!!!!!! For Christmas what the bleeping what?!?!

Holidays for me are a time to spend with family and enjoy great food that people spent time making and baking to perfection, eating on the good china and using the crystal Xmas glasses for Uncle Charles' Brandy Alexander's.

Another thing is we have 3 sets of family to visit: my mom and her side of the family, my dad/stepmom and his side, and DH's mom and family.

My family always lets us know a month ahead of time where and when they will be getting together. DH's family will end up telling us a day or two before. DH acts as though he doesn't care if we go to his family's or not and tells me just to make plans since my side of the family is waiting for a reply. So I do and then we usually end up having to leave my family's early and go to his because DH changes his mind and feels bad he's not visiting his family.

And, lol, I love my DH more than anyone but he's a little greedy with the gifts. All of the things on his list are $200 or more!!! And I ask for a bottle of perfume or a pair of boots. This year he only wants new clothes but on a few occasions I've heard him talking to the girls 8 & 9 about how cool it would be to have a drum set! So guess what they want? And DH says we can't get the girls a kiddie one it has to be the $500 one!!! I totally called him on it he said it was worth a shot, but now the kids really want a damn drum set grrrrrr.


Ok I feel better now rofl

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Let's see, what should I rant about?

No holiday spirit here. None. Not feeling it at all. My husband keeps trying to help by following me around the house blasting christmas carols on his cellphone. I told him if he didn't quit I'd flush the phone and him with it.

My 2 year old is on a sleep strike. I'm afraid to sleep. It's frightening what an insomniac toddler can think of to do in the middle on the night.

My 9 year old doesn't believe in santa any more but is obsessed with the elf on the shelf. He also keeps adding things to his list. He knows he's only allowed to ask for 3 things (he gets more, the rest are supposed to be surprises). I used to keep him in line by reminding him about Santa's yearly pre-Christmas visit (Santa recycles toys at our house, things that aren't being played with are taken back to the North Pole a couple weeks before Christmas for redistribution) and that the more he asks for, the more Santa recycles. Doesn't work anymore.

My husband is another one who only shops for me. he hasn't asked what I want this year. That means I'm either getting nothing or something he thinks I want (translation: something HE wants). He made sure to let me know that he wants a recliner.

We told my inlaws (dh's sisters and brother in law) that we weren't exchanging presents with extended family this year due to finances. They didn't take it well and are insisting that we have to exchange anyway.

The cat puked under the bed and on the tree skirt. There's also a funny smell in the living room that I can't find the source of.

Plus, I'm editing my master's thesis and need to get it to my committee by the end of the week. Then there's cubscouts, swim practice, a to-do essay that requires 30 sheets of oragami paper.......

And to top it all off, I feel so guilty about complaining. We're blessed, our kids and family are healty, my inlaws aren't nearly as bad as some I've read about on here, we can afford to get the kids Christmas gifts and some extra for toys for tots. I just can't shake the funk.

 

[Belle0101]

Christmas just feels weird this year.

My paternal grandma, where we spent every Christmas Eveafternoon, passed Feb. 2011. No more Christmas with my aunts, uncles and cousins.

My father-in-law, one of the greatest men I've ever met, passed Sept. 2011. We always spent Christmas Eve evening at their house (with mother-in-law and whichever of the brothers and sisters of my husband stopped by). It was strange with him not being there.

Mother-in-law passed May 2012. No more Christmas with my husband's sisters and brothers and their children.

My husband will have to work until around 6PM Christmas Eve. My oldest son will be with his dad until 9PM Christmas Eve. It'll be my youngest son celebrating with me for most of the day.

My dad and my step-mom invited us over for Christmas Day. They also invited her dad (he's a super nice guy) and her two sisters (they're as strange as the day is long, maybe longer). My dad and step-mom buy for everybody. Her family only buys for each other and we only buy for my dad and step-mom. But most likely we'll be opening gifts together. Awkward.

And the menu? Sliced ham and potato salad. That's what my dad wants.

I have no idea when my husband's two older children, their wives and the grandchildren plan to come over, if we're having a meal, just exchanging gifts or what. My husband hasn't talked with them about it yet.

Mostly I feel bad for my kids. I never expect a Norman Rockwell type Christmas but this year ... it just feels kind of sad.

 

[Rylee]

And this year, he hasn't even bothered to ask me what I got for HIS family. Forget participating in the slightest in giving to HIS family, he can't even ASK what I did?

This post brought to you by Antototoo the Resentful. Who put only her name on the "gift of" card. In the interests of accuracy.

 

[Mama-san]

My rant is that last night my DH invited his brother's family down for Christmas. I love them and would like to see them, but it's awfully short notice. I'm just getting over the flu, and I've been dealing with chronic allergy and sinus/ear infection issues since the beginning of October. I'm waaaay behind on my house cleaning and I've not even got all of my Christmas decorations up. We've got numerous commitments this weekend and most nights until the 21st. I was looking forward to having fun and just hanging with my DH and kids while they were off work/out of school before Christmas. Now we're going to be hustling to get the house in acceptable shape for company, plus my having to plan sleeping arrangements, meals, activities, etc. for us and the 5 of them. I glad they want to visit but it's causing me stress that I really don't need!

Rant over.

 

[Rylee]

My only rant is that I wish my mother could be here for Christmas. I got through Thanksgiving without her (she just passed this October) but it was beyond hard. I have good days, I have bad days, and I have days where I can't stop sobbing. I'm really just hoping that I can make it though Christmas morning and evening without breaking down infront of everyone.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know exactly what you are going through, my mother died the week of Thanksgiving last year. I got through the holidays like a robot, doing everything that was expected of me. Around 7pm Christmas night, when our company was gone, dinner was cleaned up, and the kids were watching a new movie, I gave myself permission to call it a day. I went upstairs, collasped on the bed and sobbed. My husband, who had walked me upstairs, just sat on the edge of the bed. He never said a word, he just sat beside me as I cried. I loved him for that, he was there for me without intruding on my thoughts and grief. My husband's mother died the day after Christmas in 2000, so I'm sure he understood nothing he could have said would have changed what I was feeling.

 

[Rylee]

I could probably post a different rant daily but as for today's rant...

My son's 6th grade teacher assigned a big project due the week before Christmas break. Ugh. As if we don't have enough going on between regularly scheduled activities, holiday festivities, and life in general, now we have to find time to get to the library and the craft store, great... more shopping!

 

[afnaechiquita]

I don't have a rant. I just can't wait to be home. My mom got pneumonia a few weeks ago and is still under the weather, my dad is sick in general, and my younger brother's seizures have been increasing and becoming more violent. My other siblings won't help them. My parents need a break and I can't wait to give them one. Just a few more days...

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I'm sick of seeing Christmas car commercials. It just makes me sad.

Buy a car for Christmas? Really?

 

[dmdelight]

I'm sick of seeing Christmas car commercials. It just makes me sad.

Buy a car for Christmas? Really?

oh my, really?!
that' s just insane.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

My rant is my husband KNOWS he has to get a gift for his sister and her husband but he is just dragging his feet and not doing it. We need to mail the package to them by Saturday (I think) and I've been suggesting stuff, like a box of See's candy or a game or something from the sale ads on Sunday, but he just half-responds with an "I'll think about it" or completely ignores me. I know I will end up being the one to get them their gift, and I don't really like them enough to get soemthing "good" without grumbling about it later.

I didn't mind picking out a few toys for the almost 4 year old nephew, and I get stuff for MIL and FIL. Heck, I even tell DH what to get me for my big present. I am just asking him to take care of this ONE THING by himself. UGH, MEN!

 

[sayheyrenee]

When I got married, I made a deal with my husband. I take care of my family and he takes care of his. That goes for emails, invites, thank you cards, birthdays, holidays, phone calls, presents...everything. There is no personal secretary in this family. We each take care of business. This was the "other" doesn't look guilty of anything in the eyes of the "other persons" family.

Try it, it works.