Holiday rants

[lovesmurfs]

The aunts & uncles (DH & me) buy for everyone, which includes our generation down to my sisters' grandchildren. We don't receive over 40 gifts. We just buy that many. (Out of my parents 6 daughters, I'm the only one that doesn't have grandchildren. I also have the only child that isn't married. That makes for a big family.) Our price range is $25 to $30 per person. We spend more on our sister's gifts. The nieces & nephews buy for their aunts, first cousins & their first cousin's spouses with a $10 price range. A few of them, including my DS, buy for their uncles too. Obviously, their children don't buy for anyone.

When our nieces/nephews started having kids, I started getting a single basket (if I got a good deal) for the family. Lately, I've just been sending them $20 Amazon gift cards, one per family. Then again, we never see them except at weddings/funerals, and I seldom get acknowledgment that they've ever received it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

They have stopped now, but the company I work for used to play the worst Christmas song ever. It went something like "Snow! I want to wash my hair my hands my face in snow!!!" I mean, who loves the snow that much???

That's a song from White Christmas - Irving Berlin.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I have a Spotify playlist I need to add this too. It has other classics, like "If It Doesn't Snow On Christmas" by Joe Pesci and "I Hate Christmas" by Oscar the Grouch, and "Santa Has a Mullet" by Nerf Herder.

You need to include Dr. Demento's Holidays in Dementia album on your playlist -- there are some amazing songs you'll enjoy, including the 12 Pains of Christmas.

 

[Princessclab]

When our nieces/nephews started having kids, I started getting a single basket (if I got a good deal) for the family. Lately, I've just been sending them $20 Amazon gift cards, one per family. Then again, we never see them except at weddings/funerals, and I seldom get acknowledgment that they've ever received it.

This!

 

[easyas123]

We gave gifts to all the nieces & nephews until they hit 18, then we stopped. My brothers, as well as husbands brother & sister, agreed w/ my husband and I to stope exchanging gifts about 15 years ago. It's turned out great! No pressure - no crappy gifts. We are all happy just exchanging good wishes.

Down to 2 nieces & 1 nephew who are younger than 18, so the yearly gift train is winding down for us.

 

[china mom]

I was counting the days until all nieces and nephews turned 18 (only two left) but now there are four new great nieces and nephews

 

[easyas123]

I was counting the days until all nieces and nephews turned 18 (only two left) but now there are four new great nieces and nephews

We don't count them!

 

[disneychick0412]

Are you like that with every topic that someone says they love everything about?

I guess I don't take that phrase, one used by many people in many different situations, to be 100% literal.

It's like people who say "I love everything about winter" I don't think they are saying they love blizzards, power outages, pipes bursting from freezing, car accidents people dying of the elements and more. It's just a phrase.

I hate winter (really just the cold weather), so when I hear people say they love winter this is what I hear! LOL
I know it's not what they mean, but its what I hear!

 

[maxiesmom]

YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!

You have homework. Go watch White Christmas.

I've seen it once. The song is still annoying and dumb.

 

[nickg420]

Don’t give me the evil stink eye when I say no thank you when you ask me Do you want to round up for “whatever charity”? on every transaction I do.

I always respond with "No thanks...I can donate directly and take the tax write off myself thank you...I'm sure you guys have plenty of them already..."

 

[1GoldenSun]

I always respond with "No thanks...I can donate directly and take the tax write off myself thank you...I'm sure you guys have plenty of them already..."

I wish I could do this; I'm too much of a people pleaser. I always give a dollar but am inwardly annoyed. It also irks me when a company solicits donations from its customers and then announces that "they" donated a million bucks or however much to whatever charity. "You" didn't donate it, "we" did!

I'm all for supporting charity, but my family likes to sit down and review the specs for an assortment of charities and decide which ones we want to contribute to. And we don't support charities whose CEO earns more than my husband and I combined.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I wish I could do this; I'm too much of a people pleaser. I always give a dollar but am inwardly annoyed. It also irks me when a company solicits donations from its customers and then announces that "they" donated a million bucks or however much to whatever charity. "You" didn't donate it, "we" did!

I'm all for supporting charity, but my family likes to sit down and review the specs for an assortment of charities and decide which ones we want to contribute to. And we don't support charities whose CEO earns more than my husband and I combined.

Repeat after me: "We give in other ways." I started with that for a couple of years, and now I just say, "No" without guilt. But I couldn't say no until I started practicing with the first phrase.

 

[leebee]

Being expected to work just because I don't have kids. Note: most of the time if people asked politely, I would work the holiday. Extra money is nice. But it was the ones who just expected it and were rude about it. They would act like I didn't have family I would like to spend time with. Normally they would just go to the manager and whine about how I should work for them instead of asking me. Never worked.

THIS. Not DH or me, but DD. There are only 3 of us in the family, and this year DD worked (or will work) 6am-4pm on Thanksgiving and the day after, Dec. 24, 25, 26, and Dec 30, 31, and Jan 1. I know she's the "newbie" at work, and as she works at a nursing/long term care home it needs to be staffed, but jeez... did they forget that she has family who'd like to see her on the holidays?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

When our nieces/nephews started having kids, I started getting a single basket (if I got a good deal) for the family. Lately, I've just been sending them $20 Amazon gift cards, one per family. Then again, we never see them except at weddings/funerals, and I seldom get acknowledgment that they've ever received it.

That's about how often I see my family, which makes me sad. As long as my sisters want to buy for everyone, I will comply. I already feel bad that I'm the only one that's not there to help them out throughout the year. I would just prefer to spend that money on a large family getaway & not have to shop for gifts.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I was counting the days until all nieces and nephews turned 18 (only two left) but now there are four new great nieces and nephews

I can totally relate to that. It seems like our nieces & nephews turned into a bunch of bunnies, when they became adults.

 

[fla4fun]

And don't get me started on "Hippopotamus for Christmas" or "Dominic the Donkey." I'd rather switch the radio station to NPR and listen to non-stop talk about the Covid vaccine.

The only good thing to come out of the hippo song is that, as a joke, I bought Kinder Happy Hippo chocolate snacks for the stockings one year. The laugh was on us, as they are very tasty (and cute) and it’s become a tradition to have them every year. I am a big fan of more traditional Christmas music myself, especially instrumental that can play as background music through the season.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Kinder Happy Hippo chocolate snacks

Thanks for that suggestion. I'm always on the lookout for stocking stuffer ideas.

 

[fla4fun]

Thanks for that suggestion. I'm always on the lookout for stocking stuffer ideas.

I usually pick them up in Epcot, but ordered them from Amazon this year. They come five to a box, individually wrapped. The first year, I bought one box. This year I bought a case of ten boxes!

 

[holden]

Lets get the party started...

People too lazy to return their shopping carts to the cart corral. Instead, leaving their cart in the adjacent parking spot. This happens year round, but its more annoying during the holidays.

This is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Listening to it on the radio a few years ago and watching the movie tonight...Rudolph sends kind of a messed up message. I mean I’m not boycotting or banning it, but it’s definitely lost some of the innocence from childhood.

My son makes fun of it. He calls it the movie where Santa hates his elves... they've been working so hard on a song for him, and all he does is complain... I told my son to hush, it was my favorite Christmas feature when I was a kid.