I'm cancelling Christmas!!!

[Pembo]

I'm just not in the mood. DS, DD & I have all been sick in one way or another the past week. The shopping is done, but most of it still needs wrapped. I've baked NOTHING in the way of Christmas cookies. The mere thought of baking just annoys me at this point.

The boys are on day 2 of their break and already driving me nuts. The fighting, the whining, the crying..........

I was only at WDW 2 weeks ago, feels like 2 million years ago. Somebody give me back my WDW happyglow.

Off to take the tree down.......








when I said that outloud my 5 yo melted into tears. Poor thing! I was only kidding.........sort of...........not really.......

 

[Pam]

Pembo - forget the cookies - if you need a cookie fix, go to the bakery and buy a dozen!

Just sit down right now, put your feet up and watch a nice wamr and fuzzy movie or read a book! Look at your Christmas tree ablaze with all of its lights and marvel at the first Christmas and how the shepherds must have felt when the Angels appeared before them, giving glory to God in the highest......

Do a basic wrap job on the presents - leave off the bows and frou-frou.....

and - Merry Christmas, dear - we've all had those moments of cancelling Christmas ! I'm just so very happy that God didn't!

 

[aunt lissa]

Awwww....and I have used emailing Santa as a threat all day!! Straightened them right up though! Wish I could use this one all year!

 

[DocRafiki]

Why do we do this to ourselves? Can I sign a petition somewhere to simplify Christmas... make it more like Thanksgiving?

How old is your other kid? Put those kids to work like my parents always did!

Hope you get to feeling better!

 

[Pembo]

The worst part is we went to WDW the day after Thanksgiving to "get in the Christmas spirit". After the Candlelight Processional and then Mickey's Xmas parade I was feeling very festive.

ugh...........

 

[Val]

My 4 kids are all fighting and they have only been out of school since Friday. My MIL arrived last Sunday and is here for at least 10 more days.....she is 81, VERY hard of hearing, can't walk and needs assistance (bad hips), and is becoming increasingly senile (I love her dearly, but!). She tries SO hard, but I am ready to duct tape her to a chair because she keeps re-arranging my kitchen and losing things, as well as turning the gas on the stove on without lighting the burners, locking all the doors everytime someone goes outside and generally driving me crazy. I have more music to play for Christmas Eve at church than I can handle, haven't finished my shopping and am running out of time! My gay brother is coming with his new partner for Christmas dinner and my MIL will have her usual silent fit of pursed lips and pouting about him while he incites a riot of misbehavior with my kids (his policy- get the kids riled up and then LEAVE!). My dear Brother spouts liberal politics. In the mean time my rednecked brother (my family runs the WHOLE spectrum) sent inappropriate gifts which the children have gotten into. My sister called to say that her handpainted-wrapping paper-wrapped-highly educational-and most appropriate-gifts will arrive on time, unlike mine for my nephews. The dogs are eating the day old bread that got dropped on the floor, and my husband wants to know the likelihood of "Santa" buying him a $5K guitar (in his dreams!) while he complains that we are not all happy and in the best Christmas spirit (and why won't he take off that stupid Santa hat with the lights flashing- I am about to shove it and its jingle bells computer chip somewhere where the sun doesn't shine!).

That being said, the BEST therapy is watching Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. BUT- I want to know why I am not getting royalties on my family story. Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

[cgcw]

It does get to be a bit overwhelming, doesn't it?

I just said to my DH the other day (okay, maybe said isn't the right term ) that Christmas comes and I get to do everything I normally do around here and then all of the Christmas things too. It gets to be very exhausting.

Last year we went to WDW right before Christmas thinking it would prevent all the hustle and bustle and it didn't. Just made for a shorter time to get everything done. It always does get finished and the kids love it so much. I would feel really bad without all the extras. The kids won't be little forever. The day will come when it won't be so hectic. Then we'll be commiserating about the good old days.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

 

[jcemom]

Don't feel so bad...my shopping is done, presents are wrapped (with those "nice" self-stick bows that come like 700 to a package), and my house is a disaster. I've already threatened the boys that if they don't clean their rooms Santa will see that they have too much and won't leave anything. DD has undecorated the bottom 2 feet of the Christmas tree (again) -- which, luckily, is as far as her little arms can reach. I baked 3 batches of cookies over the weekend using new recipes and they all turned out terrible. (We'll be getting bakery cookies this year.)

With all of that, I've been sitting here (still in my pj's ) Disney planning and DISing all day. (We even had fish sticks and frozen fries for dinner...eeewww.)

I'll be fine by Christmas eve.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yup! I know what you mean...whoever I have left to shop for are getting gift certificates!

 

[winniedapooh]

You guys all sound like me a last weekend. Use gift bags or disney store boxes, lol. Bakery makes great cookies and I dunno I am not above threatening my 5 with hard labor-cleaning a room all together, lol! Mine have also been whiney and antsy all day. I think the closer we get to the holidays the more excited they get and the more stressed we get. I am trying to remember being a kid and the excitement and wonder of it all.....gee I hope I wasn't this fresh to my family, lol. Pixie dust to you.....

 

[Virgo10]

This is the second time in the past four years I've skipped the whole decorating/cooking/gift part of Christmas. I ruptured another disk in my back in October and getting around is getting increasingly difficult.

Do what you can do and skip the rest. All of the above is just another reason the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

Roberta

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Pembo,

Don't you know that Santa never wraps gifts. It is something I learned long ago. He justs leaves a pile out for each of my children. Everything has already been taken out of boxes and batteries have been installed and the kids start playing immediately.

None of my relatives' presents have bows on them and at this point I don't think it will happen. My son has to have tubes put in his ears in the morning and my mother broke her ankle and is in a cast. I am running 2 households simultaneously.

Keep everything simple and you will enjoy it much more. My children decorated our tree and some branches have 20 bulbs and ornaments hanging from them. In my eyes it is the most beautifully decorated tree.

Val,
You crack me up! Thanks for the huge laugh.

Lori

 

[Talking Hands]

No presents here this year. Kids went to Universal and I went to Disney. After tonight's service at church I am really in a very Christmasy mood. Absolutely beautiful and would you believe I worked the entire service I interpreted all the music as well as the Lord's supper.
I am looking forward to Wednesday and Christmas Eve Service. Will interpret at that as well but have help. Yes, God is good!

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm having a little trouble getting into the spirit this year. I just have so much going on that I just haven't had the time to soak up the atmosphere. DD is on Christmas vacation now, so I'm going to put everything else on hold and try to have some fun with her. This is a special time of year and they grow up so fast. I owe to her and to myself.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I feel the same way! The commercialism is terrible, and so is the pressure to have a perfect Christmas. I want to remember the REAL meaning of it all, and am trying to impart that to the kids.
I did buy my kids gifts, and they are all wrapped. Since DH insists that Santa wraps the gifts from him, DH has to do it. Cards went out right after Thanksgiving, and I am just finished baking a batch of choc. chip cookies. I will make spiced walnuts and fudge before Christmas, and the kids will decorate sugar cookies tomorrow after school. The slice and bake kind! That is it. I won't do anything else. I also don't do the tree, DH and the kids pick it out, bring it in, decorate it, and then undecorate it afterwards. I have never done that part of it. Some things you just HAVE to say no to doing. Just try to relax and realize that Christmas is what is in your heart, not just a show to put on each year. BTW, I don't mean to offend anyone who can do it all, I think it is great if you can. I just have to realize my own limitations, and learn to be comfortable with them.
(Sorry for the long post!)

 

[Kallison]

Val you made me laugh after a very stressful day of shopping with DH.

 

[Kitty 34]

If it makes you feel any better, I gave up making Christmas cookies this year!! Just didn't need the added stress of all that chilling, baking and frosting!!

I make that chocolate chip fudge instead. It's easy to make and real good!!!

 

[Disney845]

It is so nice to know that I am not the only one completely NOT in a Christmasy spirit. I am going crazy at work. I honestly want to jump across the counter and throttle some of the customers...can you tell I work retail?? I have absolutley no time to acomplish anything. I worked 12 hours straight on Friday, worked all weekend long, and am working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well!!! In fact I have to be in to work at 6am on Tuesday because we get our shipments in then!! I only "started" my shopping last Monday....I had no time before that with full time school exams and final papers due in the crunch of the last few school weeks. I am completely stressed because I have yet to register for classes for the Spring semester! I don't know if any more presents will be purchased...let alone actually get wrapped. Might just get some gift bags to stick them in. For Christmas this year I am going to my mother's fiance's sister's house. Long story short...I can NOT stand my mother's fiance....and I also can NOT stand his entire family, of which there is a ton of, he has 8 brothers and sisters. They are all extremely heavy drinkers, who I am sure will be starting very early in the day, since of course they have the excuse of a holiday...although honestly they need no excuse they are sloshed most of the time!! I feel that our dislike of each other is fairly mutual as they are aware that I think them trashy drunkards, while they (especially the fiance and his parents) enjoy telling me how they think I should be living my life. My mother's fiance's favorite stories always seem to start with "my mother raised nine of us kids and we never did ______" (insert whatever he disapproves of here, my choice of men, my attitude, my social, political, religious views or any variety of other things which are completely none of his or his families business). I am sure that my presence at this holiday gathering will not last overly long. Make an appearance, play nice for a little while (and that is extremely extremely hard for me to do since my gut instinct is to tell all of these people exactly where they can shove all of their personal opinions and exactly how unflattering each and every one of them look when they become plastered and act like idiots) and then retreat to a safe and sober location far away from whatever stupidity that clan will be engaged in. I definitely do not feel festive in any way, and am not looking forward to Thursday at all. The only upside being I have a day off of work!!