Kind of embarrassed about Christmas

[florida-again]

I know this is strange but I feel a bit weird about christmas.
I'm 21 and living at home (when I'm not at college).
I guess it's because I'm getting older - but I feel almost uncomfortable about receiving a big pile of gifts from my mum (family tradition is that we receive a big pile of little gifts rather than one big gift). I almost feel guilty.I feel so strange about going into her room on christmas morning, as we always do, and unwrapping gifts. Not in an ungrateful sense, but in a humble or guilty sense. I feel like she shouldn't have to buy me the same sort of pile of gifts as my younger sisters, now I'm older.

Does that make sense? Or am I totally crazy?

 

[OhMari]

Why do you have to go in your mom's room to open gifts? I have 2 in college and they both came home and looked at the christmas tree and I think it just hit them that it is almost Christmas. I think at College it is not thrown in your face as much as it is when you are home. My kids barely watch tv-they go to hockey games, the bars, other people's houses for parties and you guys just don't have to deal with Christmas. None of my kids has money to spend and I told them they don't need to buy gifts for each other when none of them has any, and I told them don't buy me nothing either. I really don't need anything.

 

[florida-again]

It's just tradition that we open our presents in her room. We don't have a christmas tree.

 

[kilee]

Some mom's will do that your whole life. My sister and I are 31 and 26. We're both married w/ children of our own. My parents now have a pile of gifts for me, my sister, our spouses, and each of our children. It's not expected, but they can afford it and they enjoy doing it. So, maybe mom is doing it just as much for her. Have fun w/ it--- as long as it's not creating a hardship for her.

 

[stinkerbelle]

BAH! Enjoy it I say! And I don't mean that in a "gimmie gifts" way.

I'm almost 29 and married...when I go to my parents house for christmas, we still sit on the floor around the tree and pass out gifts...it's a laugh riot. We still "video tape" our christmas morning...it's usually good for some laughs afterwards.

Christmas brings out the kid in EVERYONE...don't feel guilty/humble...enjoy this time with your family!

 

[froglady]

I have a daughter a little bit older than you are, who is also a college student. My feeling is that as long as she is still my dependent or unmarried/not in a committed relationship, she gets the same treatment as DS. Once she is TRULY independent, one way or another, she will start to get one or two gifts only. I only know that DH is retiring in 10 years, so it will be before then.

 

[florida-again]

Oh don't get me wrong, I appreciate it. I'm not annoyed with her for doing it or anything! I just feel guilty that I'm 21 and she's still going to buy me all those gifts.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Some mom's will do that your whole life. My sister and I are 31 and 26. We're both married w/ children of our own. My parents now have a pile of gifts for me, my sister, our spouses, and each of our children. It's not expected, but they can afford it and they enjoy doing it. So, maybe mom is doing it just as much for her. Have fun w/ it--- as long as it's not creating a hardship for her.

Yep, that's me! I love to buy things for my "kids" ( now 36 and 30).

 

[slo]

Please don't feel embarrassed - I'm sure your mom loves to do this and would probably not have it any other way.

This is one of those things that you will understand more when you have children of your own. When your mom, you don't want your children to grow up, you want to keep them young, and your mom is doing that by keeping with your holiday tradition.

Enjoy your gifts and just know how much she loves you

 

[florida-again]

Thank you for your kind responses everyone, I feel better now. Sometimes as a college student returning home in the holidays, it is a strange 'am I an adult? Am I a kid?' feeling

 

[inaminute]

I thought you were Jewish?

 

[florida-again]

I thought you were Jewish?

I am, but we still exchange presents on Christmas as we're not religious. Don't flame me for that, that's the way my family have always done things.

 

[inaminute]

Fair enough.

It does seem a bit odd, though.

I'm a Christian, but we don't celebrate Hanukah. I don't know any Christians who do, acutally--unless they're married to someone of the Jewish faith.

 

[Ziva]

I thought you were Jewish?

 

[florida-again]

Fair enough.

It does seem a bit odd, though.

I'm a Christian, but we don't celebrate Hanukah. I don't know any Christians who do, acutally--unless they're married to someone of the Jewish faith.

But I bet you could find plenty of jews (in the UK at least) that do celebrate christmas. I know very few jews who don't

 

[Patch'sD]

I know plenty of Jewish people who decorate their houses with Christmass Lights. We have exchanged gifts with some of them. Are we now on a board that does investigations on the truthfullness of posters. I would love to know how many posters here would pass those tests.

 

[jbdreamer]

My boss is Jewish and his office is covered in Chirstmas cards and ALL the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Characters.