<p>I have no idea what I’m getting for Christmas, but my phone keeps dying, and my H says if a box comes addressed to him from T-Moblie, I shouldn’t open it.</p>
<p>I went shopping, bought myself 2 sweaters and a scarf, left the bag on DH’s dresser and said, “You went shopping!” He pulled the sweaters out of the bag and said, “But you don’t need these…” I said, “Yes I do. Wrap them.”</p>
<p>Bought everyone t-shirts from D’s ED school at their online store. Wrapped them all, including my own. Yes, I bought and wrapped my own present. The gift label says that it’s from Santa.</p>
<p>My mom insists on sending us GROSS homemade candy/cookies every year. They go to my H’s office b/c they are not tasty as well as fattening. She makes me gingerbread men cookies from a mix b/c I loved her homemade, wonderful gingerbread men as a child. She sends my H peanuts stuck together with chocolate and he doesn’t like peanuts. I tried to say “We don’t need the cookies/candy any more,” and she said, “Well, I need to send them.”</p>
<p>She did also send lovely grapefruit and that has been great.</p>
<p>Since I waited until yesterday to start shopping, it’s going to be a gift-card-and-mail-order kind of Christmas. We just put the tree up yesterday as well, even though it’s been on the back porch since Saturday. Christmas dinner will be courtesy of Honeybake.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why I’ve had such a hard time revving up the spirit this year. Maybe the first year without D in the house is more of a factor than I thought. She’s coming home tomorrow though, so we’ll see if she brings Christmas with her. She & I are going to see Nutcracker on Saturday; we’re dance people, so I have a feeling that’ll mark the start of the season for me. Can’t wait!</p>
<p>Some cousins from warmer climes sent us a box of citrus a couple of years ago; I had never quite gotten the food as a gift idea, but I was both touched by the thought and we all enjoyed the great citrus!</p>
<p>LasMa, our Honeybaked Christmas ham finally arrived at New Years last year- thanks to a state wide UPS shut down. Lucky I had frozen whole chickens in the freezer to create a dinner with!</p>
<p>One year we pitched in and got a Honeybaked Ham gift certificate for a Jewish friend of ours for Hannukah.</p>
<p>(We all laughed ourselves silly and then our friend proclaimed that she adored their glazed turkey, so all ended well.)</p>
<p>That’s too funny, about the glazed “turkey”.</p>
<p>EPTR:
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<p>Yes, yes, yes, that’s me! What makes it worse is that I do a lot of online shopping, then I start wrapping, and all the online stuff isn’t here yet but I can’t remember what’s still coming and the pile looks too small, so l pick up a few more things and then the online stuff arrives…</p>
<p>And every year DH lets me do all the shopping, then at the last minute decides he needs to buy something for the kids and parents himself, so he goes out and buys repeats of stuff I’ve already bought, or “desperation gifts” (joke-a-day calendars, etc) which just adds to the pile.</p>
<p>My husband is really very bad about gifts. I hinted, mentioned, responded to his questions for 4 years that I wanted a multiple CD changer. Finally, I told our son: when Dad wonders what to get me, tell him you think I want a CD changer. Voila! That Christmas I was “surprised” by a CD changer instead of another sweater that doesn’t fit.</p>
<p>I kept thinking that if I went out and bought the changer, it would make him remember and then he’d feel bad. I think I was wrong! Anyway, now I use my ipod.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that my boss is going to be in the doghouse this Christmas… He confessed that he has not done any shopping yet, and he’s got a wife and two adorable kiddos to shop for! There were some financial news stories that inventories could be running pretty low and that good, reasonably-priced things were pretty much depleted form the stores.</p>
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<p>Me too. Let’s be strong this year.</p>
<p>Laflum, I missed that you “me tooed” too. Strength in numbers? (I can also identify with your online buying and losing track AND the last minute gifts from hubby to kids–minus the duplication.)</p>
<p>We cut our shopping for family way back. In the summer, we draw for names. Each adult buys one gift for one other adult. That’s it. Then the grandchildren pick a name and buy one gift for their cousin (or sibling). The youngest kid is 12 and the funny thing is the kids wanted it this way. They like buying for their peers and they didn’t need a bunch of things. They are great kids. </p>
<p>I am personally looking forward to a happier Christmas. My beloved sister was terminally ill last Christmas and we lost her shortly after that. I plan to enjoy all my relatives and luckily I have been blessed with great ones.</p>
<p><<yes, yes,=“” that’s=“” me!=“” what=“” makes=“” it=“” worse=“” is=“” that=“” i=“” do=“” a=“” lot=“” of=“” online=“” shopping,=“” then=“” start=“” wrapping,=“” and=“” all=“” the=“” stuff=“” isn’t=“” here=“” yet=“” but=“” can’t=“” remember=“” what’s=“” still=“” coming=“” pile=“” looks=“” too=“” small,=“” so=“” l=“” pick=“” up=“” few=“” more=“” things=“” arrives…=“”>></yes,></p>
<p>Exactly. I think I am such a visual person that unless I have the stuff laid out, I have no idea what I’m doing. I laid out all the presents on the bed last night and realized that I had bought my niece two gifts that I had forgotten about. I looked at other gifts and couldn’t remember who I had bought them for at all! It’s frightening! Christmas Dementia. Now I’m off to target to get some gifts for charity. My mantra…I will not buy more stuff for my kids…I will not buy more stuff for my kids. </p>
<p>Thanks for the intervention, Lafalum and Schmoomcgoo!</p>
<p><Yes, yes, yes, that’s me! What makes it worse is that I do a lot of online shopping, then I start wrapping, and all the online stuff isn’t here yet but I can’t remember what’s still coming and the pile looks too small, so l pick up a few more things and then the online stuff arrives…</p>
<p>This is me too…am so glad I’m not alone. On top of it I suddenly realise one child has more than the other so off I go to equalise. And I wrapped all the gifts and it dawned on me that one of the tops I’d wrapped for one D was supposed to be for the other D so now I have to peel the wrapping gently to find it and re-label it.</p>
<p>^^^Guilty of equalizing here! Although for a few years I used to keep a running list of dollars spent on each kid, instead of counting the number of boxes. I’ve just sort of given up now. They’re both getting college paid for, everything else is gravy!</p>
<p>My dear mother went to great lengths to keep the Christmas piles equal for all 6 of us. There was enough sibling rivalry and she sure didn’t want to endure unnecessary maternal guilt. Unfortunately, I practice the same kind of Christmas accounting. No one has ever cared about $$$ spent evenly, but I always make sure each kid has the same number of presents to open. DD is easy and fun to buy for; DS is rather boring and never asks for much. This year, in order to keep the piles even, I’ve had to wrap each DVD he’s asked for separately. DD, on the other hand, has entire outfits crammed into one box.</p>
<p>I’m actually doing better with my mood this year as winter has been milder so far, we are focusing on the food and fellowship vs. the gifting, and I started the cleaning a weekend earlier this year.</p>
<p>The holidays have been horrible the last few years due to multiple untimely losses, sicknesses, and general acting up and drama scenes by various relatives. I am trying my hardest not to get sucked in this year. Everyone will eventually get a present, just maybe not under the tree. Haven’t been to a single mall or store and likely won’t until well after the 25th.</p>
<p>My vent is instead about the “Dropinskis” who are bound to show up during the week between Christmas and New Years to challenge my zen. Or like last year, actually on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>SO has cousins (with 5 kids) from Missouri who come to the area this time of year to mooch off his parents.</p>
<p>Last year, with about 15 minutes warning, they were sent over to our house on Christmas Day Eve as the grandparents were sick of them.</p>
<p>They ate up all my leftovers (ticked me off the worst as we usually eat off of them until DD#2’s birthday on the 30th) and we had over 20 people jammed in a 16 x 20" room with slight spillover into DS’s bedroom for Wii and the arch of the dining room (including my mom in a wheelchair and her assistance dog). Mind you we only see my parents 2-3 times a year and two of my brothers live OOS.</p>
<p>Of course whenever strangers are over, our dog barks incessantly to be let in because he thinks I am being slaughtered by the interlopers. So in comes our dog and then the two cats start weaving in between people’s legs and ultimately under the wheelchair right at the time my mom decides to back up. </p>
<p>In a timely fashion, Mr Dropinski announces the youngest is allergic to cats could they please go in the bathroom…I reluctantly oblige and the cats start screeching to get out as they are used to free range of the house. Meanwhile, Mrs. Dropinski is walking around my house playing Inspector 12 commenting on all of the home improvements she would make if she were ME. (No thanks Mrs. D, we would prefer not to take out a a 2nd or 3rd mortgage on the house at this juncture like I know YOU have just because granite counters would be “SO PRETTY”).</p>
<p>Simultaneously, I was in the kitchen was trying to counsel my own 25 year old cousin in the throws of an existential crisis (who had been invited over by my own clueless brother #3 only to have said dear brother bail 10 minutes after cousin arrived) with children walking in every 2 minutes asking for more cocktail sauce for the shrimp or something to drink. One even had the nerve to ask if I’d make her a hamburger.</p>
<p>Back in the living room, small children were standing in front of the fireplace complaining “I’m hot” because there was a lit fire and the room temp had gone up about 7 degrees from the body heat of the mass of humanity.</p>
<p>It went on like this for several hours, you get the idea. I couldn’t have dropped more “I’m tired” or “DD has to work early in the morning” hints but they literally were THE THING THAT WOULD NOT LEAVE.</p>
<p>This year, I am going to pack a bag and be ready to bolt out the door at the first sign of any uninvited guests. Thanks for letting me rant.</p>
<p>Loved your rant, mama, and the posts of all the others. I realize that, in spite of various trials and tribulations. I really don’t have it all that bad.</p>
<p>Oh, Mamadrama…
That is so funny…probably because it sounds so familiar! “I’m hot” as they stand in front of a raging fire in a room packed with people and animals. I have an image of your mother’s wheelchair backing over the cat! </p>
<p>Where do you live?!!! I think I’ll be in the neighborhood on the 25th. I’ll stop by. I like my hamburger medium rare. Oh, and I’m allergic to cats.</p>