<p>Mamadrama, I really enjoyed your story which sort of reminded me the packing for the trip scene from *Home Alone * You need to write a movie script which should include a scene in which the family matriarch runs over the cat in her wheelchair. </p>
<p>Oh, and here is my Christmas shopping update. H was the last person on my shopping list. I went to the local Costco to get the Hitachi drill for my hubby only to discover that the ginormous pile of said drills … disappeared! I guess my blue-collar neighbors like to give drills as Christmas gifts. I went to the “posh” Costco and asked for said drill. A Costco employee informed me that they never had them. (But they had the most impressive pile of Ecco men’s dress shoes.) I guess my white collar neighbors do not use drills. So, hubby will be getting something with a lot of knobs and buttons from B&H. I feel really sorry for him.</p>
<p>We had house guests last year and the son was allergic to cats, it would have been really helpful if they had warned me of this before he began getting hives since the “guest suite” doubles as my girl’s room and they all sleep with the cat. I had to strip and change the bed, including blankets, quilts, pillows, and mattress pad, and would have preferred that old stained mattress not be witnessed in all it’s ancient glory.</p>
<p>If you are staying with some one and have allergies, warn them. Most people with pets let them every where in the house.</p>
<p>MamaDrama - loved your rant! Can just picture it all. An old boyfriend’s father taught me an important phrase to say - loudly - in these situations: “Honey, let’s go to bed, so these people can leave.”</p>
<p>Here it is 6 days before Christmas and I have a bad head cold, unfinished shopping, a messy house, no tree, no food ordered, a giant snow storm on the way which means my H will have to go to work overnight, no cards sent…and a partridge in a pear tree.</p>
<p>The worst part is that my head cold means that I can’t visit my friend in the hospital who needs visits more than anything right now.</p>
<p>MamaDrama - Maybe our imaginary bus can come your way and just pick you up! Do you like snacks and drinks, and attractive men, and toilet papering college advisor houses? If so, hop aboard! Oh - and singing!</p>
<p>I’m a CPA. I like to keep the $ and the # of presents equal for the kids. Children 2 and 3 are getting laptops, so that wasn’t going to work anyway. I live an hour from a mall and wouldn’t go near one if I lived 5 minutes away. On-line for me. Unfortunately, I just figured out that 2 of the 3 things I ordered for Child #1 are backordered. Yes, at this point I have a pair of warm socks for him to unwrap.</p>
<p>Seconds after I figured that out, child #2 grades came through the email. He has had a difficult fall semester and is transferring to a cc–all registered and everything. Needed a C in a pre-reg to stay enrolled in all those classes. Yep, a D+. Sigh.</p>
<p>OMG, I’m about to hyperventilate. Everything is half-done for Christmas: decorating, cards, cleaning. Every year I swear I will do better the next Christmas and I never do (though sometimes it’s worse than this as some years I only manage a tiny tree). I always want everything to be so nice, and it’s sure hard to be Mother Christmas.</p>
<p>My D is coming home this year and wasn’t able to last year, so I was really trying to make the house look super-Christmasy. If I only had another week…or didn’t have to sleep…</p>
<p>Wow, this thread makes me feel SO much better about myself! I’m not the only one whose Christmas won’t be perfect! Yay! Let’s all feel inadequate together!</p>
<p>Yup! I have a rather long list of jobs to be done, but I am taking a snow night and pouring myself a warm glass of spiced holiday wine. I MAY cook something tonight, but then again I may not.</p>
<p>Somebody asked me how I seemed so relaxed this year considering all the things that have been going on in my life and I said it is all about lowering standards and embracing mediocrity.</p>
<p>I’m procrastinating on the gift wrapping. Can’t step in my bedroom without being reminded. Everyone is away so it’s the perfect time - yet her I am, NOT up in my room wrapping!</p>
<p>This year…I am only doing things I like to do at Christmas. Cooking. Baking. And drinking new fangled cocktails between cooking and baking. Right now I am one with the half decorated tree. OOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
If anyone in the house wants something “special” for the holiday and it’s something that I do not enjoy doing. They better do it themselves. Viva la revolucion!</p>
<p>lowering standards and embracing mediocrity…a new mantra for Christmas preparations…perhaps should be a new mantra for some other overachievers on CC…</p>
<p>My brother and his family and my sister arrive here for the “big” meal on Tues.<br>
I haven’t even figured out what I’m cooking. The one thing I was sure of is a yummy chocolate pound cake that my friend from work is making for me ( I am paying her for it). I’m picking it up from her tomorrow. </p>
<p>S1 arrived at home today after spending last night at my sis’s house (she is halfway between his Navy base and home). He walks in carrying a big box from my sister…guess what it is? Bingo… a chocolate cake!</p>
<p>Did I mention that we are in the midst of building a new house? Today when I should have been shopping, wrapping,baking…I spent hours in Home Depot shopping for bathroom vanities,countertops and tile.
My head is spinning. I think I’ll just go to bed.</p>
<p>At this point I have a tree with new lights and nothing else on it. I am leaving 4 boxes of decorations in the loft in the garage. My D and I decided to simplify, and do old fashioned stuff, string popcorn and cranberries and make paper chains with construction paper, cut out paper ornaments and decorate with glitter. Hopefully a few of her friends can get through the snow aftermath tomorrow to come and help. Not sure if I will go through with this, maybe scurrying up to the loft Christmas Eve for more stuff. Be strong.</p>
<p>i have hosted a neighborhood/family/friend coffee on the sunday before christmas for the past 8-9 years. </p>
<p>it has become my absolute most favorite day of the year so that is always my focus…after that, shopping and wrapping can be finished in a flurry.</p>
<p>my kids are too old to really shop for anyway, and i don’t wrap anymore either. gift bags work just great! i re-use them year after year–</p>
<p>i buy most of the mini quiches and sausages in blankets all ready made, so it was just a huge number of cinnamon rolls to be made today. the house smells terrific! </p>
<p>i am so much more relaxed–i guess i’ve starting embracing mediocrity and i love it! i don’t really even clean the house much before–after all, you’ll have to clean afterwards anyway!</p>
<p>it is such a fun time of year and fun time of day to have everyone in and out of the house. it has become a hugely popular event and it is always a large crowd. people ask me in september if we’re going to be doing it again, so i guess it has become a true tradtion for our family.</p>
<p>That sounds nice, wbow. A friend of a friend has a Christmas open house for all her women friends every year the first Sat. in Dec.,and that gets her whole house decorated by then. Maybe I should try that…</p>
<p>My H is very cranky at Christmas. It’s like living with Ebenezer Scrooge. His birthday is two days after Christmas and his mom didn’t do much for that. (Three boys–she probably was too tired to move.) His sons are never here for Christmas or his birthday any more (both in the Navy). It’s hard to be Mother Christmas with Scrooge in the next room pouting.</p>
<p>We have two trees up (thanks to H), both have lights (again thanks to H), no ornaments on either. Made cookies today because we were snowed in, so why not? I had surgery about a month ago and H was busy redoing a bathroom, so those are the official reasons. </p>
<p>Standards are low this year. Am totally embracing mediocrity. Glad it’s not just me.</p>
You need to write a movie script which should include a scene in which the family matriarch runs over the cat in her wheelchair. </p>