holiday season

[PeterD]

...with 5 children, 11 to 18 at home and 2 grandkids 8 & 10, its hard not to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas...and as many have said, I enjoy the family time together, change in routine, etc. and I avoid the malls, major retail stores, and much of the hype. If I wasn't exposed to the early Christmas displays...many before Halloween, I would find it far more enjoyable...and with my children...well, I enjoy watching the excitement build...:santa: :rendeer:

 

[SteveS]

I enjoy the time spent with our kids and grandkids ... I don't shop and haven't done for years ... MrsS likes that aspect of things and more than makes up for my lack of shopping participation ...

Honestly, once the grandkids get into their 'stuff' my greatest enjoyment is heading out to my 'cave' with one or more of my sons and quietly conversing over a cigar or pipe ... each of them will join me in a smoke and I find that to be one of my great pleasures ... too bad it's mostly limited to the holidays ...

 

[AJ]

I long for the past, watching the family open gifts on a early Christmas morn,
the smell of mom's cooking and baking lofting from the kitchen filling the air,
the family setting down at the table to give thanks and enjoy it all till we were all too full to budge.

Those are some fine memories you have Ron. Very similar to my own and like you I long for the return of those times. Even though those days will never be enjoyed again I still love the holidays  

AJ

 

[taharris]

I will do something different this year. My wife is a hairdresser at a nursing home. There is an old black lady, Miss Mary, no family, very good to my wife, goes to kitchen and gets little snacks for her, is worried she is not eating enough. Wife came home and said Miss Mary said she would come home with me and help me cook the thanksgiving dinner. Very sad she has no one, so I told my wife you are gonna go get her and it will be her special day, everyone should have a special day.

Bravo!

 

[Mozjo33]

This is the first year we are empty nesters. Never realized how empty the house is with both of my girls gone. I took some extra time just to be home while they are in their break from school. It's just nice having them in the house.

Although I do miss them young tearing through everything in 3 minutes, I find myself enjoying the holidays more as they get older. It seems to slow everything down to actually enjoy it.

I'm sure before I know it, grandchildren will be here (not too soon!) and the mayhem will commence again! :cheers: 

 

[RonA3597]

Mom used to say that if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all.

+1

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

"Spoiling my dog with presents" rings true to me. From whom else do you get so much love and attention and such superb loyalty? I was eating cold cuts the other night with a bit of mayo. My cat got interested but then looked away, repeated this, but then grew assertive, looking straight at me and turning to face the food. Hell, I fed her; sharing is good with her. I like giving her part of my food and feel that the prohibition against feeding pets people food is misguided. We get treats; why can't they?

In general my pet standards have loosened over the years. I almost never gave them people food, and don't even try to walk on the counters. I don't want my current cat to get up on the pipe and tobacco table, but that's about it.

 

[swhipple]

I find good and bad in the holidays.

I hate the holiday shopping hype and I swear the commercials get louder and more annoying every year. I like Christmas music but after a few days of constantly hearing it I ready to be done with that as well.

I love the actual day of the holiday when you get to spend time with the family. Makes it almost worth dealing with the annoying stuff above.

I do miss the excitement that I felt as a kid before opening my presents. It doesn't help that my wife is a terrible gift buyer, she has an uncanny knack for finding a gift that is so not me? She has other good qualities so I'm not complaining, well not much. Having said that I'm excited to get my Secret Santa package this year and I'm really enjoying stuffing the box for my victim as well.

Happy holidays to you all.

 

[ftrplt]

Love the holidays; despise the commercialism. Black Friday has now become Black Thursday & Friday. The dang malls will be open at 0800 Thursday morning!!!! No way to spend Thanksgiving. I find "shopping" repugnant enough as it is, I refuse to cater to businesses that are open on holidays. Bring back the 'Blue Laws" and knock this $hit off!!!!! Everybody have a great and enjoyable "Turkey Day!!!!!" FTRPLT

 

[Dragonslayer]

I enjoy the holidays seeing family, friends and those who come along, 3/4 I like the other 1/4 well the feeling is mutual. After dinner, they’ve eaten the food I paid for and relaxing watching football on my home theater, I’m off to the man cave…Where I’d rather be anyways enjoying bowls of the special tobacco.

This year with the cellaring issue, I printed out copies of my shopping cart at 4Noggins and wrote in the discount prices. Then across the top wrote “pick two, give the money to your mother. If you buy anything else enclose the receipt, it will be returned the next day to complete the order.” Was going to go for a nice pipe but my birthday is in April and can wait that long. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Traffic is crazy during the holidays where I live, mostly food related. IMO Christmas shopping is three groups. 25% people still do all the shopping because they love it and running into friends. 25% are checking things out, running into friends but are seeing what something looks like or the size, then ordering it off the Internet. The rest getting the best prices, no hassle and buy it from the Internet. My wife falls under the first group.  I’ve got it easy and only buy one gift for her and she takes care of everyone else.

Craig

 

[Slartibartfast]

 

[pipemaker]

I would not miss the commercial side one bit, but I do treasure the time spent with family and friends

Mike B

 

[gravel]

I like the holidays.

 

[Hermit]

Happy Thanksgiving.   8) 

 

[loco pony]

I have finally had enough time to read each and every post on this thread. Very insightful, and alot learned. Thank you for sharing.

I live my life in such a way as to spend as much time as possible with my family, and loved ones.
I guess growing up where I did, where you are nothing and then holidays were overblown and tomorrow back to the grind stone killed holidays for me and planted in me to take advantage of all times that I can spend with loved ones.

Im just gonna try to glad others are happy with it.

 

[flyguy]

@Hermit: That turkey could use an exorcism! :affraid: 

 

[rmason]

Bradley that is very noble of you to do this holiday. While I'm not a parent or a grandparent, very far from being either, I do still have cousins of mine that are much younger, so I do get the joy of seeing them be happy. As for the season I get very happy when the snow starts to fly it calms me down and makes me relax so I can deal with all the commercials and busy-bodies of the holidays.
~Ron

 

[Buckshot]

I like the holidays.

So do I. Ours will be quite different this year since my wife just got out of the hospital after a hip replacement.

 

[daveinlax]

I don't really enjoy the holidays other than my house decked out for the season. My "holidays" are the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl. No travel, presents, relatives, cooking and cleaning. Just my TV, family, pipes/cigars, takeout wings/pizza and cocktails. Now that's my idea of a holiday! :shock: 

 

[riff raff]

We enjoy the holidays here, particularly my wife. She was raised by a pair of alcoholics, so here Christmas memories were full of ups and downs. She made sure our kids had great holidays and over-compensates a little but we enjoy seeing her joyful.

Our guilty pleasure is watching holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel. We usually watch one a week, for the acting, suspenseful and unpredictable plot twists.