Can’t-be-bothered Christmas

Just the two of us so we have ordered a meal from a local restaurant which give us a nice quiet morning. I hope to be able to buy a piece of gammon from the local English pig farmer and will get prawns and other nice things so we can have easy food for a few days. I think we will probably have a couple of pop in visitors so food will be available if needed.
Our wood burner is out of action till the end of Jan when a chimney man is coming - so no fires but I can use the top of the fire for the cards which have come.
Nice easy but warm Christmas is all we want.
I have ordered a present for DH which is due tomorrow - a new pill box as many lids have come off the present one. This new one is very pretty with coloured boxes! Romance is not yet dead.

Thank you Kim19. We have to keep on keeping on don't we?

I reached the ‘I can’t be bothered with Christmas’ several years ago. I ditched the big beautiful (time consuming tree) and bought a pre-lit (all lights attached) fairly small artificial one. I just add a few small decorations on it and ‘jobs a good en’!

It will be another lonely Christmas. Given up caring about it. In the past I gave decorated and cooked a Christmas dinner for myself. Just completed my click and collect order for tomorrow. There are things in it for the makings of a Christmas meal incase I change my mind but I doubt I will. I have delivered Christmas presents but not seen grandchildren. Depression is setting in I know. I will be glad when the new year arrives.

I’m so sad for you. Christmas is a non starter for people like yourself. I will be thinking about you and hope that the end of the year gets no worse. Take care and stay safe. ?

I like it once the Xmas decorations are up but find it getting to be harder work each years, especially getting it all down out of the attic (and putting it all away after). I would like abilities like Mary Poppins, so that I could just snap my fingers and it would all miraculously appear and thrn put itself away.
As for cooking Xmas Dinner. I do that with much grumbling and resentment, as I detest cooking, and no-one ever helps with that, or cleaning up afterwards.
Still, a few hefty sized glasses of wine helps to numb against that.
Bottoms up and cheers!

I should add that last Xmas was in great doubt, as my husband was in ICU with covid and we didn't know if he was going to survive, let alone be home for Xmas. Luckily he did make it and got home for Xmas so this year we are making a bit more effort to make up for last year.
As we speak, the dear chap is 'having a tidy-up' of his compost corner of the living room, aka as making a dreadful mess, but at least (a) he is still here and (b) motivated to sort his pickles out, so I am keeping quiet!

Sorry to read your post, Theoddbird. You live alone I guess? No family nearby? Maybe making a lovely meal would cheer you up? The grey, cold weather here isn’t helping!

I wasn't going to bother as I've worsening mobility probs, going dd Xmas day, but dh insisted on all trimmings, tree etc going up. We ended up exhausted but it's done now (for last time I hope)

Ahh I really feel for you watermeadow, life can feel like too much when you have a condition like yours. Mine isn't as bad as yours, hypothyroid, but it can sometimes make me feel quite poorly and the last couple of Christmas's I have felt similar to you. Fortunately this year my medication seems to be doing a better job and I find myself singing Christmas songs and getting a little excited! That hasn't happened for years! Just aswell as the family are all coming to me this year and that hasn't happened for years either. I wish you well and anyone else with a difficult condition my thoughts and good wishes are with you as I know exactly how you are feeling. Take care and hope all goes well ?

Christmas isn’t happening in this house either. My DH has been in hospital for 5 weeks now awaiting a heart by pass operation. This was scheduled for tomorrow but looks like it’s not happening now.
God forbid if I ever find out he lost his bed to a none vaccinated person.

I’ll be waking up alone on Christmas Day for the first time ever in my life.

A lot of people I have spoken to are feeling the same way, no one seems to be bothered. I spend Xmas with my sister who hates it, so it's never a jolly time anyway.
You don't have to decorate and make a huge Xmas dinner, we don't, a stuffed chicken breast is our meal. Just do as you please and what makes it easier for you.

DH has never been much enthused re Christmas but had always joined in. With his current ill health he has just not bothered at all. He's shown no interest in what 'we' have bought anybody not even GC and hasn't bothered to read a card or any of the notes or letters that have come with them. Feel like I'm doing Christmas on my own this year.

Luzzy72 yes I live alone...rather isolated on my narrow boat. My daughters do not care about me and my son lives a distance away. I have not seen my grandchildren since the summer. It is all getting too much for me. I will sell my boat in the Spring and find a new life...

I haven't read the entire thread so someone else may well have said this, but the older I get the faster Christmas seems to come round. I think I'd much prefer it if - like the Olympics - it was every 4 years.

Oh, Theoddbird, have a hug ((()))

Theoddbird - You and me too - my door is the first they come to when they want something, but otherwise they can't be bothered! Since saying I wasn't keen on 'baby sitting' the new puppy every day I have seen and heard nothing. Will enjoy my 2 dogs' company and eat what and when I feel like it!!

Water meadow I feel for you. I too have Polymyalgia but fortunately the steroids control it so I’m mostly pain free. My bigger problem is copd which crept up on me in spite of giving up smoking years ago. I can’t do anything without getting so out if breath that I have to sit down until I can breathe again. Thank goodness I don’t do the main event anymore but I am cooking for my son who is coming for an overnight visit on Christmas Eve, then I’m doing a buffet for family to drop in on Boxing Day which is also my birthday. I have decorated a tree and put twinkly lights and garlands around but it’s taken about three days to do it. I’ve just made bread sauce and brandy butter which is part of my contribution to the Christmas lunch. I’m also taking brandy cream, custard, a couple of cheeses and some wine. I am looking forward to it especially after last years non event and the whole family are doing daily lateral flow tests so that we’re as safe as we can be.
I hope that you enjoy Christmas with your family Watermeadow, but don’t feel guilty about not being able to muster the energy to do more, polymyalgia is no joke and who was it who said “getting old is not for cissies”

I. Don't think your a humbug. Lots of us feel the same this year, and yes I blame the government, who have repeatedly insisted no lock down this Xmas carry on as normal. When the message should be, we've all done excellent work so far, but if a new variant can get past the vaccines we have, we may need to reinstate restrictions. For everyone's protection. It's never going back to what we had and we should find new ways to celebrate this time of year.

Watermeadow. I feel similar this year as am going through a cycle of dep/anxiety. Just want it to come and get over with. I want to appear normal to my family but doubt very much that I am able to this time xx

Good for you Bertha! We also do a bit although no contact at all with half of family including GKx3 and others have their own things going on. We've decided to simply please ourselves, we love turkey etc and have loads of movies/TV lined up to watch whilst we snuggle down and stuff ourselves silly with whatever we want! As you say it's only for a couple days then we're having a game night for another couple only new year's eve then.....back to winter! It's a short break in a somewhat lonely time but I cannot wallow I have to be doing something, if only housework!

For years. I did all the hard work of Christmas making at least six cakes and puddings aa well as cooking dinners for all the family. All my husband did was grumble that the golf course was closed. Then in 1978 we decided to winter in Spain. One of my little grandsons asked who would make the cake, crepes Suzette and profiteroles. Not me was my daughter in laws reply .
Christmas Day afternoon telephoned to ask how the dinner went. They hadn’t yet had it. She had put it in the oven on automatic and forgotten to switch it on.
Nowadays she has to cater for her children, and grandchildren over the holiday.

I like to make a bit of an effort, it is a bit of cheer in the dark days of winter that are already dull.

I usually love Christmas and like to put my decorations up early. After losing my lovely mum in Dec 2019 it has been hard to get into the spirit of things. Then this year, I lost one of my sisters suddenly at the end of November, her funeral taking place the day after my mum's 2 year anniversary. Had I not put my decorations up already, I'm not sure I would have bothered. I carry on trying to be bright for the sake of my family but it's hard especially when carols are playing. I have chronic fatigue/fibro too.

I decided on a small real tree and enjoyed sorting out the small special decorations, though I had to get my son to get the whole two boxes of decorations down for me. That and a few favourites are plenty.
Although I have been invited to family dinners, I think I will probably stay at home, and am trying to buy small quantities of the essentials.
Waitrose do a lovely mini pudding for £1, but it was out of stock….luckily for me…as they substituted it with a luxury version at the same price