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Christmas

We had a lovely time despite the fact I hate Christmas.

(14 Posts)
pooohbear2811 Thu 27-Dec-18 09:47:12

We seem to have the season well sorted. I have to admit I am not a Christmas lover, my parents made sure of that in my childhood. I always tried hard with my children and now my grandchildren to make sure despite my feelings I never make them feel that way.
Firstly I do a collection for a local food bank and managed to get well over £200 worth to hand it this year. From food to toiletries to nappies and baby milk.
Pre Christmas as part of their budget I take the older two to a pantomime, experiences are better than presents in my book. I won tickets to a stage show and took the five year old twins and one of their friends to see that and their first trip to McD's as for her own reasons my daughter does not take them there and now they are at school and their friends talk about it I thought I would add to their afternoon out.
We do a family and friends get together where we invade a local eating place and have a great time catching up and we all sit and colour a Christmas themed picture and get a staff member to pick a winner.
On the big day itself hubby and I walk the dog and then go and help out as volunteers at a local church hall serving meals to people who would spend Christmas alone and joining in with the festivities that are provided after the meal. Well I do anyway, hubby spends three or four hours washing dishes and getting exasperated when other people come near "his" sink and mess up his order of doing things, he can be a bit OCD and I find it hilarious.
Take the dog a walk down to see the local grandchildren when we get back for fifteen minutes.
On Boxing day we have the grandchildren here and do what we call second Christmas, a day where they get all their presents from our side of the family, we eat junk snack food, have lots of laughs and play lots of games. The first part of the day is with the younger children then when they begin to weary they get returned to their parents and we then play with the older children. Exploding kittens, bears vs babies and a new one Beano The Sculpturades game where you have to do a charade in Plasticine, hilarious and nearly impossible with an autistic child who views the world so differently than the rest of us, but lots of laughs and fun.
This day gives the parents a much needed break and allows us to enjoy watching the children opening and interacting with what we buy them. It also spreads out the fun for the children and this is a much loved tradition. Sadly one of the two year old's was missing this year due to family circumstances but she is not old enough to know she is missing out.
The dog is not overly keen on a bunch of excited arm flapping noisy toddlers, and to be honest neither is hubby, so he takes the dog for a 3 hr walk until the toddlers are ready for home.
A fab win win season for everybody.

Mapleleaf Thu 27-Dec-18 10:13:53

It sounds great! Glad you have had a wonderful time. tchsmile

newnanny Thu 27-Dec-18 10:41:43

It sounds lovely with all from toddler to teen and dogs joining in. That is what Xmas is about in my book. Kind of you to share Xmas with others to who would otherwise be alone. We had my ds, sil and dgc on 16th and did mock Xmas then. My dsis and her dc coming on 30th until 3rd then we visit inlaws from 3rd until 6th, so busy here too.

Izabella Thu 27-Dec-18 10:50:51

We had a fantastic meal on 25th which really was exceptional and cooked by SIL. It was wonderful to see folks not seen for many months, or even years in two cases. The constant noise and shouting that went on for hours and hours is another matter. Hearing aids off for the duration and now one has a migraine and my tinnitus is really bad. The thing is you cannot really say anything but as we get older the worse it gets.

glammagran Thu 27-Dec-18 11:18:39

Never been over the threshold of McDonalds in my life. I find the smell emanating utterly revolting. All 3 children have on occasions eaten there.

Hm999 Thu 27-Dec-18 11:39:50

Our puppy (12 wks old) and dog (3yrs old) loved having DGD over yesterday, leapt all over her, to her giggles and screams of delight. They thought it was Christmas.... oh yeah

Elrel Thu 27-Dec-18 12:00:58

Pooohbear - congratulations! You hide your feelings well and give so much to others. I suspect that spreading happiness is your joy and that your dislike is for the competitive and commercial aspects of Christmas.
So good to read a positive thread!
I hadn't been well and still needed a doctor and to do present shopping at the last minute. My Christmas surprises included finding a walkin surgery (more of a shuffle in for me really) on Christmas Eve afternoon, then a friendly atmosphere in every shop I visited. Boxing Day the streets were almost traffic free and, again, in the shops that were open, both staff and customers cheerful and patient. In the centre of the city there really was goodwill in the air.

EmilyHarburn Thu 27-Dec-18 16:14:47

Had an excellent Christmas. One son home with his family from Perth in Australia and the other son with family too, purchased, prepared and arrived and cooked the Chrismas meal for 10 in our home. Marvelous.

ClaraB Thu 27-Dec-18 16:23:42

For someone who doesn't enjoy Christmas you have absolutely made the most of it and turned it around - well done you.
I also feel I had Christmas stolen from me as a child as my parents constantly argued about it - Mum eventually became a Jehovah's Witness which put an end to our Christmases with her and this has really affected me.
Like you, I made sure my children and currently my grandchildren have a wonderful Christmas but this year we have been on our own with just my mother-in-law who is lovely but it's been very difficult. I really feel I need to 'snap out of it' but it's not easy. This morning when I woke up I was just so relieved that it was all over for another year.

Happychops Thu 27-Dec-18 18:32:31

Poohbear
What a fantastic job you do. I’m amazed at how much effort you put into something you’re not a lover of. With you it’s a win win. The volunteering you do makes people happy. Taking the grandchildren on Boxing Day is great for the adults,and the grandchildren must think your amazing. Where do you find the energy is what I need to know. Lol

jenni123 Thu 27-Dec-18 21:28:57

glammagran I have never been inside a McD's either, when I read poohbears post and she said that she had taken the children to McD's I just hoped that the parents weren't veggie and had a reason not to let the children eat there. my family are veggie and my 11 yr old GD has never been in there either.

pooohbear2811 Sat 29-Dec-18 20:47:23

@jennil23 no they have a big brother who has multiple food allergies and cannot eat anything they produce so not fair to take some and make the other sit there and eat nothing.
@Happychops, I was knackered by the end of it but worth it for the happy faces on both days.
@ClaraB my parents always told me my birthday was to near Christmas and so one year I got birthday presents and a stocking and my presents from grandparents but nothing from Santa, the following year I got Christmas presents from Santa but nothing for my birthday. I had siblings that got presents every year and how do you explain to a child they are not getting presents from Santa when their siblings are.
@Elrel yes my pleasure comes from making sure others have a good time.
@Izabella I understand your suffering with tinnitus I have it as well.

Grannyben Sat 29-Dec-18 21:09:41

Pooohbear, you sound like a lovely person who has worked out the very best way for you to get through the Christmas period in the best possible way. So nice to read your post.

JoannaGrey68 Wed 16-Jan-19 10:53:15

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