Holiday Season - December 2024

[Kathleen]

The holidays are here and we have several members who celebrate different days and in different ways. Please share your holiday spirit , plans, and decor!

We celebrate Christmas. With our wildlings, we opted to use my mother's skinny tree. To protect the tree, we placed it in a planter and used unbreakable bulbs. I do have some new ornaments that I bought for this year, but will have to post them later after the thrill and promising adventure of this season wears off. Stockings with each kitten's initial have been hung. Ygritte is ensuring they stay there, I think.

The tree skirt is *my* skirt that they try to pull off, but only manage to make it bunch at the base of the planter. Hopefully, Christmas cookies can be baked this weekend. Also hopefully, I can find my window candles and get out some other decorations.

What are you doing and please share!!!

 

[taxlady]

I'm not doing much, if anything. I'm feeling quite Grinchlike.

 

[Marlingardener]

Today we are decorating the tree. The house is decorated inside and out, and my gift baking is done and distributed. We have a collection of nativities from around the world, and I am still planning Christmas dinner. I love this time of year!

 

[Marlingardener]

Today we are decorating the tree. The house is decorated inside and out, and my gift baking is done and distributed. We have a collection of nativities from around the world, and I am still planning Christmas dinner. I love this time of year!

 

[dragnlaw]

The house was decorated to the gills. Bathroom had a music box and little antique stocking stuffers we'd had as kids, each bedroom had a little ceramic or stuffed trees an'things, top of the dining room cupboard had a huge garland with lighted ribbon and bow, all the tables, the stairs, and of course the tree.
But somehow - I've either lost or just never took pictures of them. We were all just too focused on the kids and Gingerbread houses. First pictures are ones I did and the next were the kids...

 

[dragnlaw]

LOL, found these from 2013, guess this was before we started the Gingerbread weekends.
The wine was guarded by Santa...

Table and most of the food was prepped the day and evening before... Including the roast.

Dinner was for 14, including my ex and his girlfriend! Was a Great Get Together.

 

[caseydog]

Today we are decorating the tree.

Thanks for the reminder... I need to go to Home Depot and get a new Festivus Pole. I used my old one to repair my fence.

CD

 

[Kathleen]

I'm not doing much, if anything. I'm feeling quite Grinchlike.

We have all been there. I even have a grinch onesie. It's VERY cozy to curl up in. Highly recommend.

 

[dragnlaw]

DIL already had hers so I bought 3 for the kids and one for son and I, we shared then I took it to my bro's for this Christmas. Think we'll pass it back and forth every year!

 

[caseydog]

The only Christmas ritual I have is watching A Christmas Carol -- the George C Scott version.

CD

 

[Steve Kroll]

I got tired of putting up and taking down a tree every year. It's just not the same when you are single. Two years ago, I gave my tree and all my handed down ornaments to my daughter and her husband. Now I get to go over to their house for dinner and enjoy it for one day without all the work.

 

[pepperhead212]

I'm not doing much, if anything. I'm feeling quite Grinchlike.

I'm sort of like that every year, too...except for those cookies!

 

[rodentraiser]

I'm going to stay home and watch my old Christmas fave movie: Bad Santa.

I like being by myself at Christmas. Growing up, the holidays were never fun. My dad just wanted to watch TV and complained non-stop about putting up the tree and my mom complained non-stop about all the cooking and washing up.

Once I left home, all of a sudden I was the poor little girl who didn't have a family to celebrate with and people would invite me over to their house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Now I think that was very nice of them, but I hadn't learned to say 'no (thank you)' yet and for a bunch of years it was just a trial.

I'd have to get up early when I wanted to sleep in, get dressed up when I wanted to just relax, either make or buy something, and leave my dog alone again all day. When I was going to college, it was harder because I'd be studying for finals which were sometimes on the 23rd.

I don't like yams, I don't like green bean anything, I don't like cranberries, or stuffing, and then I didn't like mashed potatoes and I'm still lukewarm about pumpkin pie. I also don't like being around large groups of people I don't know, so trying to be nice and eat and carry on with strangers had me going home that night with a huge headache.

Then one day I just put my foot down. Yeah, I know people were just being kind, but I told everyone I had other plans. I got a nice pizza the morning of the 24th and come Christmas day, I took the dog out for a long, long run, then came home, got in my pajamas, and enjoyed the day eating pizza and watching movies all by myself. It was the most peaceful holiday I'd ever had and that's how it's been ever since.

Some years my brother would come up and then I'd put up a little tree (learned not to decorate with popcorn on a string when the dog ate all the popcorn while I was at work) and got a few presents, but now it's just me and the cat. Both parents are gone and I"m not talking to my a$$hat brothers. So I plan to go out and get a Round Table pizza this year and watch Bad Santa and watch the cat open her present and that suits me just fine.

 

[caseydog]

I got tired of putting up and taking down a tree every year. It's just not the same when you are single. Two years ago, I gave my tree and all my handed down ornaments to my daughter and her husband. Now I get to go over to their house for dinner and enjoy it for one day without all the work.

I'm with you on that. My ex-wife was a Christmas fanatic. I spent days decorating the house, then we actually spent Christmas at either her parent's house, or my parent's house. Then I spent days taking it all down and putting it all back in the attic.

"Why did we do all this work?"

Giving all that stuff to your daughter was a brilliant strategy. You get to enjoy it for a few hours, and they have to do all the work.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I was talking to my next door neighbors today as they were decorating their house, and mentioned that I was staying home, and why. Patricia makes an awesome banana bread. Seriously, the best I've ever had. I'm thinking I'm going to get a sympathy loaf for Christmas.

CD

 

[Aunt Bea]

Not much decorating here!

Christmas is a quiet day at home with a few treats and a few memories.

I’m with @rodentraiser, I would rather celebrate Christmas my way instead of being the odd duck in the corner at someone else’s holiday celebration.

Have yourselves a merry little Christmas!

 

[dragnlaw]

In my own home I loved decorating the house and cooking supper. To decorate the house I did a little at a time - never all at once. I did the same when taking it all down. Over a weeks time if not more. But I had to do it all myself and that's the way I wanted it.

I love my family - but now please, just leave me alone.

love your goose and Rat King Aunt Bea!

 

[Marlingardener]

Casey, we share the same taste in Christmas movies! In fact, we watched the George C. Scott Christmas Carol last night.
The 6 ft, tree was decorated yesterday. We have gone to a shorter tree because climbing a ladder is getting to be a bit much. We do enjoy remembering where we got each ornament and making sure that the pair of needlepoint teddy bears are close together.
Ah, isn't this a wonderful time of year, however you celebrate it!

 

[dragnlaw]

Did anyone ever have or at least remember seeing.. Christmas tree lights, shape of a candle as a thin tube filled with liquid, that when lit little bubbles formed and rose inside it.
We had quite a few but as time went on they either broke, just didn't work and disappeared. Mom disliked them, they were so fiddly with not working half the time. But I loved them and kept begging mom to get more. Eventually I learned from the scowl aimed at me to stop asking!

 

[Aunt Bea]

Did anyone ever have or at least remember seeing.. Christmas tree lights, shape of a candle as a thin tube filled with liquid, that when lit little bubbles formed and rose inside it.
We had quite a few but as time went on they either broke, just didn't work and disappeared. Mom disliked them, they were so fiddly with not working half the time. But I loved them and kept begging mom to get more. Eventually I learned from the scowl aimed at me to stop asking!