username:
password:

I am a plate of cold chili cheese fries.

May I give you a bit of straight-from-my-head-to-my-hands action?

Okay.

It's no secret that this is my absolute favorite time of year.

I love everything that December brings.

I love cold weather. I LOVE when it's so cold that my nose starts running the second I step outside.

I love holiday decorations--the brightly lit trees, the festooned houses, the shiny ridiculous lawn ornaments, and the crappy plastic reindeer that my neighbors nail to their roof. I love it all.

I love making reindeer food (oatmeal, colored sugar, glitter) and sprinkling it on the lawn with Meredith and Harper on Christmas Eve.

I love getting together with friends and family to celebrate and reflect on the past year.

I love the Oreo balls that my cousin makes. They're the tastiest balls I've ever put into my mouth, Pete Schwetty.


With that said, I also must say this: I'm really bummed out about what Christmas is becoming around here. (And by "around here" I mean within twenty miles of my house.)

And at the risk of sounding like a big block of Velveeta: I hate that we've reached the point of completely removing the Christmas feeling from Christmas. (And by "we" please know that I'm not talking about Humankind. No generalizations in Puddingland!)

I hate that two out of the three phone calls I received today were frantic calls asking for gift ideas for the girls and angry accusations about me not making a "good enough" Christmas list so that others can shop for us.

I hate the fact that I'm even asked to make out a list.

I hate that the mother of one of Meredith's classmates cornered me in a parking lot last night and told me that it's my "fault" that she had to put lights on her house--because we have lights on our house.

I hate that the unopened bottle of Xanax in my cupboard will probably be opened in the next few weeks.

(How is the Xanax, by the way? Will it make me groggy? Will it make me slobber? Will it make me think I can fly like Helen Hunt in Desperate Lives?)

And I KNOW that I'm lucky. And I KNOW my complaints are pretty dinky. And I KNOW that things could be so much worse. That's not what I'm saying.

Anyway. All I can do is try to make sure that my kids Get Christmas. That, and try to maintain my sanity in the process.

How are YOU doing it?

Posted by: fluidpudding on 12/7/2007 5:21:23 PM , 54 comments
Submitted by Lia at 12/7/2007 6:08:17 PM
    It's not easy! But this year we are striving for sanity by:

    1. Making cookie baskets (rather than purchased gifts) for all of our friends. The smell of gingerbread men baking seems to repel any grinches that might be lurking about. Plus it's a lot easier on the old pocketbook.

    2. Restraining ourselves in regards to presents for our Meridith. This summer I had a thought that I would rather spoil her on her birthday. Her birthday is a more personal day for both she and I. Plus I know that the rest of the family will come through and she will still be swimming in gifts (that we have nowhere to store) even if she only gets one book and a pair of jammies from us.

    3. Doing the important stuff well. Christmas tree? Absolutely! And I will be slaving to make it gorgeous! And come hell or high water I will convince my husband he has to put up the Christmas lights on the house no matter how "hard" it is!

    4. Limiting travel and extended family events. I put my foot down and so we are having Christmas Eve at home with only 2 other guests. Christmas day will be the usual chaos, so at least I will have one calm holiday night!

    Good luck!
Submitted by Chookooloonks at 12/7/2007 6:28:23 PM
    This year, I converted to Judaism.

    Kidding. But I hear ya.
Submitted by Em at 12/7/2007 6:52:46 PM
    It seems like this year I am hearing so much "gimee gimmee!" it is a little nuts. And not even from kids but GROWNUPS I know are making wish lists and sending them out with completely straight faces. We live in an age of MORE MORE MORE.

    I try to focus on the things I am grateful for, and my cheap Christmas lights from Target. They look pretty nice too.
Submitted by Rhi at 12/7/2007 7:09:50 PM
    Re: The Xanax

    It will make you SO SLEEPY. I may recommend taking a half to start with. A whole knocks me on my butt. But, then again, there is no anxiety when I'm asleep!
Submitted by Heather B. at 12/7/2007 7:13:17 PM
    For some reason I am so over Christmas this year. Hell, December 25th could be Columbus Day as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping that as the day comes near I'll feel a little bit more into the spirit and excited but my very pessimistic self is saying that that isn't going to happen.

    In regards to the xanax: The first time I took it I ran directly into a door frame. But I had never been so very 'chill' in ages so it was a welcome respite from feeling my chest clench up at the slightest things. My recommendation is to take with care and watch out for large, stationary objects.
Submitted by briantologist at 12/7/2007 7:21:12 PM
    Dude, I don't even know. I would recommend sort of tuning out while people talk about Christmas. Turn the isolation inherent with clinical depression to your advantage, and enjoy your loved ones all the more! Or something.

    Yeah, I got nothing.
Submitted by kara at 12/7/2007 7:48:09 PM
    I don't get the whole "gift list" thing for kids. Go buy them something and then discreetly hand the 'rents a gift receipt in case it's a duplicate gift (or something they just aren't into). Sheesh.

    I find it more difficult to shop for adults than kids. Kids like everything. :) Us adults are more complicated.

    Good luck in keeping your wits about you with all the craziness.
Submitted by Kathy at 12/7/2007 7:48:14 PM
    How are YOU doing it?

    By doing what I do every year: not celebrate Christmas.

    (This is fairly easy when you don't have any small children expecting presents from Santa.)

    I think coming from a small family who "doesn't do the Christmas thing," saves me a lot of stress. Of course, everyone else secretly thinks I'm the devil.
Submitted by Dana at 12/7/2007 7:48:33 PM
    I told out families that Christmas isn't a free-for-all. I don't make lists and refuse to give them. If people don't know us or our kids well enough to know what we could use or what the kids would like then they should save their money for their bills or whatever. I only care that there is chocolate pie at the feast. Lack of pie is grounds for fightin'.
Submitted by Sara at 12/7/2007 7:48:59 PM
    I am going insane, but I've decided to just ride it out.

    Xanax is my boyfriend.
Submitted by Mutha at 12/7/2007 7:51:28 PM
    I wrote a long reply, but it made me sound a bit too familiar with the Benzos, so I am sending you an email instead.
Submitted by All Adither at 12/7/2007 9:07:57 PM
    Xanax will make you a little sleepy. I just got my first ever prescription for it. I haven't broken it out yet. I save it for bigtime anxiety. I'm using my red wine prescription at the moment.
Submitted by Deb on the Rocks at 12/7/2007 9:18:23 PM
    When people like your relatives or that parking lot lady lay a trip on me, it always works to mock back what they say in a bizarre voice, and then pretend to be a nutty old woman with some patronizing baby talk.

    "'It's your fault I have to hang up lights,' der der der. Oh, Maggie, you're such a grinchy winchy grinchy winchy. I just know you'll cheer up soon!"

    She should stay away after that.
Submitted by a different Em at 12/7/2007 9:27:41 PM
    I know your post is about the good parts of Christmas so its probably tacky to bitch but may I? Bitch that is? I hate people asking us for lists too. Or worse, having my kids sit down with a catalog to make lists. As if the greed won't eventually find them naturally, why push the issue. As for me, if you don't know me well enough to chose a nice little something to delight me on Christmas, don't bother getting me anything. Really. And no sour grapes. If you know me well enough to buy something for me, then with a little thought you can find something wonderful I'm sure. If its that much of a mental strain on you or I am just a check box on your "buy for" list, cross me right off. I don't need to be the one who stressed you out on Christmas.

    And of course, by you, I don't mean YOU. I mean people who will probably never read this and certainly never *get* it.

    Please post about the Xanax. I have two I got for a plane trip that I white knuckled it through. I'm saving them for a stressful day at home but I'm afraid they will leave me too loopy to care for the family. Ohh! Christmas maybe! Xanax, a Christmas miracle.
Submitted by Meghan at 12/7/2007 9:39:52 PM
    The Xanax is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy. I know ole Ben Franklin said that, and that he was talking about beer, but it fits here as well.

    For me, about 40 minutes after I take it I get a kind of fuzzy/warm/tipsy feeling, and I usually have a bit of a stupid smirk that I don't notice until someone tells me. I've been told that my Rx is heavy duty (2mg) but I only take a full dose for panic-attack type anxiety. I take 1mg if I'm going to bed soon, and .5mg if it's middle of the day and needing a literal "chill pill". Good luck, let us know how it goes.
Submitted by Rachel at 12/8/2007 1:01:06 AM
    I have the Bah Humbugs. It's contagious so you might want to stop reading this comment now. The complaints about the list make my head hurt on behalf of human creativity and ingenuity. The woman with the lights should just be smacked in the head with a lawn ornament.

    Xanex makes me tell jokes then I pass out. If I can buzzkill my way through the passing out stage and still stay awake then I just get even funnier and gravity goes a bit curvy.
Submitted by colleen at 12/8/2007 1:20:51 AM
    how are we doing it? abandoning both halves of the family entirely and flying to hawaii. Otherwise, in the words of a good friend, in mid Novembe, i "lose my mind".

    Now, is that possible with kids? probably not. So, instead, remember that its YOUR holiday, YOUR traditions with YOUR family. woman down the street? you don't need to feel her pressure. People who call you re gifts? find a stock answer and then say, "thanks!" and get OFF THE PHONE.

    It's SERIOUSLY not worth getting their frustration on you.

    Now, about this Xanex. And all of the other lovely RX-meds in Canada, which appear not to be in the US. How does one get her hands on these??
Submitted by Catharina at 12/8/2007 1:52:15 AM
    I, too, love Christmas/December, and I, too, don't like what it's becoming.

    What I just don't understand is people's need to give EVERYONE they know the PERFECT gift. It's not supposed to be about the shopping or the stress or worrying about people being unhappy with what you gave them. This makes me very happy that my family lived on a whole other continent than the rest of my relatives when I grew up, and they weren't the package sending types, so we never expected gifts from them (although we would have LOVED to have them come visit) and it was normal to only get gifts from our parents/our version of Santa for Christmas. And now, my friends and I have drawn secret santas so we don't all have to get a million gifts, but can concentrate on one. And in the process we meet up for comfy Christmas nights with tea, cookies, music and stories all through December and it definitely helps to get into the real Christmas feeling. What also helps is avoiding malls, but you probably knew that already...

    If I were you I would just tell everyone to get the kids a book (or soap?) and concentrate on the reindeer-feeding, Orea-ball-eating, Christmas-decorating family traditions and zone out as much Christmas-craziness as possible.

    Man, that was long! Sorry about that.

    And, also, what does a block of Velveeta sound like?
Submitted by Kelly at 12/8/2007 8:21:33 AM
    Yeah, not doing so well with the Christmas. Haven't even really begun anything because I've been so sick. The same sort of demanding phone calls have started at our house too and I feel so angested over the fact that in my in-law family I'm the only one who buys gifts for the others with any thought put into it. We do a swap with the adults, pick two names per couple. $50 limit. Everyone gives $50 gift cards. I always buy a gift. Something unique and handmade usually. They all want to know "tell me what to buy your kid." and I just want to say, NOTHING. You don't know or appreciate or have a relationship with my child. Nor I with yours. SO let's just stop this charade and save our money. Or put it towards our own kids and stay home.

    Sigh.

    But today I'll drag myself out to buy a wreath and try to get out and finish hanging the blue lights so my sarcastic friend can say... Nice Hanukkah lights. And I'll try to enjoy the snow that fell yesterday and I'll add glitter to my shopping list because reindeer food might help my mood. Tho Xanax is sounding like a good idea, too.

    I just want to spend the time with friends. And my family but they're too far away and I used my last vacation days to see them for Thanksgiving.

    I'll buy some more butter and eggs today and maybe get some cookies going. That might be nice, too.

    Mostly? I just know that in a blink it'll be January and I'll just be wondering where the hell to put all the crap. And feeling yet another step away from Christmas being the way I wish it could be in reality. Instead of just in my head.

    I've been trying for years to not get jaded. To find the sweetness and meaning and connect it all to nature...but the tide is against me.

    Hmmm. Oreo balls. Interesting.
Submitted by Just Beachy at 12/8/2007 8:37:17 AM
    FP I could have written this post myself. You nailed it so perfectly. So, How am I doing it. Steady stream of Lexapro instead of a one shot xanax...haa.

    No, really, We live in our family...we do what we want, not without regard to outside family. Like with the list, I refuse do that, when asked I say oh, you don't have to get them anything and leave it at that. (If you don't know my kids well enough to buy them a gift then the best gift you can give them is to get to know them better (family).) After a while they stop asking..Just don't make the list and they will get it.

    Second, make your own family traditions - things that you guys enjoy, or that you want the girls to remember when they are older! and don't feel guilty about doing them! Family and friends want you to do what they want and that is not always feasible.

    Third. Combat negative comments with a positive response..ie, the lady in the parking lot, instead of saying what you were thinking as in so how is that my problem..B. Say, I am sure that Sally will enjoy the lights...we usually serve hot chocolate and cookies while we put ours out. Done.

    Now off to talk my daughter into making oreo balls!
Submitted by Christy at 12/8/2007 8:50:49 AM
    No answers for you. But dying laughing about the reference to Desperate Lives. I truly thought that my brother and I were the only ones watching that on HBO in 1984. "Scott, have you been smooking?"
Submitted by blackbird at 12/8/2007 9:24:36 AM
    I'm taking the Xanax.
Submitted by Kizz at 12/8/2007 9:28:32 AM
    Yeah, Christmas is always the evil and the scary and the sad and the crying for me. This year I chose to get facial surgery right after Thanksgiving not realizing how extensive the surgery or the recovery would be. Oops. If you need the Xanax, take the Xanax, you deserve it. As much as I get the bleargh from Christmas I hate to see someone else lose it. So please don't let the assholes get you down. That lady in the parking lot needs to learn to stand her own ground or shut the hell up.
Submitted by mary at 12/8/2007 9:28:35 AM
    My kids are 26, 20, and 17, and I have to tell you they don't remember most of the gifts they received, they remember what we did and the fun we had during the holiday season.

    When my oldest was a small child I read a great book, "Unplug the Christmas Tree": it showcases the freedom of just enjoying the season for the fun of it all, doing what makes YOU and YOUR FAMILY happy, and remembering that Christmas is a time to reflect and be happy. It changed my way of thinking and I try to live this every year. My daughter(the 26 year old) and I are going shopping in downtown Portland today. We are going to get coffee, look for goofy gifts for loved ones, laugh, hug, and it will be one of our special Christmas memories. She is a gift.

    My favorite Christmas gift ever? Three years ago my kids stood in line for an hour and a half at the local mall to get their picture taken with Santa. It sits on my desk all year long. Amazing.

    I LOVE your blog and read it every day. Happy Holiday from someone whose days you brighten on a regular basis.

Submitted by Alli at 12/8/2007 9:31:52 AM
    Ah, my dear internet pudding friend, this is holiday stress felt by others being transferred unto you. They are probably subconsciously jealous that you don't seem stressed or have time to hang lights, etc. Don't take it personally. I love,love,love the crazy people and electric buzz you feel at the mall or Walmart this time of year. Often I have shopped on Christmas Eve day myself. Just watching the people cracks me up. But, since I am unable to shop this year the internet and my poor husband are stuck with the task. I wish I could see my husband at the mall with the crazy people - he would so be one of them. So enjoy the crazy people for me and let me know what else they do!
Submitted by Jennifer at 12/8/2007 9:35:22 AM
    Now that my kids are mostly grown, I've been trying to turn Christmas into a "be together, eat good food, give thanks for your lack of wnat, hug your faraway grandparents who aren't getting any younger" type celebration. Sort of like Thanksgiving with stockings. I haven't completely succeeded - I just got my 26 year old daughter's Christmas list via email - but I am determined to keep trying to help them remember Christmas is in their hearts, not in their wallets.
Submitted by witchypoo at 12/8/2007 10:37:20 AM
    I usually trim the tree Dec 15, but this year, have started putting it up today. It always gets me in the Christmas spirit to do it, and I need to take a picture of it for my header. It's low key here, because there are only two of us. I really miss watching the faces of little kids opening their gifts.
Submitted by Sandy at 12/8/2007 11:05:40 AM
    The easiest, and best, thing my family ever did, and I'm not doing this to sound like some pious chump: We adults stopped giving each other gifts. Instead, we all go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch one Saturday early in December, have lunch, and pass around an envelope. Each person puts in what they can afford, and no one knows what anyone else puts in. We take that money and buy almost every single thing on the list we got from The Post's "100 Neediest Cases." On a separate Saturday, we get together and wrap everything, then later that week, we take it all down to the agency the family was referred by. In a purely selfish vein, it makes Christmas almost stress-free.
Submitted by mercybuttercup at 12/8/2007 11:20:35 AM
    What has saved me boatloads of stress over the last few years is this: when people say insane shit like they had to decorate because of you and your lists aren't good enough, assume they are joking and react accordingly. It's got a really high success rate and seems to either make people realize they're being insane or embarrass them enough that they don't pursue it. Either's good by me.

    (Actually, I just had someone use that on me when I myself was being insane - worked from that end too.)

    I have no side effects from Xanax, but I may be a freak.
Submitted by Imanitsud at 12/8/2007 2:44:12 PM
    RE not going insane: 1) be as honest as possible with everyone you meet (so if people ask for lists, say "I'd rather not -- I love knowing you want to get me something nice, and that's gift enough. Get me consumables (food) or yarn.); 2) go to church; 3) take part in a service project.
    We told our kids that if three presents (gold, frankincense, myrrh) was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for them, and I ask them to go through their toys and pull out anything they're ready and willing to part with for St. Vincent de Paul to make room for all the new stuff they'll get. It's not huge, but it is a reminder that we live in bounty and keeps the focus a little less off what we WANT and more on just having fun together. I tend to get more stressed trying so hard to get capital T traditions in place that my husband has helped me focus on just one or two Traditions per holiday. That helps too.
Submitted by Alesia at 12/8/2007 3:21:08 PM
    Wine. Sleep. Lots of advanced planning. Deep breaths.

    And I totally remember that after school special. If there was an Internet prize for best obscure reference, I'd give it to you. Merry Christmas!
Submitted by Katie at 12/8/2007 5:27:52 PM
    <>

    If you blow your nose just before you step from warm indoors to the icy December outdoors, your nose will not run. I swear it's true.

    I learned this in the coldest winter ever in Madison, Wisconsin. Seriously - no chapped nostrils!
Submitted by Jack's Raging Mommy at 12/8/2007 5:36:40 PM
    I didn't read what anyone else said about the Xanax, so I apologize if I am repeating.
    The Xanax makes life better. The Xanax lets me calm down enough to think rationally and handle things instead of being overwhelmed and starting an obsessive thought pattern.

    The Xanax also makes me very thirsty, and anything I drink tastes wonderful.
Submitted by Marcia at 12/8/2007 6:53:43 PM
    a) I LOVE the idea of reindeer food. I've never seen that before, and I can't wait to have kids to do this with! (OK, I can wait, and I think it's funny that I'm thinking that I'll have to go on my building's roof to sprinkle the reindeer food in NYC)

    b) I the Xanax doesn't agree with you, I'll be happy to take it off your hands. :)
Submitted by joaaanna at 12/8/2007 9:46:56 PM
    I too am not feeling Christmnas. I've told my husband that we shouldn't exchange presents between the two of us because of finances.

    I blanched the several weeks ago when my co-worker told me that she went to her in-laws to 'go over' the presents the could give her kid. What!?

    I'm giving my niece a whoopy-cushion Fun for all.

    I'd like one!
Submitted by Ani at 12/9/2007 6:58:12 AM
    I am so sorry it has been rough. But you do have a really good attitude about it all. I only had to take Xanax once and I loved it. It was for a test. Each person reacts differntly of course. Good luck!!!
Submitted by Mizmell at 12/9/2007 7:36:04 AM
    Now why would you take chemicals if you could take something natural? (I'm not a saint, I have taken Xanax at particularly stressful times in my previous life.)
    Check out your local health food store and get some Rhodiola Rosea. (Here's a link: http://www.wellofcourse.net/catalog/item/1952631/1373335.htm)

    Merry, merry!
Submitted by Christina at 12/9/2007 10:13:57 AM
    Celebrate Hanukkah!

    That's my only advice.
Submitted by You can call me, 'Sir' at 12/9/2007 11:35:36 AM
    I'm keeping the hamster on the wheel in my head running by doing research right up until I absolutely have to stop before I start traveling to see the family. When that time comes, I'm buying two books on CD and driving to Ohio to spend three days with one set of family, Missouri to spend three days with another set (with a pit-stop at the Galleria in Brentwood to eat cheesecake and mock St. Louis yuppies), then back to DC to actually start relaxing for a couple days with a bunch of non-family.

    I feel a little bad that I'd rather stay here with my nose in a book, but forcing the jolly with family is much more work and requires endless stores of energy. Borrowing a quote from the funniest movie ever: "I guess I picked a bad time to stop sniffing glue."
Submitted by pharmgirl at 12/9/2007 11:42:14 AM
    I've got some Sangria...
    You've got some Xanax.

    I say, we've got a party. Come on over. You can help me attach (for the 48th time) the roof on the gingerbread house.

    Bah Humbug.

    Feliz Navidad.
Submitted by Paul is a Hermit at 12/9/2007 1:42:06 PM
    Frankly, I love Christmas more than you, for all the same reasons and I hate the same things more than you for almost the same reasons. I think the piano is better than Xanax.
Submitted by ozma at 12/9/2007 4:05:06 PM
    Wait, you really take xanax?
Submitted by FP at 12/9/2007 4:20:52 PM
    Ozma--Not yet.
Submitted by Sara at 12/9/2007 6:30:41 PM
    I love that you put out reindeer food! LOVE IT! It's a tradition I never heard of before now, and I absolutely adore it. So considerate! And what a sensible mixture; I'm sure it's exactly what they eat.

    I opt out of other people's nonsense at this time of year. I just do. I don't think I can explain how, but not having children does make it easier. On the other hand, not having children means no one to help me feed the reindeer. So there's good and bad stuff to be enjoyed and endured no matter what, and the best advice I can offer is to keep very clear in your mind what nonsense is yours and what is other people's, to not own even an iota of other people's nonsense, nope, not even a sparkly grain of sugar's worth.

    Easier said than done? Not really. Well, maybe at first. It gets easier with years of consistent practice.

    I have even been known to send unwanted, unreciprocable presents to charity and tell the people who sent them to me that I did so. I am merciless about this. But, see, I strongly believe that the only thing we can give each other that's worth anything at all is time, some precious irreplaceable part of our precious irreplaceable lives. On the other hand, money or any mass-manufactured thing that can just as easily be sent to me as anyone else might as well be sent to someone who really needs it.

    Anyone mad at you for not making a list might wish to consider giving to charity in your name. Or knitting you something. I'll bet you'd really like either one.
Submitted by Amy in KC at 12/9/2007 8:04:33 PM
    My whole family has had the flu for the past four days, so I am just reading this, and don't have it in me to read all the comments (although tomorrow I will) - but ME TOO!

    And someone please tell me how my mother-in-law needs me to make her a list of what to get her son? I do not understand.

    Carry on.
Submitted by karyn at 12/9/2007 9:57:00 PM
    It was too late to implement it this year, but next year my sister-in-law and I decided that we are having no more gifts for the adults. Instead we will each give what we would have spent on gifts to a charity. We are all in our thirties and can buy ourselves a book or a tie if we really want to. So we would rather give what we have to those that have less.

    It continues the true meaning of Christmas and also takes away the stress of trying to find the 'perfect' present. (Kids are exempt from the 'no more presents', but we've always been pretty modest with what they receive anyway.)
Submitted by Sarahlynn at 12/9/2007 11:21:54 PM
    Contrasting viewpoint: I love the wish lists and spend a long time making them.

    We have no family nearby, and phone calls just aren't enough for our families to know what the girls are into these days. Plus, we have such . . . different standards . . . that I like making the lists because it gives me a modicum of control over the presents.

    If I say, "I hate cheap plastic crap," that's offensive and likely to backfire (I'll get you this princess barbie stuff because your mean mommy won't). But if I say, "Ellie's really into imaginative play," and link to some cool silk scarves and wooden sets from The Magic Cabin, well, then we're more likely to get presents that we all want.

    It's a win-win situation: the girls get the excitement and surprise of unexpected presents that they really like, rather than junk they will play with for 1 minute each. And it's mostly stuff that I can stand to have in the house.

    As for me, I prepare wishlists for Paul and myself too, for similar reasons. We draw names in Paul's extended family, but what does his cousin's husband know about me? Blessedly little. But if he knows that I would really love that $30 Shark sweeper thing from Target, that's all he needs to know and everybody's happy.

    I ask Paul if there's anything he particularly wants, then fill in the rest from things I've noticed him quietly longing for throughout the year, and ask him not to look at the list I've created. That way the only one not being surprised is me, and I'm OK with that. And a well-created list helps our families - much loved but far away - know who we are this year, just a little better.

    So I make the lists, but I don't shop from other people's lists unless I'm at a complete loss. Catharina said, "What I just don't understand is people's need to give EVERYONE they know the PERFECT gift."

    For me, that's not really stressful; it's fun. I love watching someone open a gift I've made or purchased for them and think, "Wow, she really pays attention, she really knows me, she really put some thought into getting a gift *for me* not just a generic bestseller."
Submitted by jennifer and the beans at 12/10/2007 8:47:42 AM
    Heya, this is just to let you know that my blog has moved due to a server catastrophe of some unspecified sort. Partial to the Bean is now at http://www.beanmom.com/beandiary.html Can you please update the link in your sidebar? :)

    -j & the beans
Submitted by Karen at 12/10/2007 9:13:55 AM
    I just ignore all of the negativity and complaining and try to be as cheerful and Christmasy as I possibly can be, to the point of complete obnoxiousness if necessary :) I love Christmas and nobody, but nobody, is going to put a damper on it! :)
Submitted by Rhea at 12/10/2007 9:44:13 AM
    Gosh, you are a good piano player. Heard you over at Citizen of the Month.
Submitted by H at 12/10/2007 11:15:33 AM
    We do keep lists at amazon - I run the little man's list, so that grandparents et al have a place to start for ideas. Mostly books, a few CDs, maybe a specific toy he wants. Then they're on their own.

    I think our family's pretty cool about Christmas, actually. Or maybe the fact that we live 4 states away from the nearest relatives makes everyone cool? I'm not sure. Whatever. I'm in holiday denial. What gets done gets done... we have a tree now, so I feel I'm on top of the game. Hah!

    Truly - when I get irritated by the Christmas push, I remind myself that the 12 days of Christmas STARTS on Christmas Day. And then that 2-week period becomes my own special holiday time. I knew a family who would wrap 12 little gifts for each child, opening one a night until 3 Kings Day. I loved that.
Submitted by DesireeK at 12/10/2007 8:18:12 PM
    I obviously have had no experience with this so-called "reindeer food". For a second there, I was imagining you and the girls hurling spoonfuls of brown, gloppy, glittery stuff around the yard.
Submitted by Sarah at 12/12/2007 11:03:19 AM
    Stupid people suck.
Submitted by Lara at 12/21/2007 1:01:37 PM
    I like gift lists. But I'm also a girl who likes to think up thoughtful gift ideas. The problem is, sometimes you get stuck, but you still want to get something they're gonna like. So I think of gift lists as a good backup. You can either get something off the list, or if you think of something else you think is perfect, you can get that instead. But, I will admit, this year, there was a little "There's nothing good on your list!" going around my circle, and your post has definately made me think a little about that.

    Gifting is just part of christmas fun for me though. I think what we all believe, at least here on this blog, is that it's more about the people you love and spending time together than anything else.
Name: Url:
Confirm: