Am I wrong?

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  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,977 Member
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    I :heart: christmas, but more for the feeling. I love the lights, the sounds, the knowing that a lot of people will help and buy for those that simply can't. I get my kids presents and that is fun in itself, but I've always loved this time of year. I belong to a mom's message board and we sponsor a few families, I am sending those kids snow pants and some winter clothes.

    I'm sure as a kid I was all about the commercial aspect of christmas but I don't remember many of the presents. I remember waiting for my step-brothers to come over so we could go spend time with extended family, playing games and hanging out.
  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,977 Member
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    Nope you are about where most of us have been for years. I asked my husband the other night "Is it wrong that I'm more excited about putting together a nice gift for my Angel Tree recipients than my family?" He kindly responded no, and that he had the most fun buying for the kid he chose. BTW he got the kid a remote control car with a huge pack of batteries and a set of Star Wars Legos. I chose 15 & 17 year old girls who asked for towels. It touched my heart that they would ask for such a simple thing. The day after Thanksgiving I'd gone to Bath & Body Works to buy a few things I needed and I cashed in on their deal if you bought $40 worth of stuff you could buy as many bags filled with product worth over $107 for $20. I got 2 thinking I always need extra gifts. I'd already broken one apart, but then decided how fun would it be to give the two girls as much of the stuff in the bags as I had left as well as some other bath stuff I have extra. I really hope they like it and wish I could see their faces when they open it and see towels but the underneath is all the goodies!

    This makes me cry - but a joyful cry. And THAT is what I love about this time of year.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Christmastime has become much more enjoyable to me since realizing that all of the hype is completely OPTIONAL. :smile: I only have to celebrate the parts of it I enjoy.

    I'm not a Christian, so the holiday itself isn't a big deal anyway. I only look at it as a time to spend time with loved ones and enjoy delicious foods, and spoil my younger nieces and nephews a little since (as I like to joke) they're going to be the ones picking out my nursing home in a few decades... :wink:

    If I don't want to battle the mall, I don't. If I don't want to decorate, I don't. If I don't want a tree, I don't. (Although I actually LOVE trees and lights and shiny things, but I have seven cats and that would equal DISASTER!) I could do with a little less bells and carols and commercials, but it's alright.

    And all the insanity is optional, whether you're Christian or not. Celebrate the season how YOU want to celebrate it. If you got kids, now's a great time to teach them some good values... that screaming "BUT I WANT IT!" doesn't mean you need it or will get it.

    Although I do hate how so many people are completely batpoop crazy this time of year. Peace on earth, goodwill towards man... unless they're about to get a better parking spot, then cut them off and flip 'em the bird!

    But I'm not going to let them get me down. I'll just spread my message of "It's all OPTIONAL!!!!" :drinker:
  • remyegomez
    remyegomez Posts: 16
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    This year my family decided instead of getting gifts for each other we adopted a family and are getting gifts for a family at my mothers church.
  • fit4mom
    fit4mom Posts: 1,352 Member
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    This is a little cynical. Why bash a day that most people really genuinely enjoy and love. Like Thanksgiving. Even if you don't like how corporate America destroys and abuses most things, (from personal experience) most families really do get meaning out of the holiday and take it to heart. I get tired of the anti Christmas attitude. It's about tradition. But if you are tired of the corporate part of it I so get it. There are people dying out there and because of the selfishness of the group for no religion. Children in Africa ( being supported by Operation Christmas Child) might not get presents this year. Really sad when politics get in the way of giving.:frown:
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    You're not wrong, but everyone celebrates it differently.

    In our family gift buying/giving has never been a ordeal. We're all pretty down to earth and easy going and are happy with anything we get each other, i've never felt the need to go over the top and buy anyone anything overly expensive. Heck last year i got my brother a white sox barbecue set for about $30 and he was thrilled with it.

    Christmas is what you make it, if the people around you are materialistic and unsatisfied with gifts unless they cost a lot then tell them to F off and don't get them a damn thing.

    My nephew and niece started to get a little unappreciative of gifts(they're 6 and 4) so I told them that's fine, if they aren't happy with just the fact that they have something to open at all then I won't be getting them anything...you can bet they changed their attitudes pretty quick ;)

    Growing up my grandmother always got me some kind of make up set and a hair curler or something like that.....and let me tell you i was the biggest tom boy ever so I never once liked or used anything she ever bought me lol BUT you can bet I also never let her know that, I was never unappreciative of gifts and I was always delighted to have something to open.

    So yeah... Christmas is what you make it :)
  • carlynishere
    carlynishere Posts: 330 Member
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    Give these gifts in honour of the people on your Christmas list:

    http://plancanada.ca/giftsofhope/default.asp?WT.mc_id=QFY12_DM_GOHACATLEG

    We do this every year. Through https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/

    The kids love picking out stuff for those in need.

    Lizzy, this is awesome! In my job I work rather closely with Samaritan's Purse on a weekly basis. They are all wonderful folks to work with there! What a great way to make a difference!!
  • fit4mom
    fit4mom Posts: 1,352 Member
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    Give these gifts in honour of the people on your Christmas list:

    http://plancanada.ca/giftsofhope/default.asp?WT.mc_id=QFY12_DM_GOHACATLEG

    We do this every year. Through https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/

    The kids love picking out stuff for those in need.

    Lizzy, this is awesome! In my job I work rather closely with Samaritan's Purse on a weekly basis. They are all wonderful folks to work with there! What a great way to make a difference!!
    LOVE THIS! Great idea!
  • DWilbanks
    DWilbanks Posts: 420 Member
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    It's not that I don't like this time of year, it just makes me a little sad. I miss family that's no longer with us. In particular my mom. Since my family has grown so much over the years, all brothers and sisters have started traditions with their own families so the entire family doesn't get together like we used to do. You see there's seven kids in our family, so when we got together, with all in laws and neices and nephews, well it was an awesome big bunch. But I'll have a little time with a brother and sister that lives close and husband and his mom and step dad so it will still be good.
  • fit4mom
    fit4mom Posts: 1,352 Member
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    I so get this. My uncle died with cancer 2 years ago, and right before that his mom and right before that his dad. It's sad to not have them here but my focus get's shifted to being there for the ones left behind.
  • KMSForLife
    KMSForLife Posts: 605
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    This year my family decided instead of getting gifts for each other we adopted a family and are getting gifts for a family at my mothers church.

    This.

    My family decided not to exchange gifts this year - instead we are putting money toward "adopting" 4 children from the Elementary School.

    I love Christmas!
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
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    I've always loved Christmas...the music, the lights, the celebrations with friends, the time to remember Christ's birth. But the constant pressure to buy gifts for everyone and the craziness of shopping does get old (anybody see the story about the woman on Black Friday who was pepper-spraying people at Walmart?!). I've been buying for my kids throughout the year (They are not necessarily getting everything they asked for, like the iPads and the horse my daughter wants!). I chose gifts I know they will like and that were within the budget I established. Once the budget is gone, that's it. I stopped exchanging with my parents and my sister a few years ago. We were basically swapping sweaters and restaurant gift certificates. My parents are hard to shop for because if there's something they want, they just buy it. Same with my sister. So we just buy for the kids and that's it. I keep the gifts for my kids reasonable, too...no crazy, extravagant stuff (can't afford it anyway!).

    On Christmas day, we will get up and go to church, then celebrate as a family at my sister's house that afternoon. That's the best part of the day for me...family time!
  • deeharley
    deeharley Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Nope, you're not wrong to feel this way. I personally LOVE Christmas, but then I sit down every year and decide what I want to do and what I'm going to do to celebrate. And extended family gifts happen some years and some years they don't. But the tree, music, cookies and Christmas Eve party for my friends happens EVERY year. :smile:
  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,977 Member
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    There are people dying out there and because of the selfishness of the group for no religion. Children in Africa ( being supported by Operation Christmas Child) might not get presents this year. Really sad when politics get in the way of giving.:frown:

    I think I'm a little confused by this statement...
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    Just celebrate it in a way that would make you happy. Maybe go volunteer somewhere and spend your time there rather than buying crap that people don't really want? Or you could just skip it altogether. I'm going to the beach with my parents and my brother to avoid the rest of our family so we don't have to do anything for Christmas.
    This.

    I just invite people over to have drinks and hang out. I like the "togetherness" aspect of Christmas, but not the gift buying obligations. If I want to buy someone something, I just will. I don't want to be told it has to happen around this date.
  • King_Bee
    King_Bee Posts: 275 Member
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    Ok, dont know about yall, but Im sorta sick of Christmas. All this money for crap people dont really want that could be spent better served. Maybe Im just crabby. How about yall?

    Coming from a family who couldn't always afford giving gifts, I'm not sick of it. I look forward to it.

    Now Christmas music.....
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    I love giving gifts. For those who are hard to shop for, I try to do something involving charity. :-)
  • fit4mom
    fit4mom Posts: 1,352 Member
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    Ok, dont know about yall, but Im sorta sick of Christmas. All this money for crap people dont really want that could be spent better served. Maybe Im just crabby. How about yall?

    Coming from a family who couldn't always afford giving gifts, I'm not sick of it. I look forward to it.

    Now Christmas music.....
    My hero.:flowerforyou:
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    This is a little cynical. Why bash a day that most people really genuinely enjoy and love. Like Thanksgiving. Even if you don't like how corporate America destroys and abuses most things, (from personal experience) most families really do get meaning out of the holiday and take it to heart. I get tired of the anti Christmas attitude. It's about tradition. But if you are tired of the corporate part of it I so get it. There are people dying out there and because of the selfishness of the group for no religion. Children in Africa ( being supported by Operation Christmas Child) might not get presents this year. Really sad when politics get in the way of giving.:frown:
    I fail to see any bashing in the OP's post.
  • shonasteele
    shonasteele Posts: 473
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    I'm tired of how commercial it all is. It seems like it's just a list of obligations anymore... where to be, what to bring, what to buy. It's tough when both sides of the family are VERY traditional and doing something out of the norm would be a huge departure, but I think next year we are going to sit down with our daughter and decide what WE want out of christmas and make our plans accordingly, whether that be a quiet day at home or a trip to Mexico or something in between.

    Right now I'm a little frustrated by the gift exchange for my hubby's family... We are having 2 different gatherings, the small one with a dozen people, and the big one for 30 people and we are doing a 'chinese gift exchange' at each one. $30 each times 3 people times 2 parties = $180! I'm torn between participating and HOPING that we all don't come home with crappy gifts, or just donating the money to a charity. I don't want to seem cheap, but if I'm going to spend $180, SOMEONE better be happy with their presents!

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