Poll: How do you feel about this holiday time of year?

[MuirWannabe]

I love Thanksgiving most of all. But I love Christmas also. The question seems strange to me but having read responses I guess that’s just me. For me, the Godly meaning of Christmas is most important and far overrides any hassles otherwise. Plus, it’s just darn fun if you can roll with it which can be challenging I suppose.

 

[NW-Bound]

I used to love the holiday season, mainly because we got time off from work. Now, that we are retired, it is great that my children get time off, and my siblings who are still working. As we are all in town, we have a lot of parties. That, plus a few of us have our birthday near the end of the year.

Have not gone to the mall for Christmas shopping for decades. Nor have I looked for Thanksgiving sales on the Web. I need and want nothing. Just food and drink, and we party.

 

[Music Lover]

When working, the holiday season always meant a week off...3 stat holidays combined with another day of "compressed" time off, and I only had to use 2 days of vacation for a 9 or 10 day break.

Now that I'm retired, the break from work is irrelevant. No one buys gifts anymore so it's just a big extended family gathering on Christmas eve and then brunch with the immediate family on Christmas day.

 

[RobbieB]

I've always bought lots of stuff off the internet. I like going to the stores and seeing stuff on the shelf.

That's where I got all those lights I put on the house -

 

[2017ish]

Kind of like, at this stage in our lives.

Overall, we find the holidays very nice. Our devout Christian friends are obviously stoked at this time of year, and it rubs off.

Very nice to travel and see parents, which we will be making a priority at Christmastime going forward. (Yay, retirement!)

DW will be thrilled to hit solstice and gradually get more sunlight...

E.T.A.--we qualify as agnostic (DW) and Agnostic+ (I don't have enough belief to be an atheist!)

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We like going into the city over the holidays and seeing the lights around the stores, Union Square and the cable cars and watching the ice skaters. It looks magical. I always get tickets for all sorts of holiday events, like the coming week is a Christmas Ballet and A Christmas Pantomime.

We cut back on traveling, gifts, Disneyland, cards, decorations, etc, in recent years to try to simplify our lives. The kids usually come and visit us so for us it is a pretty low stress and fun holiday time.

 

[hausfrau]

I love Christmas. I always have. I hate clutter in my house, except at Christmas time. I love wrapping gifts, cooking, Christmas music, shopping, decorating, everything. My husband thinks I overdo the holiday, but I can't help it, I really do love it.

 

[TimeMeasure]

Instead of standing in lines surrounded by stressed out unhappy people buying crap no one needs and then killing each other on the frenzied highways, why can't we just sacrifice a goat to Imhotep like they used to in the good old days instead ?

Wish I could figure out how to do the laughter icon on an iPad!

But you sacrifice just one goat...

 

[Meadbh]

I voted “mildly dislike”. I had outgrown the excitement by the time I was a teenager. I hate the commercialization, annoying Christmas music, etc. As one who had to work many, many Christmases and other holidays, often with a skeleton staff, the holidays lost any meaning they might once have had for me. If you don’t have a family to be with, the holidays can be a very depressing time of year. I ignore them as much as possible, but I respect other people’s need for these winter rituals.

 

[ElizabethT]

I love the holidays for two simple reasons, lots of time spent with family and friends, and lots of wonderful concerts and plays available to attend.

I love to entertain, and the Christmas tree really adds a lovely touch to our home when we have friends and family in. And there are so many wonderful activities to attend, many of them free, that we generally run out of energy somewhere along the way.

The things I dislike about the holidays - sending greeting cards, decorating to the nines, shopping, shopping, shopping, followed by just as much wrapping - I stopped doing some years ago. Things had gotten to a point where all the joy was being sucked right out of the season. Now, taken back down to just the elements that we deeply enjoy, it's returned to being my favorite time of the year.

 

[pacergal]

Still love the holiday season, enjoy time with family. I don't bake as much as I used too, and our gift giving is much less than before, except for the grandkids! But I love the songs, the decorations, the feeling of hope, joy, and peace.

 

[sengsational]

The idea that family can get together put me a notch above neutral.

From the comments, it seems that more positive people click the poll and leave without a comment because I see quite a few neutral or less comments, but that's only about 30% off the poll. In other words, the 70% positive poll results don't seem to be well reflected in the comments.

 

[Gumby]

The idea that family can get together put me a notch above neutral.

From the comments, it seems that more positive people click the poll and leave without a comment because I see quite a few neutral or less comments, but that's only about 30% off the poll. In other words, the 70% positive poll results don't seem to be well reflected in the comments.

I think Leo Tolstoy had the answer to that:

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

 

[CoolRich59]

I dislike the commercialism, but avoid that now by avoiding the mall and using Amazon.

But, I love Christmas because I get to spoil these guys.

 

[Sue J]

I was raised Jewish so it's never been my holiday. Been an atheist since late teens so all this seems like a lot of other people's running around and going crazy trying to do it right.

My policy has been to just stay out of stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I enjoy other people's lights and decorations but we would never do that here. I used to change radio stations when my favorite went to Christmas music but the last few years I'm actually enjoying it!

This year our son and new daughter-in-law have a small tree and we offered them our old ornaments. Some are family hand-me-downs, some were kids school projects. He was raised religion free and she is Chinese (maybe likes Buddism?) but she wants to try an American Christmas. We gave them a few gifts "from Santa" for under their tree and I don't want anything in return, not my holiday.

Anyway, I get through this time of year enjoying seeing other people doing their thing. I have a feeling that if our son and DIL have kids I may turn into the crazy grandmother during this season!

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I put Love the holidays although Mostly like the holidays was a first gut reaction.

I like how certain people just act nicer especially here in the Midwest. More door holding and traffic good will or maybe I just see what I expect to see. I like giving extra cash out to cooks & waitresses & teachers/ instructors who have taken care of or interacted with me all year.

I love the parties, seeing friends, seeing family. The food is great although I now limit to one plateful, well maybe a second helping of mashed potatoes.. (only at holidays now). I like putting on a tuxedo for a big night out. Sometimes meeting old friends or family for a relaxing at home new years party.

Born into a less religious family in a Christian country I enjoyed the gift giving and receiving, and the children stories. The tinsel and stuff I smile at still.

People of other faiths seem to have holidays like Passover and Chinese new year and celebrate their way.
The only emotional negative is remembering family/friends no longer around. But I only miss them because of the happy experiences we had, and I am the better for having them in my life, even as I make new memories with others, or even explore life on my own for a while.

So happy holidays to all, and a great new year.

 

[bclover]

I love the holidays. I was blessed to be born into a large, slightly wacko family. we try our best to get together some time over the holiday.

Over Thanksgiving myself and a few cousins drove down from NYC to Charleston SC to see a aunt who is 99. awesome time eating, drinking, reminiscing and arguing.
My sons and I usually always do one or two activities together. this year we'll be going to check out Stomp.

I decorate, bake and we always volunteer for our churches toy and turkey drive to help those less fortunate.

 

[mistermike40]

I love the holidays, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Seeing family, having the kids home, eating and drinking too much... what's not to love?

This is my first post-retirement holiday season... it feels a bit different (not having time off work as an added bonus) but just as good.

 

[albireo13]

I used to love the holidays but, now I dread them.
The dysfunctional grandparents visiting have ruined it for me.
Bad behavior, and unrealistic expectations, from the grandparents.

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's what I realized a while ago:

We have been conditioned from about age three to view Christmas day as a special day. A special day on which we get presents.

When you're retired, it's not a special day. It's like any other day, and since many of us can buy anything we want, and already have everything we need: no special toys are coming.

It's stupid, and intellectually we should just enjoy the holiday, but we've been conditioned to want some toys. It's shallow, but that's how the unconscious mind works.

For that reason, I request some kind of present that I can "play with" on Christmas day. For example, last year I requested a fishing PFD, and played with it by organizing the different pockets, etc.

It needn't be fancy or expensive, just something to interact with.

 

[karen1972]

Lets just say, this whole year sucked personally and I can't wait for it to be over.

 

[Lsbcal]

Lets just say, this whole year sucked personally and I can't wait for it to be over.

I have personally asked the 2018 fairy to be good to you. So there you go!

 

[Lsbcal]

...

It's stupid, and intellectually we should just enjoy the holiday, but we've been conditioned to want some toys. It's shallow, but that's how the unconscious mind works.

For that reason, I request some kind of present that I can "play with" on Christmas day. For example, last year I requested a fishing PFD, and played with it by organizing the different pockets, etc.

It needn't be fancy or expensive, just something to interact with.

Great idea. I could ask for a .... never mind, need to keep this thread clean.

 

[Aerides]

I like them, non-secular and all that.

I like decorating, I like seeing the other houses lit up at night. I like having small gatherings with friends and family. I like trying to find something to bring a smile to DH's face when he unwraps it.

I stopped doing the Mall, sending cards, or worrying about what to wear, and how I'm going to gain 5 lbs by Jan1.

That said, I also like how nice and open and tidy the living room looks once the tree gets put away.