Anyone else disappointed by their christmas??

[Camelot Farms]

Quote:
What a blessing you were to those folks who wanted to give and were able to. Sometimes we forget that in order for someone to be a blessing, someone else has to allow them to do so.
The circle of giving is an amazing thing! So glad that you had such a wonderful holiday!! May your blessings continue into the New Year.

 

[Chickenmaven]

I am rarely disappointed, because I don't expect much.

I enjoyed the company of my family & some great food. Gotta love that!

I was only disappointed in my niece. She brought her dog to my SIL's house. When the dog whizzed all over the couch & floor, not only did niece not offer to clean up the pee, she pouted when made to put the dog in the garage. Yep, this 23 y.o. woman sulked like a 5 y.o. and would not eat with us.

What a litttle turd.

To the O.P. - I have teens & have NO IDEA what to buy them.

 

[featherbaby]

For those of us who have had disappointing Christmas holidays I offer my personal solutions for your consideration. I won't bore you with the gory details of my past but believe me when I say I never had a good Christmas growing up and the trauma comes back in full force every year since then. I have had to do some major rennovations on my own feelings and expectations.

1. You CAN NOT change another person...stop trying to. You don't have to like what they do, but you can choose not to react badly or nternalize the pain it causes you.

2. If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got. Change something. Declare your freedom from the same traditional gift giving/expectations. Do something radically different and don't defend it to anyone.

3. DO NOT watch sappy Christmas miracle type movies and TV shows during the holidays. They are NOT REAL LIFE. Dashed expectations cause more pain than any person or situation can. I'm not saying you should turn into Scrooge, just choose to fill your mind and heart with real things, not false things.

4. Decide what you REALLY want. Not what TV commercials fool you into thinking you want (it's their job to do this, and they do it soooo well). Make two lists of what you want....most important one at the top. One list is for tangible things, stuff you can buy. The other list is for intangibles, things you want to do. Now go through each list and ask: "Can I get/do this by myself or does it require the participation of others?" If it requires someone else, strike it off your list. Now you can decide just how much time/effort/money you'll spend to make the others happen. If the cost is too high, strike it off the list. Ooooh, the list is much smaller now isn't it? But now you're down to the REALLY important things. And that's where you start.

5. Make your goal "contentment" instead of "achievement". This requires a heaping helping of humility. Just watch the news, see what other people are going through on the worst day of their lives. That should do the trick. List what you have (relationships, job, house, chickens, pets, children, car, food, clean water, toilets, friends, faith, education, computer, BYC, etc. Not necessarily in that order,ha!) and realize you still have "options" and choices to make your life better.

6. Don't forget to pray. God can make things happen when you have done all you can. Put the rest in His capable hands.

7. Work diligently at removing EVERY hurtful, negative, destructive thought and feeling from your mind. I have some awful memories, but I refuse to rake them up and let those hurtful memories paralyze me. I used to think you couldn't control your feelings. Hogwash! It takes a little practice, but you CAN. I did it, and you can too. It's a choice.

8. See the BIG PICTURE. It isn't always about you. It isn't always about "right now". Maybe you are part of someone elses maturity program. Maybe you're part of someone elses solution. Maybe you're a key player in someone elses blessing. Get your focus off yourself, and look for the bigger plan in motion all around you. Perspective is a marvelous thing.

After all of this I'll sum it up by saying, "In life you can be one of two things: A shining example, or a Horrible warning." The choice is up to you.

 

[deb1]

excellent advice feather baby

 

[TipsyDog]

FEATHERBABY - Excellent post. Simple list but nice to sit down and see it spelled out in black and white.

 

[EweSheep]

My family had a good Xmas overall. My dd was bratty about her gifts and being obxious and I was about to take all of her gifts and give to a little girl that needs it. She calmed down after awhile. My mother went to the hospital on Christmas morning and stayed overnight. The Christmas was not the same without my mom and everyone felt that way. It looks like a reminder that one day she will be gone and we will have to keep Xmas going. We hope Mom will come home today but they are running more tests to see if she did not suffer a mini stroke or complete exhaustion even she showed signs of stroke. Her heart is fine which we were happy but Mom felt unrested during the night.

Today we are thankful in the gifts we got. There were a couple of items which I didn't want or need. Thankful for my cousin for giving me a Kroger's card for grocery for MEAT since the food pantries only gave us mostly canned goods, starched box foods(mac and cheese and spagetti), chips and candies. My father gave me some CASH which it will be put for meat as well as things I didn't get for Xmas like cutting knife and a four hole nesting box for my chickens! (homemade one that is). DD is grateful for all the crayons and papers and Legos she wanted. Her play keyboard for some reason was not working so we have to take it back and get another one.

So right now, for me and my family, we are all focusing on getting Mom being home and feeling better! We are going to her house and eat more leftovers!

 

[lengel]

DH broke his leg and kneecap and MIL in the nursing home doesn't remember either of us anymore so we just bailed on the whole thing, rented 14 movies and roasted the world's largest turkey, ate the legs and some of the white meat and fed the rest to the dogs. We ate while DH was in bed and the dogs kept my lap warm then celebrated the fact that he could use his walker to get to the bathroom on his own.

What can I say? We just don't set the bar very high these days.

 

[maplesky7]

14 movies!!!!


wooo hooo.... you are my hero!

actually, sounds pretty cozy.



...and so I shall remember the good so my heart shall be kept warm with joyous thoughts and memories.

 

[crzychickenlady]

Quote:
Could be worse......half of your family (3 of us, including me) could be recovering from surgery due to Cancer like mine was and is.

I hear ya on the gift thing. I go thru a big effort to get "just the right gifts" for people. I don't get many gifts at all now...I'm too old I guess, LOL. I didn't get anything from my BF.
Christmas just isn't the same once you pass a certain age I guess. That's how I feel about it.

 

[debilorrah]

Three children - 2 boys 1 girl. One boy gets 6 video games and a Nintendo DS, a bunch of clothes and remote control car. The other boy got a Wii and 4 games, a bunch of clothes and a remote control helicopter. The gir got a jacket and a pair of tennis shoes.

Girl has a boyfriend - HIS mother gave her a bunch of clothes, nice jackets, stylish shoes, make-up, 2 necklaces and an invitation to move in with her. Who wound up disappointed. Her parents.