I am so done with Christmas...

[sezjasper]

Here's the fallout from Christmas. My main gift to my brother (disabled) turns out to be a dud. He doesn't want it. The gift was a juke box that plays cds...which he loves to play his cds...but obviously not on the juke box. He has also in years past turned his nose up at the box set dvds from his favorite tv show (doesn't like dvds...); pajamas which have long pants and short sleeve shirt (wants long sleeve shirt instead); robot toy which he went nuts over at my house (but wanted no parts of it at HIS house)...and on and on. My mom complained for months that she needed new window shades...I got them for her, now I hear that the ones she has are not so bad, maybe she should just save 9 of the 11 shades in case they are needed in the future. She also complained how she had trouble watering her hanging plants because of arthritis...so I bought her those things that you can pull your plant down to a comfortable level and then just push it back up again...she never even took them out of the box. Doesn't want them. Would rather just complain, I guess. She's also mad because she got duplicate gifts from my two daughters and my older brother and sister in law. So we didn't compare notes beforehand? Are we supposed to? Then there's the gifts for the great-grandchildren. I told her the clothes she bought were going to be too small. She didn't want to exchange because she got good bargains on the ones that she selected, so she gave the clothes to the children anyway, and now she's mad because I told her the clothes are too small. Her response? "Next year I'm not going to do this...those children aren't related to me anyway" (they are my daughter in law's children from her first marriage.) I'm to the point where I hate holidays. Thanks for letting me rant...if I didn't get it out somewhere, I was going to explode! So...does anyone else have a family that can suck the joy out of a holiday the way mine can?

 

[duckluck]

Yep. I quit doing Christmas about 10 years ago. I got sick of the stress and the planning, especially with my husband's side of the family, and having him spend too much money and having them give him obvious dud gifts with no thought at all or nothing at all as it pleased them.

People can talk all they want about the true spirit of Christmas, giving rather than receiving, yadda yadda yadda but when it becomes a time where people can use it to be blatant in their disrespect or use it as a tool to start a family fight, that's when it's time to end. It's much easier to take the money we would have spent and buy what we need or want and we don't have to have a special shopping season to do it in. Add to that I am sick of the stores and banks starting to roll out the Christmas stuff in September...it just seems like we get more and more Christmas every year and I'm sick of having it stuffed down my throat. I make every effort to stay out of stores because not only are people nuts with the shopping, but Christmas is everywhere...background music everywhere, on the TV everywhere, enough decorations to choke a Tyrannosaurus, enough already!

My family still tries to jam it down my throat by buying gifts and then asking where theirs are. They do it over and over again even though I have told them I am done and they can feel free to take the gifts back if they are giving them with the expectation of getting something back. They never take them back but they use it to try and nag me and I tell them I don't want to hear it or I will send the gifts back in the mail, which is how I usually receive them anyway.

 

[sezjasper]

Are our families related?

I agree totally with you on the Christmas overkill. A few years ago it was Christmas and Halloween in the same aisle. Now it's right on the heels of back-to-school. Enough already!

I try to tell myself that I'm lucky to have my mom...but it's hard to deal with her mean-spirited attitude all the time...and if that's "lucky," who needs it? This year I spent half my Christmas visit smoking cigarettes, in tears, on her back porch. The only good thing is there are no more holidays until Easter. That's the longest stretch of the year where I can go without making an appearance or hosting another happy family gathering.

 

[caspernc]

Ya'll don't have the reason for the season! We do a "chapstick Christmas." I get everyone a ribeye steak. And if all you can afford is chapstick that is what you give and it is great! We have comunication and God in our season and if speaking of our Savour in this thead gets it blocked , sorry, but He is the reason for the season. I made apple pie jam for everyone, YUM, and some apple sause too. I get my empty jars back every year so they can be refilled!

 

[sezjasper]

I love those kind of gifts. My favorite gift ever came from my daughter this year (she's 11) -- she made me a flock of tiny chickens out of sculpey clay. You don't need to tell me about the reason for the season...but someone should tell my church-going mother...after she gets done complaining about how far she had to park from the door or how mass took too long because somebody was having a baptism.

 

[theoldchick]

Oh yeah, family can be at their worst during the holidays. Add alcohol and you can get a powder keg ready to explode. I'm not sure why gift giving is a absolute necessity to celebrate the birth of Christ. And I'm still confused as to why we have to kill a tree to celebrate Christmas. Materialism has nothing to do with Christmas. Next year select your favorite charity and donate the designated gift money in your family's name. If they don't like it, tough, at least the money went to help someone in need.

 

[bakerjw]

I am finished with gifts for ingrates. Last Summer my SIL had an unexpected expense come up which ate up the money that she'd been saving for a trip to see her favorite football team. I ended up paying for it for her as an early Christmas present. I didn't even get a regifted item, her usual gifts are regifts of stuff that she doesn't want, from her. I make decent money and I give good gifts for Christmas. A few years ago in return for a $250.00 gift card to help my one SIL get a good camera I received 3 rolls of Spree candy.

So I am in the school now of only taking care of people that are appreciative.

 

[goobhen]

Well my family, who could be Redhen's & Sezjasper's had a big fight at Thanksgiving two years ago. Why might you ask? Because my 30 year old niece got in a fight with my 5 year old grandson. My niece hates kids, hates people! She yells at her parents (who subsidize her rent, grocery and vet bills), leaves in a huff every holiday. My husband was home sick, and truth be told, would rather have a root canal than to go to my family holidays! I skipped Christmas that year, I had to replace my car's suspension for the tune of $2500.00 the weekend we were going to buy Christmas gifts. My brother, father of 30 yr old niece, sent me a less than gracious email asking if we were going to exchange gifts that year, I said no. I did not go to a single family get together for over a year. Finally my brother sent me an email saying he was sorry for his behavior. Last year I went to his house for the family Christmas get together. We gave them a $50.00 gift certificate. What did we get? My husband received (still in the yellow mailing envelope and bubble wrap) a tube of chemical to use on "fogged" headlights on cars, our headlights are just fine, the stuff doesn't work! I received a pair of socks. My brother complained about his $50.00 gift card as he won $500.00 worth of gift cards at a raffle the week before. This year, he sent me a text that the only day our other brother could do Christmas was the 23rd, I said fine, two days later I asked what I could bring for dinner. His reply "Oh you want to do Christmas on Sunday?" Um, yes isn't that what we text-ed about last week? Well I don't have anything for dinner. I offered to make two turkey breast and a pie, okay dinner on Sunday it is. This year, I made homemade vanilla extract, bought gifts over the year. I placed all the available gifts and agonized over what to give each person. My 30 year old niece has never once in her life, given me a gift, doesn't have a pot to piss in, and thinks she only deserves the best of everything. Well I had bought on sale a fire pot for my porch, I never used it. I decided to give that to my niece & her boyfriend. She loved it and thanked me! This was the first time in two years that I took my grandson. When we walked in the door, my niece hugged us, including my grandson! She was just a pleasure to be with!! Everyone loved their homemade gifts, and less expensive gifts. I asked my husband on the way home if he thought my family were possessed! It was the best Christmas ever! My mother is 90 years old (I'm the youngest in the family) I wonder if God extra-blessed our Christmas for her this year? All I know, this was my family's last chance at Christmas, if it had been like the past, this was it. My SIL and I decided next year's gifts will all be handmade! We are looking forward to it. I am praying that my niece keeps on the road to recovery. She had major drug addictions in the past. I think she stopped using about 1 1/2 ago.

 

[EweSheep]

Well my family, who could be Redhen's & Sezjasper's had a big fight at Thanksgiving two years ago. Why might you ask? Because my 30 year old niece got in a fight with my 5 year old grandson. My niece hates kids, hates people! She yells at her parents (who subsidize her rent, grocery and vet bills), leaves in a huff every holiday. My husband was home sick, and truth be told, would rather have a root canal than to go to my family holidays! I skipped Christmas that year, I had to replace my car's suspension for the tune of $2500.00 the weekend we were going to buy Christmas gifts. My brother, father of 30 yr old niece, sent me a less than gracious email asking if we were going to exchange gifts that year, I said no. I did not go to a single family get together for over a year. Finally my brother sent me an email saying he was sorry for his behavior. Last year I went to his house for the family Christmas get together. We gave them a $50.00 gift certificate. What did we get? My husband received (still in the yellow mailing envelope and bubble wrap) a tube of chemical to use on "fogged" headlights on cars, our headlights are just fine, the stuff doesn't work! I received a pair of socks. My brother complained about his $50.00 gift card as he won $500.00 worth of gift cards at a raffle the week before. This year, he sent me a text that the only day our other brother could do Christmas was the 23rd, I said fine, two days later I asked what I could bring for dinner. His reply "Oh you want to do Christmas on Sunday?" Um, yes isn't that what we text-ed about last week? Well I don't have anything for dinner. I offered to make two turkey breast and a pie, okay dinner on Sunday it is. This year, I made homemade vanilla extract, bought gifts over the year. I placed all the available gifts and agonized over what to give each person. My 30 year old niece has never once in her life, given me a gift, doesn't have a pot to piss in, and thinks she only deserves the best of everything. Well I had bought on sale a fire pot for my porch, I never used it. I decided to give that to my niece & her boyfriend. She loved it and thanked me! This was the first time in two years that I took my grandson. When we walked in the door, my niece hugged us, including my grandson! She was just a pleasure to be with!! Everyone loved their homemade gifts, and less expensive gifts. I asked my husband on the way home if he thought my family were possessed! It was the best Christmas ever! My mother is 90 years old (I'm the youngest in the family) I wonder if God extra-blessed our Christmas for her this year? All I know, this was my family's last chance at Christmas, if it had been like the past, this was it. My SIL and I decided next year's gifts will all be handmade! We are looking forward to it. I am praying that my niece keeps on the road to recovery. She had major drug addictions in the past. I think she stopped using about 1 1/2 ago.

What?! Your niece fighting with your grandson? She ought to get a

 

[NovaAman]

Yikes!

I had a great Christmas. Us sisters, We don't buy gifts for each other, and only one gift for each others kids. We didn't put Santa's name on any of the gifts we gave my kids. We put that they were from me/grandma/dad. Had the kids dad's mom and brother for dinner. Had a nice time, peaceful. No problems this year. Was wonderful.

In years past when I was married. I hated Christmas and Thanksgiving. I am happy now with the simplicity we have. It is just another day here. But with a bigger meal and/or gifts. LOL