Holiday sanity support thread!

[disconnected]

The holidays are coming up soon. I’m already feeling the stress. My wife is already nervous because I usually come unglued.

Anyhow my Mother invited us over for Thanksgiving. I politely declined due to us hopefully being out of town.

Ugh, here we go...

 

[Autistamatic]

Know what you mean. We don't have Thanksgiving here but Christmas always used to do my nut in!
The last few years we just go out to a nice village pub for dinner with my in-laws for a couple of hours, and the rest of the holiday is just the wife and I. Best it's ever been

 

[Pats]

I've been getting stressed already, too. Mostly because I don't want to disappoint any of my 10 grandkids and since I can't afford expensive things for them I have to work really hard at coming up with the perfect thing I know they will each love. And then my 4 kids and their spouses - I know they don't expect much, but I want to be able to give them all something I know they will like. But on the other hand I HATE the thank you's. The last two years I'd just join in the dirty santa game - where everyone bring one gift so they don't feel like they have to get me anything and don't expect anything more from me. Then I'd sneak a Santa gift under each of their trees from Santa. They get a fun something on Christmas morning and I don't have to deal with the thank you's.
We do all try to get together for a family thing at my place. Everyone brings food, we play games and other than needing a break now and then it's great because everyone is happy, laughing and having fun and I love seeing all my kids together having a good time. And every year I keep getting a family photo (19 people - 20 if I'm in it, too) and it's not an easy task and I'm relieved if I get one good picture and next thing I know another family member is being added so we're going to have to do another one. (they keep having more babies. lol)
Anyhow - stress. But I do let my kids decide when to do our family thing so none of them are burdened or pressured into not doing their own family thing or the other side of the family thing. Christmas is the only real big deal with me and if it's not celebrated together on Christmas day, that's okay.

 

[OkRad]

I found a perfect way to avoid Holiday Stress.....Is that the wind blowing? Oh, it must be Christmas. No one is stirring. Yay! Time to go walking in peace and quiet.

 

[Mattymatt]

Honestly, I haven't been thinking about the holidays. I've got enough in the way of immediate hurdles. I honestly want to find a bar to go to for Thanksgiving. I enjoy a good cold beer.

 

[Butterfly88]

I did most of my Christmas shopping already so at least I don't have to deal with that. Am a bit worried about the get-togethers though. Thanksgiving usually draws a good crowd and while Christmas doesn't draw as big a crowd for my family last year the kids got these noisy light up toy firetrucks that drove me bonkers, I seriously hope they get something more sensory friendly this year.

 

[Judge]

Yeah. This may finally be the year in which I truly shop early and get it over with.

 

[Pats]

Even though I'm alone, I put on the full feast for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving I fix a breast and all the trimmings and Christmas I make a roast beast, though I did fix lasagna one year. I decorate and embrace the holiday. Since I only have about three people to buy for, my Christmas shopping is done when I buy my Thanksgiving meal stuff. I even mail out Christmas cards. For me personally, I find it a lot better than sitting at home feeling sorry for myself.

I am curious about one thing - what beast do you roast? lol

 

[Progster]

Christmas really used to stress me out in the UK, so much family wrangling and haggling and petty politics involved, especially around giving presents, which I would rather do without. I like giving present, but find the business of receiving presents very awkward and causes a lot of anxiety: Am I showing enough enthusiasm? Or , I don't like this present. I don't like the colour, I want to change it. I already have this CD - how do I handle it diplomatically so as not to offend the gift giver? I really suck at this kind of thing. I always go for honesty, thinking that I can change the item which really shouldn't be a problem, and it is so fake to pretend that something is good when it isn't, but some people still get offended.

 

[Utini]

Yep. Feel so trapped and helpless. It's everything I fear, small talk, pretending to like someone or the gifts you receive, hugs. It's a big test.

 

[Tom]

I like the holidays (Christmas mainly) now more then ever, but it is limited to just my immediate family basically (ie. Wife, Kids and their friends). It is because I haven't been sure how many I had left. This will be the third one that is basically a gift itself.

 

[tducey]

I enjoy Christmas. We're spending it with my sister and her family this year which should be fun.

 

[Mary Terry]

I'm working on the Christmas shopping, mostly online shopping because I hate malls. I like to get it all done before Thanksgiving. I always host our family and assorted friends for Thanksgiving and create a huge feast. If the weather is good, we have a big bonfire so the kids can run around and shout outside rather than inside the house which helps me keep my sanity.

I love Christmas but the commercialism and stresses caused by the general public in the US drive me nuts so my husband and I always travel, usually to a foreign country, to spend a quiet Christmas together. I distribute everyone's gifts to my family before we leave so they can open them on Christmas morning. When our grandchildren get older, we will probably invite everyone to share in renting a large condo somewhere on a beach, probably Mexico, and limit gift giving to a few small items that can be packed in suitcases.

We used to rent a cabin in the mountains for Christmas when our kids were young and everyone would ski, but I'm getting older now, prefer sandy beaches to high altitude snow in December, and packing bulky winter clothes is a nightmare.

 

[Mary Terry]

I've been getting stressed already, too. Mostly because I don't want to disappoint any of my 10 grandkids and since I can't afford expensive things for them I have to work really hard at coming up with the perfect thing I know they will each love. And then my 4 kids and their spouses - I know they don't expect much, but I want to be able to give them all something I know they will like. But on the other hand I HATE the thank you's. The last two years I'd just join in the dirty santa game - where everyone bring one gift so they don't feel like they have to get me anything and don't expect anything more from me. Then I'd sneak a Santa gift under each of their trees from Santa. They get a fun something on Christmas morning and I don't have to deal with the thank you's.
We do all try to get together for a family thing at my place. Everyone brings food, we play games and other than needing a break now and then it's great because everyone is happy, laughing and having fun and I love seeing all my kids together having a good time. And every year I keep getting a family photo (19 people - 20 if I'm in it, too) and it's not an easy task and I'm relieved if I get one good picture and next thing I know another family member is being added so we're going to have to do another one. (they keep having more babies. lol)
Anyhow - stress. But I do let my kids decide when to do our family thing so none of them are burdened or pressured into not doing their own family thing or the other side of the family thing. Christmas is the only real big deal with me and if it's not celebrated together on Christmas day, that's okay.

I like to give books - as in real books and not e-books - to my grown children and the grandkids. Of course, I get some toys and usually clothes for the grandkids and I give our 3 grown children gift cards tucked inside the books I select for them so they can buy something they want. These may not seem like very personal gifts but everyone always seems happy. If you watch for book sales, you can save a lot of money and give them something they can keep the rest of their lives. I write a little personal note inside each book and the date. When I was a child, books were one of my favorite Christmas gifts to receive.

 

[GrownupGirl]

 

[pamelaperejil]

The penguins are coming.

 

[Gritches]

Crap. Thanksgiving I can avoid no problem, but I'll have to think of some sort of caper to keep from having to participate in Christmas, and I only have two months to plan and execute it.

Maybe something involving a giant boomerang...