Who feels like the holidays have become a chore that must be taken care of and gotten though?
Perhaps I'm just having a Scroogey year...but I'm tired of it. Really, just tired of it. It isn't fun. It's dreary and depressing and I have felt badly for about the past two weeks.
I just want to stay home, alone with dh and the kids and have no one else over. It's just too much stress. But, I'll pack up the food, go somewhere else and cook, and try really hard to ignore what I don't like and not have a meltdown.
Next year, I've decided. Thanksgiving is at my house. If I invite anyone, it will be friends.
Last Thanksgiving I was walking on a broken ankle and didn't know it. Christmas I was post-surgery and after needing to have it screwed back on to my tibia...(and doing my care giving from a wheel chair.) My husband was sinking fast. Friends offered to put up my outside and inside decorations and I was too tired tell them where they were or what I wanted. The holidays were just a blur.
This year I'm fine but I'm snowed in and my family can't get to me. I did put up my outside Christmas decorations the day before the storm hit. I usually don't put them up until after Thanksgiving...but I'm glad I jumped the gun this time. ;D
Thank you. It's nice to hear about someone having a better holiday season after a bad one.
Well, I had no way to go but up, G.!
I find the holidays to be quite a work load... If I had to work outside the house I think I'd be swamped by now. Things will be changed up a little this year which will certainly help.. sometimes when it's the same food, same conversation, it does become more of a chore. All in all chore or not, it's worth it to bring some family together who we've missed. The biggest problem for me is that my mil insist on eating by 2.. which means that I have to put the 24lb hefty guy the oven by 8 and I have to have 2 cups of coffee in me before I make that bird feel like he's being groped by a TSA agent.
Quote from: Laurie on November 24, 2010, 06:07:41 PM
I have to have 2 cups of coffee in me before I make that bird feel like he's being groped by a TSA agent.
That made me laugh.
Me. too!! ;D ;D ;D
Glitter, the holidays are very stressful for the vast majority of people. For me they've been particularly sad the past few years because I've already lost all my close relatives. This year I was really looking forward to the season but I guess I got too excited too soon. Hope things take a turn for the best.
I just can't seem to get my mind past the airport security these days.. and I'm not even flying :)
I just ironed and folded the napkins... table is set, breakfast (pumpkin bread) is made.. I really should have put double ovens in this house but I would only use them twice a year, didn't seem worth the expense, I could do so much more without worrying about timing. I have all my serving dishes out and I'm about to wash the potatoes.... whew
Of course my son brought home dirty clothes and I just about have them finished and toilets wiped down... I think I'm ready. Chore? yeah it's a big chore, but I can take the rest of the weekend off and tell them to eat leftovers :)
Oh, yum...turkey sandwiches!! 8)
Quote from: 1Glitterati on November 24, 2010, 05:08:54 PM
Next year, I've decided. Thanksgiving is at my house. If I invite anyone, it will be friends.
I think that's a wonderful idea... Thanksgiving is almost always at my house and I really do prefer it that way... it takes a little more prep but I'm comfortable in my own kitchen.
Glitter have you ever been able to have a holiday with just your immediate family? I'm not even against going out for dinner and then everyone gets to be rested and well fed. Once the kids are not coming home on a regular basis we just might start doing that.. I can cook a turkey any time and who says you have to have enough food to gain 50 pounds at one setting? This Thanksgiving it is a little odd, only having one of my kids home.. Oldest and his wife are staying in NM, and my baby girl is spending her first Turkey day away from home as she is at her bf's.
What's funny is all the moms here are upset with their kids not being home and I almost made her go, as her bf will not have Christmas off of work and this was his only opportunity to visit with his family. They've been out ring shopping, but not yet engaged.. she said that she is waiting for the surprise.. how can you surprise someone when she helped pick out the rings? Anyway.. I hope you do make it just about your family next year and it doesn't have to be traditional. When the kids were little we'd go camping over Thanksgiving, that was always fun.
Oh I know Luise... turkey sandwiches and we are also having a Honey Baked Ham.. now that's living :) or killing ourselves slowly. I always send home a few meals with my in-laws so nothing goes to waste.
I sure hope you get a chance to see your husband, and I'm sorry that he's ill. But I have a feeling that you'll make the best out of the situation and have a blessed holiday.
They let me see him today and he thought I was the one who's been ill. Since it was a nasty bug...a failing memory isn't all bad. We have a lot to be thankful for! :D
Quote from: Laurie on November 24, 2010, 07:42:49 PM
Quote from: 1Glitterati on November 24, 2010, 05:08:54 PM
Next year, I've decided. Thanksgiving is at my house. If I invite anyone, it will be friends.
I think that's a wonderful idea... Thanksgiving is almost always at my house and I really do prefer it that way... it takes a little more prep but I'm comfortable in my own kitchen.
Glitter have you ever been able to have a holiday with just your immediate family? Laurie...I have never had a Thanksgiving in my own home. Never had it with just dh, or just dh and the kids after the kids came. That's what I'm planning for next year. Period.
Anyway.. I hope you do make it just about your family next year and it doesn't have to be traditional. I don't mean to sound like I don't ever want to spend time with my parents. It's just not fun at TGiving. I have to deal with my brother. My dad isn't that social...and my mom usually doesn't feel good because of her health issues. It just seems like so much work and that most of the people there aren't enjoying it. I especially don't want to spend the time with my brother. When the kids were little we'd go camping over Thanksgiving, that was always fun. That does sound like fun!
Camping over Thanksgiving was a blast.. I'd even cook and package a turkey dinner to reheat around the campfire.. weather here is usually mild enough (I'm running the a/c as we speak) DH and I camped every year till the kids came and then continued until his parents moved to the area.. now it hurts to sleep in a tent :) so we were talking about either doing the cruise or just getting a hotel down in Galveston.. I was actually excited this year since it's my first chance to entertain in my new home.
If your extended family isn't getting great memories from the feast day.. then yeah next year make it about you guys.. you won't be sorry.
My DH and I are both kind of scrooges re: the holidays. We like a little of it but not alot. Tommorrow we are going out to dinner at a local restaurant that is also a B & B and lovely. Easy. I'm kind of glad we are not having much social time this thanksgiving since we are coming up your way Luise on Sunday (Seattle) and I'm flying out to India on Tuesday. My SD and GC live there so we will get to visit them before I leave which will be nice. I've been hearing about all the snow in the area.
For couple of years while DH and I were still living in Calif and we went a hotsprings town for Xmas which was so relaxing. After that we seemed more up for traditional holiday again. DH really dislikes the Xmas tree but tolerates me putting up some decorations which is fun we usually see family as well. We are scaling back.
Wishing you a lovely day
I'll be waving at you! Have a marvelous trip!!
Sometimes I think it's the expectations that kill us. That the idea of Thanksgiving has a bright light behind it, a halo and the halleluia chorus in the background. And of course it's not like that. We see lots of images on TV and media about the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving - but please remember that almost NO ONE has that in real life.
I hope I'm not too late on this Glitter, but I love Laurie's idea that it's time to do something different. So bring some games that everyone can play, or else, at least you and the kids can have fun playing Go Fish. Or else, while your meal is cooking, go for a walk and sing songs. Is there a duck pond where you're going? Bring some bread to feed the ducks. Make a faux gingerbread house using cut up cardboard boxes. (My Dad would have loved this, he wasn't comfortable just 'hanging around', but with a project like this, he would have jumped in with both feet.)
Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
DS has always been with his father for holidays, so I usually get to spend them doing whatever I want. Within the next couple of years, I hope to start traveling during holidays (probably renting a car and taking a meandering road trip). I'm not much of a holiday person to begin with, and I'm glad I haven't had to deal with family expectations or any other stress. This Christmas will be stressful, possibly (especially if the whiskey runs out, lol), but next Christmas I fully expect to take a few days off and go driving around somewhere. DS will figure out something to do (there's always going to Aunt SaneSIL's - she loves the holidays and always does a lovely job decorating and entertaining no matter what occasion it is), so I don't really feel any obligation to entertain here.
Dear Elsie,
Love that idea of driving around .
Yeah...I got some nice visuals from that one, too. :)
I have a secret thing for cheap no-name motels (as long as they're clean). There's this wonderful sense of adventure for me in driving with the radio up loud 'til I see an exit I like, finding a little motel for the night (double bonus points if there's a nearby greasy diner or Waffle House!), and then getting back on the road. Most of my friends, and definitely my SIL, prefer well-known chains and making reservations months in advance. If I have a specific event to go to, I agree with that approach, but nothing is more fun for me than random wandering.
Ah, the itchy-foot syndrome! :D I drove alone in a VW bug from Seattle to Key West FL in Dec. when I was in my 40s. 8)
I like that name for it, Luise! And Washington to Florida by yourself sounds wonderful! I just turned 40, but I'm really looking forward to my 40s and beyond - I see it as a time to figure out and do what I want to do without worrying about kids, or whether I'm fitting in with others' expectations for me.
40 to ___ is best! :-)
Things went much better than expected in many ways. My brother was actually not bad to be around. It was nice to see him be "normal". There were some annoyances, but overall the day was much better than expected.
Good to hear Glitter
I'm glad, G. Sending love...
Me too, Glitter. Let's hope the rest of the year is much better than expected as well :)
Quote from: 1Glitterati on November 27, 2010, 06:15:52 AM
Things went much better than expected in many ways. My brother was actually not bad to be around. It was nice to see him be "normal". There were some annoyances, but overall the day was much better than expected.
If no one annoy you at least a little you would have thought that someone took over your families bodies. To me, it's just a part of the family unit, as we all know each other better then any other humans.
Glad you had a good time, we did and to top it off, it finally turned cool here... finally it feels like the holidays