Poll: The Holidays

[Tenacious_D]

So true!!! I think someone needs to make a holiday card that says "Happy Appease Your Parents Day" but really you wont in the end because you can never give enough.

[DCJenn]

This year- it's a hoop. Maybe next year things will be calm enough to do it right.

Jenn

(and by do it right i mean make a fab meal that involves condiments and bread and wine and desserts. This year I'm hoping to slap together a bologna and cheese sandwich...)

We don't have much of the 'appease your parents' thing since my dad doesn't care and dh's parents are Hindu. I get mixed emotions b/c Christmas was my mom's favorite time of the year, and I feel like I need to do it right and make Christmas special for my kids. But I still get overwhelmed by the $ involved, work involved, etc. -- all for 1 day.

[pstone]

We just have quiet small family stuff, it is a hoop this year, and probably then next few because of residency.

When she is an attending with the week off, I will go back to loving it!

[Flynn]

We don't do the "apease the parents thing" either.

We also have kids so that's a great excuse for not hopping around.
With DH's job we never had time off at Xmas anyway.

[Sheherezade]

We don't appease. When we had kids (and DH was in residency) we told both sides we planned on staying home for Christmas. They've never bothered us about it. Now, of course, it's starting to bug DH because he's wondering why they don't visit us. Of course, they don't want to do that because "Who wants to travel and run around like that at Christmas? " :thud:


I don't think "the parents" get it.

[Vanquisher]

I have great memories growing up, and now that we have kids, it's all about our family. My parents and his parents can conform to us, or tough.

We did watch Christmas Vacation the other night. So many good lines.

"Well, I'm sleeping with your father. Don't be so dramatic."

We also have kids so that's a great excuse for not hopping around.

One of the perks of having kids. If you dying to see your grandchildren unwrap their new, light-up gizmo (that I'll toss when nobody's looking) then get your candy canes over here. Just don't forget the egg nog.

I agree completely. I usually get a little overwhelmed and bah-humbugish about the holidays but I have not as much this year.

I'm doing some soul-searching to figure out why so I can replicate this feeling next year.

Here's what I have come up with:
1. I love watching my kids enjoy the holidays. They aren't into the present side of things so much and that is the great thing. My 3yo is starting to "get it" with the decorations and lights and that is fun to see. She asks me to "turn on Christmas" or plug the lights in for the tree. If that is turning on Christmas, I'm all for it.

2. The upside of being pregnant with a due date close to Christmas -- I got a bunch of stuff done beforehand. Maybe I got a little OCD about getting it all done but it's not nearly as stressful.

3. Along those lines, we can't travel. Well, not realistically. We knew DH couldn't take vacation around then because we wouldn't/couldn't want to travel with a newborn or with me 40 weeks pg. What a weight off our shoulders. I'm really liking the idea of staying at home and not feeling like we need to go anywhere.

4. Also related to being pg. I have limited energy to do all the "stuff" so we have had to talk about our priorities and top choices (see Santa, get a tree, make cookies etc). I don't think we would have talked about this otherwise and probably tried to cram too much in.

Now I just have to remember all of this for next year!



Todd Chester: Hey Griswold. Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?
Clark: Bend over and I'll show you.
Todd Chester: You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that Griswold.
Clark: [looking at his wife, Margo] I wasn't talking to you.