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Feeling scroogy this year
I used to love Christmas. I loved the decorating, the delicious baking, and the carols. I used to decorate the house to where it looked like Christmas threw up.
Last year was the first year I didn't spend it with my family and it ended up being really nice. But this year, I'm blah. I don't have any interest in decorating or listening to carols or shopping. It feels so commercial and not exciting to me. Is it because I'm getting older/don't have any kids around us to make it fun/not around my family?
I think part of my issue is 1) I won't see my family in CA, which is my own faullt, but still sucks and 2) Will be spending the holiday with only MIL and T because his brother and wife will be with her family. No kids to hang out with and only a MIL who is upset and a big ball of stress because she doesn't think her Xmas dinner will come out ok and is afraid that we'll hate our presents. I don't want presents at all.
How can I make it fun again?
Re: Feeling scroogy this year
Decorate? Maybe once you get going you'll remember the things you liked about it? For me, one of the things I love is just the atmosphere that is created in our home: candles, pretty lights, Christmas music. It just becomes an enjoyable place to be.
I'm sorry things are so blah this year.
I'm not a Christmas person, BUT I can sympathize with that general feeling. I think it's fine if you don't go all out for one year - maybe you just need a break, or maybe you're outgrowing some of your old traditions? I don't know. But I'd try to find something, even if it's small, that excited me about the holiday this year so that I could look forward to it.
Even though Christmas dinner itself won't be that exciting, what about doing something fun with T sometime during the holiday? Could you guys go home, do a fun movie marathon, build a fire and drink hot chocolate? Would buying him something really special (not necessarily expensive) excite you and make you happy, since you can anticipate his reaction? Would you feel good about volunteering somewhere for part of the holiday?
If you feel like it's gotten too commercial, what about going through the house and seeing if you have some clothes or other items you can donate to charity? How about going out to buy a few toys or coats and donating those - there are lots of those holiday drives right now. I know doing things like that can make me feel like I'm doing something small for the world, and can help out of a funk.
This is me this year too. Christmas was my favorite holiday before my Mom died because of all the stuff we enjoyed doing together. And now it almost seems pointless. So I'm trying to start my own little traditions that make me still feel like its Christmas. I'm still going to put up my parents Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and decorate their house. Not as much as we used too but I'm still going to do it. I'm going to buy my brother and myself a new ornament like she always did and I'm going to start buying a special ornament for my Dad's tree in memory of her.
I hope you can find Christmas this year.
I occasionally feel like I need to take a year off. Last year I didn't decorate. We went to San Diego and my mom only decorated minimally. It was nice and relaxing and it was nice to not come home to a bunch of decorations that had to come down.
This year, I'm READY!!!! I'm ready to start decorating NOW! I'm thinking about how nice it will be to switch out our dishes for the Spode Christmas Tree and how I could start putting lights and wreaths up. I'm looking forward to getting a tree. I'm really excited about it. (and I know that Q won't be into it so, that's not it)
I've had several Christmases 'off' one of my favorites of all time was when my mom and I went on vacation. We stayed in a really nice hotel that was all decorated and we got all the 'fun' of Christmas without all the work.
I am kinda feeling scroogy this year too.
I am reminding myself how much I enjoy the traditions DH and I have started. One thing we do every year is pick 4 kids and buy all their Christmas gifts (Angel Tree via Salvation Army). It is a lot of fun, and DH and I really enjoy the hunt for the perfect lego set and the perfect baby doll.
Why not go for a quick getaway or maybe bake something?
I felt exactly how you felt last year. Once I started baking and pulling out the stockings, I got into the spirit but I did not go all out.
But when you see someone do this, how can you NOT get in the mood?
I've felt pretty scroogy for years because my family was a mess/factioned up after my parents' divorce so we had to do like 3 Christmases just with my family, not to mention squeeze BF/FI/DH's in, too. And my dad was ill and then passed away within that time, too. One year my drug addict brother had a grand mal seizure on Christmas Day. One year he was in rehab for Christmas. Both DH's and my grandma passed away around Thanksgiving within the last few years. Drew was bed bound during the holidays one year. Christmas hasn't felt fun in a really long time for me. I am hoping that this year will be different. We finally have room for a Christmas tree after 6 years of having a medical bed in the living room.It sounds little but it's a HUGE deal for me.
And in the last couple of years my family has done a lot of healing so we can now do just one Christmas with my family and one with DH's. For Thanksgiving this year we're trying doing just one with both families (although my grandpa won't be coming because he's had trouble sitting for that long, which has me really bummed out). DH and I are the oldest in our families, with no kids and none of our siblings are even married, so there are no little ones around either. Once you've become an adult and have experienced the break up of a family, disease, death, self destructive behavior, etc... the innocence of the holidays can disappear. But you can also use it as a time to celebrate everything you've made it through, too. Drew and I do have little traditions that we do and have managed to maintain even when he was laid up like watching the Grinch and Charlie Brown. We sing along with all the songs. If he was able to be out we always drive around to look at the lights. I think doing for those less fortunate is also a great way to appreciate what you have even if it's been a crappy year.
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