Thursday, December 13, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #6: Things I Hate About Christmas

  1. Buying gifts out of obligation. Like for my in-laws. Ugh. We don't see them with even the slightest of regularity and they don't like me. It sucks to buy gifts for someone with whom you share a mutual dislike. Sucks.
  2. The hustle and bustle. I thought this was supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus, not a shop-a-thon and go-into-debt-a-thon?
  3. Cards. Okay, so maybe I don't hate Christmas cards but I hate having to reciprocate them. I send them to the 30-40 people I like and then have to continue mailing them back to Great Aunt PainInTheAss so I don't hurt her feelings or cause family nuclear war.
  4. Keeping up with the Joneses. In my neighborhood, if one house does lights than the whole neighborhood has to and then it is a race after the 25th to remove them the fastest.
  5. Wrapping. 'Nuff said? I used to approach gift wrapping with zeal and lots and lots of ribbon and loveliness. Now that I have children and have to wrap 4 bazillion gifts in secret? I'll wrap the little buggers in toilet paper and use duct tape; for some embellishment I might fish the TP out of the garbage.
  6. Lying to my kid. Santa started out as a magical way to create excitement. Now? She is seven and questioning me all over the place about the big fat red guy. I keep lying. And hate. every. second. of. it.
  7. The "perfect" gift. Is there one? And if you hit it once, can you ever achieve that again? I am exhausted at trying to find just the gift for each person. What happened to the thought behind it counting??
  8. The "are they going to show up with a gift?" fretting. Don't you hate this? Worrying that your sort of good friend Ann who you rarely see will pop in on the 24th at 7pm with a gift for you and you won't have one in return. No wonder there are more suicides at this time of year!
  9. Parties. All right, I am all for a little booze and a reason to take off the sweats but, seriously, folks, let's spread them out a little, 'kay? I have nothing to do from January through October, how's about we get together one of those months?
  10. The baking. Admittedly, I don't bake. My husband does it. I help but he does most of the work. The problem, however, is I can't keep the stuff out of my mouth! Snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, peanut blossoms, oh, my!
  11. Family crap. Okay, so trying to make everyone happy at this time of year is impossible. My mother expects our family to get together for dinner and gift opening on the 24th. Fine. But, then we have to get together again on the 25th for visiting and lunch. What?! This is because my husband's parents are virtually out of the picture and my sister-in-law doesn't have parents, so my mom thinks she can monopolize the entire two days. I have tried to put my foot down but it doesn't work. I want to spend time with my husband and kids. Visiting her shouldn't be expected; I should do it because I want to!
  12. Excess. I love to buy stuff for my daughter and, now, my son. I do. But, at what point is it too much? I don't want them to be spoiled little brats who expect these extravagant gifts but, yet, I still do it. I worry I am going to raise kids who won't be appreciative.
  13. The let down. Inevitably, it happens. Whether it is because you disappointed someone by not getting him/her the right gift or just the build-up to it didn't really match the thrill of the day. When Christmas is over, I always feel a little down. A little disappointed that it is over and that I didn't nail something or other.

I should say that I really love Christmas. I do. These are just a few of the things that tarnish the excitement and wonder of this time of year. Think about it, we all have a few things associated with this time of year that we hate. Admit it. I did. That's why we blog, isn't it? To commiserate with others; sharing the good, bad and ugly of life?

Here are some more Thursday Thirteen lists you may enjoy!

16 comments:

jenn said...

Two out of my three kids no longer believe, and last year when my son thanked me for all his gifts, man, that just made all the craziness worth it.
Happy tt!

Sharon said...

I can relate to many of these. Though I DO enjoy wrapping, for some odd reason. ;) Buying for the in-laws, now THAT IS difficult.
Hope you do have a merry Christmas, though!

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

You totally (TOTALLY) nailed this list Toni. You had me at Buying gifts out of obligation. For in-laws. UGGGGh. *le sigh*

Rachel said...

Those are all things that I agree with. I HATE worrying if your friend is going to get you (or your child) a gift. I have resorted to out and out saying. "no gifts!" We will see if it works. I also have worried about the excess with my child. He won't even notice or care if there is less than some other kid is getting.. I thinmk I want to buy more for me. Great list!

Rian Fike said...

One of the reasons we blog the negative stuff is to purge it from our systems so we can enjoy the holiday even more! Now yours will be grand.

Head Gaggler said...

Yeah I am REALLY with you on this list. The excess is crazy. I need a bigger house to find room for all the stuff.

DIXIECHICK said...

Oh, hon...I couldn't agree with you more..the one I hate the most is the shopping/wrapping...in my household, we only buy for the kids...hubby and I don't even exchange gifts..since we have four kids, we kind of have to do it that way..the older they get, the more expensive it gets...
Great job on the list!

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

You're list is soooo on the money! I love Christmas and all that goes along with it,too, but it really does feel like it's being pimped! Maybe it's because I'm getting older and more cynical, I don't know. Guess we have to make the holiday what we want it to be, not what we think it ought to be.

Kellan said...

That is a pretty darn good and accuate list - I would agree with just about every one of those - especially the excess and the let down. Take care and I'll see you soon. Kellan

Patois42 said...

A fine idea for a list. And I can relate to too many of them to admit to!

Nicholas said...

#3 is interesting. People send cards to people they don’t much like, and seldom actually see, who in turn feel they have to send a card in return. And so it goes on year after year because no one wants to be the one to say “Hold on a moment! Why are we doing this when we couldn’t care less about each other?”

The Egel Nest said...

Regarding #1...

How could anyone not like you???

Bradley
The Egel Nest

Cynthia said...

Ugh, I'm with you...I hate all the family crap, not to be mean but go home!

Unknown said...

Preach it sister. Esp. the family crap. I drink a lot more during the holidays for this very reason. IN LAWs? UGH

Melanie said...

I love Christmas but I can totally relate to you on everything- even the in-laws part.

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

Great list and well said.I am with you on a lot of these things -not that I want to suck the joy out of Christmas but some of these things suck the joy and loving out.#2 rocks.