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Thread: Crappy Christmas one and all

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
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    Crappy Christmas one and all

    We’ll it’s that time of year again where we all live the life of an M&S advert , laughing and pulling crackers round the Christmas dinner table then outside to sing carols in the fresh snow , needle scratches across the record and reality takes over , a lot of Christmas’s are more like The Pogues Fairytale of New York video .
    Dont get me wrong my idea of a perfect Christmas is having all my family round eating and drinking too much and watching a cheesy Christmas film together , the reality very rarely goes this way , people who are ill will still be ill over Christmas , baby Jesus doesn’t wave his magic wand and everyone is okay for a while , mental illness doesn’t take a holiday.
    I desperately want to have a good Christmas and most of all give my friends and family a good Christmas after all it is more about giving than receiving, but that little bug in my head wants to ruin it before it’s started , a little worry about loved ones being poorly or falling out will soon snowball into a Christmas horror .
    Take today , we put our tree up and decorated it , an hour later one leg broke on a brand new tree and it went crashing to the floor breaking glass baubles everywhere, we tidied up and a short while later my partner rushed to the toilet and returned to say she was passing blood again , it didn’t fill me with Christmas spirit .
    Its been a tough 18 months for most of us , some have had it worse than others , my depression would love to take over and my anxiety is itching to ruin Christmas but for now I still have breath in my body so I’m not quite giving up on the concept of a happy Christmas.
    If it’s shite there is always this place so we won’t be alone in our misery , it does love company apparently.
    Tomorrow I’ll be taking that freakin’ tree back for another and if they argue they’ll be on top of the next one like a fairy with a tree up the jacksie .
    Happy Christmas

  2. #2
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    May 2021
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    Personally I'm trying not to expect too much. It's my first Christmas without my mum, my sister isn't speaking to my husband and my stepdad is having Christmas dinner with them, so seeing them on Christmas day is a no no.

    The good news is our son is coming home for Christmas (and his birthday) and I'm just going to try and make the most of it. Yes I probably won't feel great, yes a lot of emotions will get churned up. But I'm trying to prepare myself for it, so I'm feeling hopeful it won't be too much of an emotional disaster.

  3. #3
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    As much as these days I don't buy into a lot of the relentless hype surrounding Christmas, and while I don't get the same kicks from it as I did when I was younger, I just have a 'take it as it comes' attitude in anticipation of each festive season.

    Some people just happen to be more unlucky than others, and often simply by chance, which is a fact of life. Plus bad luck can occur pretty much any time of the year, not just Christmas.

  4. #4
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    Mar 2014
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    You can join our crimbo table if you want but...no pulling your cracker
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  5. #5
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    Christmas Day has changed a lot for me since my mum and dad passed. I'd always be 'Driving home for Christmas' to the tune of Chris Rea. Mum would be in her element decorating the table and making far too many puds and desserts. We'd exchange presents and adorn those paper hats that always split down the side reading jokes that made you go "Urr" and scrutinising our miniature cracker contents. Then we'd crash on the sofa for about 6 hours of festive tv and films.
    Now, I shamefully don't even bother with a table and have skipped the turkey feast and opted for steak on a tray in front of the tv, which actually worked out cheaper. I stopped buying crackers and left the hassle of cooking Christmas pud in the past. The relations don't bother with contacting me anymore and Christmas cards no longer arrive through the letterbox. I've moved 3 times since mum passed so not familiar with the neighbours to get invites. Plus where we live, not much happens, unlike London where you can do just about anything day or night. We don't have a cinema and restaurants close at 9pm and traditional pubs have been replaced with fast food microwave dinners. So being just the two of us we have what you call a glorified Sunday. Luxury dinner, film fest, a walk if we can manage it and reflect on past years. Although this year I have ordered turkey, mainly because it gives out that Christmassy feeling. Plus the cat likes it.
    I think it's best not to expect too much. It's just a day of festivities and I'm more inclined now to thank my lucky stars I'm still alive and kicking and made it through another year.

  6. #6
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    Quote Originally Posted by Carnation View Post
    Christmas Day has changed a lot for me since my mum and dad passed. I'd always be 'Driving home for Christmas' to the tune of Chris Rea. Mum would be in her element decorating the table and making far too many puds and desserts. We'd exchange presents and adorn those paper hats that always split down the side reading jokes that made you go "Urr" and scrutinising our miniature cracker contents. Then we'd crash on the sofa for about 6 hours of festive tv and films.
    Now, I shamefully don't even bother with a table and have skipped the turkey feast and opted for steak on a tray in front of the tv, which actually worked out cheaper. I stopped buying crackers and left the hassle of cooking Christmas pud in the past. The relations don't bother with contacting me anymore and Christmas cards no longer arrive through the letterbox. I've moved 3 times since mum passed so not familiar with the neighbours to get invites. Plus where we live, not much happens, unlike London where you can do just about anything day or night. We don't have a cinema and restaurants close at 9pm and traditional pubs have been replaced with fast food microwave dinners. So being just the two of us we have what you call a glorified Sunday. Luxury dinner, film fest, a walk if we can manage it and reflect on past years. Although this year I have ordered turkey, mainly because it gives out that Christmassy feeling. Plus the cat likes it.
    I think it's best not to expect too much. It's just a day of festivities and I'm more inclined now to thank my lucky stars I'm still alive and kicking and made it through another year.
    You're right Carnation, it's best not to expect too much and take every Christmas season as it comes.

    Ditto for holidays (as in vacations).

    After all, it's what we personally make of such events that's most important, so I will never be a killjoy and write off all things Christmas.

    As for the Chris Rea song, I don't personally mind it and give me that any time over that dreaded Slade song which makes me want to have epic meltdowns every time my eardrums are assaulted by it, which ironically was one of the advantages of lockdown last Christmas, as I didn't have to hear it out in public!

    Probably because 'DHFC' is one of the 'newer' Christmas hits (post-1985) that's still less overplayed than almost all of those that came before, especially those from the 70s. It's only been over more recent years that said song has become more appreciated and has actually entered the UK Top 20 for the first time ever, unlike back in 1988 upon its original release it charted quite lowly as a single in its own right.

  7. #7
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    It's less in your face Lencoboy. It can be playing in background without even noticing its Christmas rant.
    I think the worst thing about the chart Christmas songs is starting the so early, but worse than that is hearing them when you are not part of a party full of joy and happiness and actually feeling quite low and depressed. It's like rubbing salt in the wound with a cherry on top.

  8. #8
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    Quote Originally Posted by Carnation View Post
    It's less in your face Lencoboy. It can be playing in background without even noticing its Christmas rant.
    I think the worst thing about the chart Christmas songs is starting the so early, but worse than that is hearing them when you are not part of a party full of joy and happiness and actually feeling quite low and depressed. It's like rubbing salt in the wound with a cherry on top.
    I agree with you Carnation.

    The radio stations, shops, pubs, etc that start playing them too early will probably just lazily assume it's because it's what most people want, just like the overkill on TV with endless on-screen captions and unnecessary din of background music that often detracts from the actual subject matter of the programmes concerned.

    But by the same token, those doing all the moaning and groaning about such things often end up being accused of being killjoys, spoilsports and told to 'get a life'!

    Also, there's plenty of non-Christmas songs of which I would derive great pleasure from grabbing their vinyl records and/or CDs and tossing them into hell, but I won't elaborate on them in this thread.

  9. #9
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    I think there is so much about Christmas that makes us feel what we 'should' be doing. As Buster alluded to with M&S, you have TV adverts that show huge family gatherings where every member, right down to the family cat, is in a state of sublime bliss. No arguments, no awkward silences, no burnt turkey with smoke alarms going off, just a state of nirvana where everything goes perfectly.

    While we can be objective upon viewing these adverts and other similar prompts, over time and if repeated enough, they sink in on a deeper level so that we end up with a sense of failure and/or unhappiness.

    Past Christmases have a tendency to become refreshed in our minds too. Some we remember as genuinely happy times, a few from my early childhood and mid to late teens are fond memories for me. But some were not so pleasant, Christmas 1985 was the worst I can recall and thankfully is frozen in time.
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  10. #10
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    Re: Crappy Christmas one and all

    I was happy we got to see my aunt and uncle over Thanksgiving, as we didn't get to see them at all last year. Also got to have my brother, his wife, and my 2 year old nephew, which was both exhausting and fun. They go to my sister-in-law's for Christmas, so we did presents over Thanksgiving.

    Christmas we usually go to my other aunt's house, but my cousins will likely be there and they are antivax, and my aunt hangs out with other antivaxers as well....so we probably won't be going. My aunt that was here for Thanksgiving isn't really comfortable going either.

    So, looks like Christmas will be just me and my parents, but I get the week from Christmas to New Year's off, so I will be doing a lot of hiking with my dog, no matter the weather. That's something to look forward to, even if I do wish I could go to the bar district for New Year's!
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