Does it feel like people just go "through the motions" for Christmas nowadays?

[Success]

"It's a Wonderful Life" still rocks, and rocks hard.

 

[muppy]

7 hours ago, Another Fan said:

I had this conversation about a card our family got.  It said What A Year on it and listed all these members accomplishments for the past year.  I told my folks my first reaction was it’s not subtly bragging about themselves when these are challenging times for many.  Wasn’t in the best taste imo.

 

But then again my personality slants to misanthrope by nature so there’s that 😂

its hard to be humble when yer so danged GOOD eh mate? LOL naww I like the brag letters... I used to get a few a year. But I havent mailed cards in a few years and I doubt I'll be receiving many. Its kind of blase, its too bad. Postage is expensive too.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

I can't relate. 

 

We have our Christmas traditions

We have our kid home from College, debating which cookies to bake and arguing about whether to put white chocolate chips in the Mocha Cookies.

We get to celebrate with my Mom this year instead of being unable to bring her here for a celebration.  That's huge.

We have a warm, dry, relatively clean house and enough money for fits we've tried to be thoughtful about and match to each person's needs/wants

 

It feels very special and precious to me.

 

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

I can't relate. 

 

We have our Christmas traditions

We have our kid home from College, debating which cookies to bake and arguing about whether to put white chocolate chips in the Mocha Cookies.

We get to celebrate with my Mom this year instead of being unable to bring her here for a celebration.  That's huge.

We have a warm, dry, relatively clean house and enough money for fits we've tried to be thoughtful about and match to each person's needs/wants

 

It feels very special and precious to me.

 

That's awesome!  That's the way it should be....Merry Christmas!

[Just Jack]

We haven't really had a weekend free since late October to really enjoy the season.  So this year it feels kind of lame.  

[BillsFan4]

It took me a bit longer than normal to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Not exactly sure why. It just seemed to come up really fast this year. Actually, the entire year seemed to go by fast IMO. Plus there’s not really any snow here for Christmas this year. 
 

Ive definitely been more in the Christmas spirit the last few days, and I’m very excited that we get to have our Christmas party this year! We couldn’t do it last year. We did it all via Zoom. We’re keeping the party small, and all of us are vaccinated (+ most of us are boosted). So we’re still being cautious but it sure is nice to be able to get together this year!

 

 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! And happy holidays!

[TheCockSportif]

I felt this way about Christmas 2020.  It was just so... off.  I wasn't feeling 2021 either until a couple of weeks ago.  My wife has been working on -- not one, but two -- SCOTUS cases, and it's meant 7-day work weeks -- for months.  I joined a startup over the summer and I've been flat out as well.  Thankfully SCOTUS relented on the second case, and she got an extension until January.  So at least she was able to come up and breathe for a couple of weeks, so she took two weeks off, and here we are.  My company gave us all next week off, paid, which is amazing.

 

Once the Christmas stuff came upstairs, and we started playing all of the classic vinyl as we started decorating, it all came together.  It's been a really great holiday season overall.

[BillsPride12]

Update:  Just got home from my last Christmas party and I will say everything came together over the last few days and felt much more "Chrismassy".  All in all I did enjoy myself and was able to get into the Christmas spirit afterall....just seemed like it took awhile to get warmed up this year lol.  Thanks for all the replies and good conversation in this thread.  Merry Christmas to all of you!  

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

Update:  Just got home from my last Christmas party and I will say everything came together over the last few days and felt much more "Chrismassy".  All in all I did enjoy myself and was able to get into the Christmas spirit afterall....just seemed like it took awhile to get warmed up this year lol.  Thanks for all the replies and good conversation in this thread.  Merry Christmas to all of you!  

 

I was almost dreading this Christmas because wen were so unprepared. In the last  few weeks/months we’ve bought a new house, recently moved (last week) and sold two other houses. Details and moving damn near killed us, especially my wife the detail person (who still works a very demanding job). 

 

Our son was in FL with his in-laws and their huge family. It was just me, the wife and my 94 year old mom. No tree as we’re just getting out of boxes. Just a few presents for my mom, and a couple restaurant gift certificates she got for us. Still, we got her to Mass, we got some great Christmas music on Pandora today, made a nice meal and it was VERY special. At her age, you have to appreciate it just the way you do when they are little. Each and every Christmas is precious. I hope she’s here with us next year when we can have the full experience and do it right. 

 

Side note: I don’t need any more “stuff”. I like keeping it VERY simple, but trading stuff for experiences. Take a short trip, or a big one. Go see something new. My sisters have done this with their families for years, and they never end up taking those memories to Goodwill. 

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

I was almost dreading this Christmas because wen were so unprepared. In the last  few weeks/months we’ve bought a new house, recently moved (last week) and sold two other houses. Details and moving damn near killed us, especially my wife the detail person (who still works a very demanding job). 

 

Our son was in FL with his in-laws and their huge family. It was just me, the wife and my 94 year old mom. No tree as we’re just getting out of boxes. Just a few presents for my mom, and a couple restaurant gift certificates she got for us. Still, we got her to Mass, we got some great Christmas music on Pandora today, made a nice meal and it was VERY special. At her age, you have to appreciate it just the way you do when they are little. Each and every Christmas is precious. I hope she’s here with us next year when we can have the full experience and do it right. 

 

Side note: I don’t need any more “stuff”. I like keeping it VERY simple, but trading stuff for experiences. Take a short trip, or a big one. Go see something new. My sisters have done this with their families for years, and they never end up taking those memories to Goodwill. 

I can totally understand that, when you have that much on your plate it would be challenging for anybody to pull off a major Christmas celebration.

 

But I think you hit the nail on the head Christmas is much more about the simple pleasures and counting your blessings.  One of my favorite parts of the last two days was getting to spend some time with my siblings that I don't get to see too often these days and reminiscing over great memories from past Christmases because no matter how crazy and hectic life gets the memories you have created over the years can never be taken away.  

 

My family exchanges gifts but we don't go overboard.  I look forward to picking out gifts for everybody else much more than receiving stuff but I did get some cool things that I was very appreciate for.  

[LeGOATski]

Halloween and Thanksgiving have always been so much better. They're all about getting together with friends and family to feast and have fun without the obnoxious commercialization. That all ends on Black Friday where people start fighting each other over toys.

[muppy]

well BILLS Sunday against the pats* aka the day after Christmas day. I love this thread 🙂

 

all of us have our lives outside of 2bd and this fellowship exists, communication on a level that doesn't easily happen in person KUDOS #awesome

 

I have one thought after reading all the comments above. If you want to bring some Christmas spirit into your life, or even just plain goodwill if Christmas isn't your thing....Buy an extra package of 12 white athletic socks next time at Costco. Then you get a pack of paper lunch sacks from 99 cents store , buy  a 12 pack of soda, box of assorted wrapped chips. Buy 24 hot dugs and buns, cook those, wrap in foil with some ketchup and mustard, make up 12 bags, 2 hot dogs, 1 of each rest,  put a hard candy in just because.....Just like that and drop them with needy folks, panhandlers, homeless hangouts.....

 

They will so appreciate and You will have put positivity into YOUR life as well as theirs.

 

we have done it with bagels and cream cheese, a piece of fruit and a bottle of water too.

 

no homeless  missions with our church due to covid  but this is a solo enterprise of love.

 

if no hot dogs then ham, PB & J etc

 

PS: Christmas day is a snooze in my house we are pretty wiped after all the eve celebrations. Today is of course FOOTBALL. GO BILLS!~!~!~!!!!!!

 

m

[Another Fan]

20 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

I can totally understand that, when you have that much on your plate it would be challenging for anybody to pull off a major Christmas celebration.

 

But I think you hit the nail on the head Christmas is much more about the simple pleasures and counting your blessings.  One of my favorite parts of the last two days was getting to spend some time with my siblings that I don't get to see too often these days and reminiscing over great memories from past Christmases because no matter how crazy and hectic life gets the memories you have created over the years can never be taken away.  

 

My family exchanges gifts but we don't go overboard.  I look forward to picking out gifts for everybody else much more than receiving stuff but I did get some cool things that I was very appreciate for.  

Glad it sounds like this went well.  And hey our team gave us a big present today.  Some fans were expecting it, I wasn't lol

 

Christmas Day wasn't bad for me either, felt the lead up was worse

 

Yes priorities changed a lot for me was well.  My favorite moments of the holiday season were reaching out to a co-worker I hadn't talked to in over a year and getting a Christmas card back in an e-mail from her.  This and reaching out to one of my mom's cousin's the family sort of lost track of and getting back warm wishes as well