We don't have many plans for the holidays coming up. We are not taking time off of work, we are not going out of town, and we are not hosting for company. And...this makes me very happy. I am not a huge Christmas fan. In fact, it has been uttered on more than one occasion that I am the modern day Scrooge. I hate the present buying and wrapping. I hate trying to figure out what in the hell to buy for the person we never see or talk to. I hate writing Christmas cards. I hate the amount of money we spend on gifts. I hate the teenage expectations and the lack of understanding of what goes into to giving them all of the things they want. I even loath putting up the lights and decorating the tree. It is just not my holiday. I am not sure if I use up all my energy on Halloween and have nothing left for Christmas, or if there is more to it - either way, it isn't for me.
I have mellowed over the years, because this is my husband’s favorite time of year. This makes me want to squish it off the calendar just a little bit less. Why is such a well meaning holiday crammed with so much “have to” stuff? Shouldn’t this be a time of year where we don’t spend money – where we just hang out with family and bond, drink, play games, eat? Oh wait…that is mostly what WE do. Huh. Guess I just hate it anyway. Wow. I am Scrooge, or maybe the Grinch. I like him better anyway.