Do you still look forward to Christmas every year.

miamee

I loved Christmas as a child (who didn't?) then lost the feeling for a few years but I do generally love it and the run up to it as well. I like to do things to increase the festive spirit so we've a trip to Christmas markets in Dusseldorf planned for early December, that will be fun.

It's my baby nephew's first Christmas which will be great fun though he'll ony be 6 months old, a bit young to understand what's happening yet! I should have had a little niece celebrating her first Christmas this year too but she didn't make it so there will be a little sadness too

Still looking forward to the whole season though

SarahLil

Great posts everyone I've enjoyed reading every single one of them
I've always enjoyed Christmas, each different from the next so to speak but lots of traditions still going
Last year was my first time to cook I cooked for us in my mothers, this year I plan to have it in our house and take my mother to stay with us

I literally can't wait now for the season

branie2

Of course I do :-)

Ghekko

For the most part I have loved Christmas over the years. I loved present shopping and getting presents. That aspect has changed in recent years and now having to buy gifts for others wrecks my head! I love Santa shopping and that's about it. I have had a few close family members die and in those years Christmas was just so sad and it was hard to put on a happy face. I love putting up the decorations early in December - may as well make the most out of them :-)

Ghekko

miamee wrote: »

It's my baby nephew's first Christmas which will be great fun though he'll ony be 6 months old, a bit young to understand what's happening yet! I should have had a little niece celebrating her first Christmas this year too but she didn't make it so there will be a little sadness too

Still looking forward to the whole season though

So sorry to hear about your niece. I lost our firstborn some years ago in December. I can tell you that Christmas was horrendous. The longing to have my baby and the physical pain of not being able to hold him. It was an awkward time for the family too I'm sure. Hope you don't mind me suggesting to include your niece in someway - be it getting a decoration for her parents with her name, or donating a few euro to a relevant charity in her honour. It means a lot to us to have our son acknowledged. Take care.

miamee

Ghekko wrote: »

So sorry to hear about your niece. I lost our firstborn some years ago in December. I can tell you that Christmas was horrendous. The longing to have my baby and the physical pain of not being able to hold him. It was an awkward time for the family too I'm sure. Hope you don't mind me suggesting to include your niece in someway - be it getting a decoration for her parents with her name, or donating a few euro to a relevant charity in her honour. It means a lot to us to have our son acknowledged. Take care.

Thanks Ghekko, I'm so sorry to hear about your son also.

That is a nice idea, I had planned on getting them something but will include baby as part of the present if I can. Things are still difficult for them, naturally enough.

branie2

I'll have to start my Christmas shopping soon.

Vojera

I love Christmas! The last few years in particular, since I got married and my wife and I started spending Christmas Day together rather than with our respective families. We alternate between her crowd and my crowd now. No kids for us, but we have a gaggle of nieces to keep us going and they bring such cheer. Not that we need kids around to make it Christmassy, but they definitely help.

I know people will think this is crazy early, but I have my first thoughts about Christmas around July of each year :eek: The reason for that is that I make eggnog as gifts for a good few people, so around July I make an approximate list and calculate how much booze I need to buy and from then start buying a bottle or two of bourbon/rum every month. Helps spread out the cost as it's an expensive habit.

After that, I put it to bed for a while but I have it in the back of my mind in case I see gifts for our nieces or anything. From September-ish, though, I usually start filling up my calendar with all the meet-ups that happen during the Christmas season (e.g. college friends, delivering eggnog and gingerbread to various people, work Christmas night) and I start listening for hints for gifts.

I understand why some people don't enjoy the season, but to me it's all about spending time with the people you love, making the effort to catch up and reminding people that you appreciate them.

freshpopcorn

Vojera wrote: »

.

I know people will think this is crazy early, but I have my first thoughts about Christmas around July of each year :eek: T

Nothing is crazy around here!

Posy

That's definitely not early, by our standards!

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I used to be absolutely Christmas mad, would be counting down from the middle of the year! But the year my dad died I lost all of the love I had for Christmas, and it was like that for the next couple of years. But in the last year or two it’s come back, and is growing each year

gypsylee

BDJW wrote: »

I used to be absolutely Christmas mad, would be counting down from the middle of the year! But the year my dad died I lost all of the love I had for Christmas, and it was like that for the next couple of years. But in the last year or two it’s come back, and is growing each year

This is me this year. My Dad died in June and I am finding it hard this year. Going to make the best of it and hopefully next Christmas will be better cos I really love everything about the Christmas season.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

gypsylee wrote: »

This is me this year. My Dad died in June and I am finding it hard this year. Going to make the best of it and hopefully next Christmas will be better cos I really love everything about the Christmas season.

Sorry to hear about your dad . This year will definitely be tough, but hopefully you will be able to enjoy some of it. Plenty of time spent with friends and family, and make sure to look after yourself

SarahLil

gypsylee wrote: »

This is me this year. My Dad died in June and I am finding it hard this year. Going to make the best of it and hopefully next Christmas will be better cos I really love everything about the Christmas season.

Sorry to hear about your father
I was in a similar position last year it can be very tough, mixed emotions,
BDJW is right have plenty of family and friends around you and be kind to yourself, take care

valoren

Some of my best and worst memories are Christmas related. I remember Christmas Eve in 1984 when 'Last Christmas' was the hit single. I was just turned 4 and one of my earliest memories is sleeping Christmas Eve with my mother. She was cuddling into me and I remember feeling comfortable, safe and completely loved. I will always remember that. It's my own personal memory. I got a 'Poppel' that Christmas, my taste for gifts not becoming sophisticated until the following Christmas.

I really wanted a bike and I was sure Santy would bring me one. This was in the 80's during some bleak economic times. My mother tried to persuade me to get something else. She would invent a litany of excuses to try and dissuade me from wanting a bike, an expensive present for the time. Santa wouldn't be able to fit it down the chimney was the most used reason but I was undeterred. When Christmas morning came, there under the tree was a bike. I was euphoric and loved Santy for coming through. In reality, it was my mother who was the unsung hero, having to scrimp and save to prevent me from a crushing disappointment.

The rest of the 80's were great while still a 'believer'. Then when reality hit, Christmas presents came in line with teenage wants such as a Sega Mega Drive. In 1995, aged 14. I was hounding again for a particular present. This time it was for Mortal Kombat 2. I just had to have it. It was £50. An exorbitant price beyond my own means. Again, not wanting to disappoint me, I ground my mother down until she relented. The absolute guilt from hounding her to pay £50 coupled with the reality that the game itself was completely rubbish, had a big psychological impact on me which continues to this day. She spent the £50, a not insignificant sum for a computer game. And for me alone. To this day, I become riddled with guilt when given Christmas presents, or gifts of any kind for that matter. I trace it back to that Christmas in 95. I derive far more enjoyment from gifting than receiving. For me that is the best gift.

Christmas during the late 90's and through the 00's were the years of hating, dreading Christmas. My dad, would invariably use the Christmas period to indulge himself with alcohol to put it mildly. Christmas was the perfect excuse. Anyone who has lived with an alcoholic parent will know the feeling. One particularly memorable Christmas Day in 2006, was spent wrestling him, pissed as a fart on whiskey, to the ground. We had to hide his car keys from him. He wanted to drive, in the state he was in, to the local garage for more drink. Every Christmas, he would get drunk and start an argument. It didn't take long for me to hate Christmas Day to that end. The best thing about Christmas during that time was meeting up with old friends from school and college. Nothing could beat the regular pub crawls we made in the cold weather at Christmas. As the years went by, attendances naturally dwindled.

Since 1992, with my two brothers and my cousin we established what quickly became a tradition of going to the city centre in Cork very early on Christmas Eve for breakfast. Kylemore in Cork was the established venue until it closed in 2013. When I say early, I mean early. He would walk to our house whatever the weather, knock on our door at 7am and we would all walk the 2.5 miles into town. We would stay in the city until the afternoon, then after a pint head home and disperse. Now as an adult, this became my favorite part of Christmas. We made it to 2015 doing the same tradition. To commemorate, the 20th outing I wrote a poem to acknowledge it's importance to me personally. Hardly Yeats I know but;

The journey starts from sixty five.
It's now that Christmas comes alive.
The cold, wind, rain or ice won't matter.
We're heading to town for some chatter.
Richard will stroll for his rendezvous,
with his cousins down in twenty two.
With not a soul to see him go,
there is only four who are in the know.
He will go and knock on the door,
to ensure and insist that there must be four.
He will never be so late, as Kylemore opens up at eight.
Our walk begins just after seven, walking through Cork is always heaven.
We always wrap up nice and warm, and then off to Kylemore us four will swarm.
Through the dark streets and into North Gate, a full Irish breakfast does await.
Posing for photo's with a smile, freezing and excited all the while.
With our seat overlooking Patrick Street, we settle down and start to eat.
Below us the crowds will come to shop, and soon our eating will begin to stop.
At noon, we stop for coffee or tea, good chat and banter is all we need.
At Day's end it's on the number two, we always note the day just flew.
Only a year to the next one, imagine that, with the bus driver always wearing a Santy hat.
Our time we mention is passing us by, but every year we make sure we meet,
with hopes, dreams and all our Christmas wishes, in Kylemore on the eve of Christmas.

The meetings ended after 2015 after a falling out with my younger brother. I've detailed about that in other threads but it came time to end it as we now have families. The other 3 still arrange to meet but I no longer choose to attend. And so starts the next phase of Christmas. Our daughter turns one in December and I now once again look forward to Christmas with a family of my own very much. Christmas is something to look forward to now once again. So Christmas for me has been a mixed bag but I can honestly say, I will be loving it from now on with a family of our own.

Cienciano

I like the run up to Christmas. But I really don't like the day itself.

freshpopcorn

Cienciano wrote: »

I like the run up to Christmas. But I really don't like the day itself.

I think lots of people experience this even people who post regularly in this forum!

Lorelli!

Last year I couldn't get into much and I think that's the only year that's happened to me. I'm already getting a bit excited about it now and I still have nothing done yet.

I wouldn't mind one year to be a kid again for Christmas though. My parents hyped it up every year. My dad still comes home with random things on Christmas Eve. A couple of years ago he bought these shock gun things. My OH and him were running around the house shooting each other and my mam was in the kitchen freaking out with her hands over face saying to me "he's gonna have a heart attack, god forbid" :pac: he didn't thankfully!

mirrorwall14

I’ve always liked it though the mileage varied. Probably the worst was when I was a church organist and for about 5 years straight I got sick every Christmas Day without fail after doing so many services on top of school I was exhausted. College was fun coming home but family stresses meant some of the shine was gone. Then came marriage and new experiences when I went somewhere else for Christmas (Super weird!!) and finally Christmas ourselves when our first arrived. This year he is coming three and largely ‘gets it’. I am absolutely revelling in his wonder and excitement and I will treasure these memories for years to come

Estrellita

I do love Christmas, and especially when you have children expecting Santa My only gripe like many others, is that it is drawn out far too long and it sort of wears me down by the time it arrives.

I love cooking for everyone over Christmas, seeing people flaked out with happy tummy's. Cooking from scratch and getting the family involved in the preparation really adds to Christmas for me. Going to the carols at church is lovely, as is Christmas Mass

minibear

I adore Christmas, in fact the whole family adores it. Christmas Eve is the best day of the year. Up early and off to pick up any last minute bits and pieces in the shops. Then home to start preparing vegetables for Christmas day. I prepare most of the veg for 12/14 people. I have all my pots ready and the Christmas music playing, festive candle lit and all the Christmas lights on.
This year my Mam has retired so she's hosting a sort of all day drop in whenever ye like sort of party. Just nice food all day. So that will be lovely.

Hopefully i'll have most of the wrapping done before Christmas Eve and before we go to bed i'll lay out the different sets of Santy presents..one pile for the five year old, one for the 21 year old. We'll open all our presents and then after visiting the in-laws for an hour we head to my parents house where myself and my two siblings get to open our Santy presents. (The youngest of us is 44 ) The rest of the day is a busy blur ending in the most relaxing evening and night. After that it will be going for walks with the family and just spending time with siblings and nieces and nephews, cooking for each other, going to the beach with our dogs.. just having the best time together. I can't wait!!

irishman86

I love christmas, like most i went through the stage of numbness towards it for a better word
We always come together at my mothers house but this year thats not going to happen, my sisters will still come up but not for christmas day as they have familys and its a lot of work moving presents and kids
And well the other sister is not coming due to a argument in the family and is out to prove a point
On the plus side its my baby girls first "real christmas" she was less than six months old last year so opening presents wasnt really something she could do :pac:
I'm actually looking forward more to this christmas than in a long while as it will just be the family members i enjoy being around
Not that i mind the rest, mostly the fact there is 10 nieces and nephews and it gets super loud in the house

Rubberchikken

Always look forward to Christmas. My mom died on Christmas morning 2 decades ago but I still loke Christmas day. This year I'll be working Christmas night but that's no bother either. I'll have enjoyed the day with my family who mean everything to me so ill head out the door late on the evening happy to have had a great day.

branie2

Christmas starts for us in our family after mass on Christmas eve night when we open our presents under the tree.

wheresmahbombs

The past few Christmases have been forgettable to me. 2007 and 2011 were probably the most memorable in my experience.

I'm stoked for this year's Christmas, as I'll be getting the Nintendo Switch, and I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Cienciano wrote: »

I like the run up to Christmas. But I really don't like the day itself.

Christmas, to me, is about the presents. Two reasons why I'm not a fan of Christmas Day are since I prefer to open my presents on my own, and that I don't really dig traditional Christmas dinner.

Peatys

Peatys wrote: »

From early memory to when i "found out", pure magic. Wondered why it was only once a year..
From 8 to about 17, bit of a fallow period, following my parents around at Christmas. Looked forward to the break from school more than anything.
17 to 23: Looked forward to the pubs/meeting mates.
23 to 34: Looked forward to two weeks of with my wife.. own house, having house parties.
34 to date: kids....and the magic is back more than ever!!!! why is it only once a year??

We're just back from Palmerston House Santa. Kids had a ball, wife drove, so medicinal hot Jameson's for me, great craic. Building up nicely to the big day

wheresmahbombs

Time seems to be flying this year. Which, of course, is a good thing, knowing we are on the road to Christmas now.

dartboardio

I do look forward to Christmas , I love putting up the decorations, wrapping presents , I'm nineteen but still notice the difference from now and years ago, where I'd literally be counting down the days until Christmas, now I'm just like oh yeah, Christmas day is next week. I prefer the run up to it! I hope my excitement doesn't die as the years go on, which it might..

molly09

I don’t have a close family at all, no children or OH unfortunately. I find it quiet a lonely time of the year unfortunately. I have spend a lot of Christmas days alone or working which to be honest was fine. I feel once Christmas Day comes, the season is nearly over for another year so that makes the day itself easier. I always try and hope that the following Christmas I will be in a different situation.

SharleenF17

I like it now that I have my own children. I didn't like it up to that point because one of my parents was an alcoholic and Christmas always meant there was more booze in the house, ergo more drunken nights/days. Now that I've my own family I do enjoy it, I love seeing them believe but I dread the end of the magic.