Christmas Forum 2022 : A Year in Review

Loughc

It's this time again where I give my thought on the past 12 month both in and out of the Christmas Forum as always bare with me it's going to be a long one.

So in the forum we are certainly back to pre covid levels, which is expected and in a way appreciated as life is getting back to normal as such. This was the first year in prob ten years I missed alot of time on the forum, this was due to a work project which was more intense than expected and it ended in me getting flown half way around the world. I didn't have the spare time or energy to pop on to here, by the end of the day I didn't want anymore screen time! Needless to say I won't ever miss time off here like that again, I can't begin to explain the comfort I get from posting here and having a wonderful community to talk to.

Thankfully the project is over and work levels are slowly beginning to ease off... slowly. The project did cause me to hold off taking a good chunk of leave until Christmas meaning it was all leading to my Christmas holidays, to say I was looking forward to Christmas 2022 was an understatement.

But if I'm being perfectly honest Christmas 2022 did not go my way at all... my 1 year old boy was sick for pretty much the entire month of December, my Brother in Law got COVID just before the day we were due to go to his house and setup shop for Christmas, it caused a quick panic shop in Dunnes picking up bits for a Christmas dinner we now needed to cook for ourselves and my parents.

And then to top it all off all 3 of us ended up getting COVID meaning my last week off was all of us feeling sick and sorry for ourselves. I feel like mentally I didn't get a break and I'm heading back into an extremely busy time in work so I'm worried burn out is coming...

Saying all that there was still some wonderful moments in my Christmas, the last minute Dunnes shop was enjoyable the atmosphere in there was electric. Getting to spend some isolated time with my son and my parents at Christmas was a moment to cherish, I enjoyed the time with the little man, and he responded by taking his first steps Christmas morning in front of us and my parents. A wonderful memory to have. My mam had a great time with us being around especially my 2 dogs were a huge source of enjoyment for her and they loved being in her house for Christmas. The best thing about Christmas is you can always find beauty in the madness. I also got to play Santa on Christmas Eve while the little man has no idea what is going on I'm excited for the years ahead.

I think I said it last year, end of November is fast becoming my favourite time of year that week where the toy show is on, the tree goes up and ChristmasFM comes back is like the superbowl of the build up! The build up is strong in Nov and there's no pressure, it's just all about soaking in the festive atmosphere. For me this year all roads lead to end of November and I'm not going to worry about anything beyond that really. I try to soak as much atmosphere in as I can, as Christmas spirit is what I need the most!

TRS30

Hope you guys are starting to feel a bit better.

Sounds like our Christmas last year so can relate to some of that!

Will try to get mine done later this week when kids are back in school and back to work.

DvB

Great Post @Loughc

I'll put mine together next week when I'm home and at a pc.