Comments on: How to Survive the Holidays, Part 1 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/ Because life after "I do" isn't always so charming Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:39:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: help http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-25242 help Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:22:16 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-25242 [...] How to Survive the Holidays, Part 1 | Project Happily Ever After [...] [...] How to Survive the Holidays, Part 1 | Project Happily Ever After [...]

]]> By: Andi http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4997 Andi Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:52:12 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4997 The holidays drive me crazy too. I weaned my entire family off of presents years ago. I buy one gift each for my two nieces and that is it. We all have so much stuff, who needs more. I hate shopping and would never submit myself to black Friday. In fact the weekend before Thanksgiving my husband and I try to do a super run at Target and Costco so that we don't have to go near there or anywhere else except our grocery store until after January. I will do nearly anything to avoid it - at all costs! .-= Andi´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MisadventuresWithAndi/~3/EUDht_T3ZdM/french-friday-paris-trip-questions-answered.html" rel="nofollow">French Friday – Paris trip questions answered (plus 2 winners!)</a> =-. The holidays drive me crazy too. I weaned my entire family off of presents years ago. I buy one gift each for my two nieces and that is it. We all have so much stuff, who needs more. I hate shopping and would never submit myself to black Friday. In fact the weekend before Thanksgiving my husband and I try to do a super run at Target and Costco so that we don’t have to go near there or anywhere else except our grocery store until after January. I will do nearly anything to avoid it – at all costs!
.-= Andi´s last blog ..French Friday – Paris trip questions answered (plus 2 winners!) =-.

]]> By: Michael Dundas http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4964 Michael Dundas Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:00:24 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4964 Great post, excellent points. My wife and I have started many of these ideas. Anna's extended family stopped the adult gift giving (kids get presents), and in my extended family my sister just the other day suggested we don't bother with gifts between adults. I am in agreement to give it a try. I personally like gift giving, but the line-ups, shopping, searching have made it not worth it for myself. The best part of Xmas for me is having everyone together, trying to make sure everyone has a nice visit. -mike .-= Michael Dundas´s last blog ..<a href="http://michaeldundas.com/2009/11/23/investigation-of-encrypted-traffic/" rel="nofollow">Investigation of encrypted traffic</a> =-. Great post, excellent points. My wife and I have started many of these ideas. Anna’s extended family stopped the adult gift giving (kids get presents), and in my extended family my sister just the other day suggested we don’t bother with gifts between adults. I am in agreement to give it a try.

I personally like gift giving, but the line-ups, shopping, searching have made it not worth it for myself. The best part of Xmas for me is having everyone together, trying to make sure everyone has a nice visit.
-mike
.-= Michael Dundas´s last blog ..Investigation of encrypted traffic =-.

]]> By: Linda http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4951 Linda Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:39:38 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4951 The other question I despise is "What are you supposed to be?" at Halloween! The holidays has lost much of it's whoop-de-do for me as far as the work required to throw together the decorations, baking, shopping, wrapping and dinner. I was usually so burnt out by the time company showed up, I could no longer enjoy the fruits of my labor. It feels kind of bad now because my daughter is in a position to give us really nice gifts and likes the shopping, albeit she and her husband live out of state and spend Christmas with his family there. Here we are retired and budgeting our Christmas spending. At the end of our big gift giving, we asked each one what they wanted and made sure they got it. Still had a dollar limit, but it was more than now. We don't even have ideas for their presents anymore. Like you said, Alisa, you don't want to spend time, energy and money on something they will never like or use. After Halloween, my anxiety starts to arrive. It really isn't much fun the last quarter of the year at our house. We don't have the friends to spend time with and our ultra small family is ultra busy. I have been under the weather going into the season a couple of years now. Last year, we took in my brother-in-law after his lung surgery just before Christmas and I played Julia Child for two months-hardly ever repeating a meal. So, when holidays start showing up on the calendar, I get a bit nervous! Hope you all have a good holiday in whatever sense that is to you. Forget Courrior and Ives and Norman Rockwell! The other question I despise is “What are you supposed to be?” at Halloween!
The holidays has lost much of it’s whoop-de-do for me as far as the work required to throw together the decorations, baking, shopping, wrapping and dinner.
I was usually so burnt out by the time company showed up, I could no longer enjoy the fruits of my labor.
It feels kind of bad now because my daughter is in a position to give us really nice gifts and likes the shopping, albeit she and her husband live out of state and spend Christmas with his family there. Here we are retired and budgeting our Christmas spending. At the end of our big gift giving, we asked each one what they wanted and made sure they got it. Still had a dollar limit, but it was more than now. We don’t even have ideas for their presents anymore. Like you said, Alisa, you don’t want to spend time, energy and money on something they will never like or use.
After Halloween, my anxiety starts to arrive. It really isn’t much fun the last quarter of the year at our house.
We don’t have the friends to spend time with and our ultra small family is ultra busy.
I have been under the weather going into the season a couple of years now. Last year, we took in my brother-in-law after his lung surgery just before Christmas and I played Julia Child for two months-hardly ever repeating a meal. So, when holidays start showing up on the calendar, I get a bit nervous!
Hope you all have a good holiday in whatever sense that is to you. Forget
Courrior and Ives and Norman Rockwell!

]]> By: MelissaZ http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4946 MelissaZ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:01:15 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4946 Maybe I'm the only crazy one who loves everything about the Holidays. I enjoy shopping for my family (although I don't really love the crowds in the stores in December, so I try to do most of my shopping in November or online). I love wrapping the gifts and making them look nice. I love hunting for the perfect tree, and decorating it. Decorating the house. Making Christmas cookies with my mom. Getting together with family and friends for Christmas parties. Sending Christmas Cards and recieving Christmas Cards. All of it. I think the key for me is that I truly enjoy doing this stuff, when it starts to feel like work, I stop. And if these things are not something you love, then you shouldn't do them, why waste time doing something that makes you miserable! I truly believe that Christmas is about the time you spend with your family and friends and not about the gifts, but that doesn't stop me from buying for those I love. :) Maybe I’m the only crazy one who loves everything about the Holidays. I enjoy shopping for my family (although I don’t really love the crowds in the stores in December, so I try to do most of my shopping in November or online). I love wrapping the gifts and making them look nice. I love hunting for the perfect tree, and decorating it. Decorating the house. Making Christmas cookies with my mom. Getting together with family and friends for Christmas parties. Sending Christmas Cards and recieving Christmas Cards. All of it. I think the key for me is that I truly enjoy doing this stuff, when it starts to feel like work, I stop. And if these things are not something you love, then you shouldn’t do them, why waste time doing something that makes you miserable! I truly believe that Christmas is about the time you spend with your family and friends and not about the gifts, but that doesn’t stop me from buying for those I love. :)

]]> By: MarthaandMe http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4945 MarthaandMe Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:34:18 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4945 I am not a mall shopper. I bought almost everything online this year. I don't even know when the last time was that I was in a traditional department store. I have cut back a lot this year also and am so relieved not to be buying gifts for family members I would only see once a year. I am not a mall shopper. I bought almost everything online this year. I don’t even know when the last time was that I was in a traditional department store. I have cut back a lot this year also and am so relieved not to be buying gifts for family members I would only see once a year.

]]> By: Kanoelani http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4939 Kanoelani Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:10:28 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4939 Everything in this article, I totally agree, its like your read my mind! .-= Kanoelani´s last blog ..<a href="http://happilymarried4life.blogspot.com/2009/11/sex-warning-may-be-explicit.html" rel="nofollow">SEX- WARNING MAY BE EXPLICIT..</a> =-. Everything in this article, I totally agree, its like your read my mind!
.-= Kanoelani´s last blog ..SEX- WARNING MAY BE EXPLICIT.. =-.

]]> By: kcl http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4938 kcl Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:51:29 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4938 My family seriously curtailed our gift-giving starting last year, partly because there are very few things we truly NEED and partly because we're all on tight budgets thanks to this lovely recession. We now do Secret Santas: All the adults (extended family including my parents, siblings, aunts and uncs, grandparents) put their names into a hat and each person draws one name to buy a gift for. I have never been a Black Friday person, but I do enjoy the holiday shopping---the hustle-bustle, the thrill of the hunt. So there's a little less of that. And the family's gift-exchange tradition is a bit anti-climactic now as well. We used to sit around in a big circle with coffee and Christmas cookies, carols playing on the stereo, and take turns opening one gift at a time, with the youngest family member going first, then moving up with seniority before doing another round with the youngest again. Everyone would admire each gift, there was a lot of laughter, and thank-you kisses all around. And the whole process would take the better part of the day. Now, the unwrapping is over within an hour, and then we all sit around looking at each other like, "Now what?! Might as well watch 'A Christmas Story' for the 1,000th time. Then take a nap." LOL. My family seriously curtailed our gift-giving starting last year, partly because there are very few things we truly NEED and partly because we’re all on tight budgets thanks to this lovely recession. We now do Secret Santas: All the adults (extended family including my parents, siblings, aunts and uncs, grandparents) put their names into a hat and each person draws one name to buy a gift for. I have never been a Black Friday person, but I do enjoy the holiday shopping—the hustle-bustle, the thrill of the hunt. So there’s a little less of that. And the family’s gift-exchange tradition is a bit anti-climactic now as well. We used to sit around in a big circle with coffee and Christmas cookies, carols playing on the stereo, and take turns opening one gift at a time, with the youngest family member going first, then moving up with seniority before doing another round with the youngest again. Everyone would admire each gift, there was a lot of laughter, and thank-you kisses all around. And the whole process would take the better part of the day. Now, the unwrapping is over within an hour, and then we all sit around looking at each other like, “Now what?! Might as well watch ‘A Christmas Story’ for the 1,000th time. Then take a nap.” LOL.

]]> By: Debra http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4937 Debra Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:38:40 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4937 this is why I love being Jewish this time of year. Yes, I buy a few gifts (nearly all online, thank you god for the Internet) but mainly I do a big latke party for all my goyim friends and otherwise sit back and smile smugly at you Christians running around like headless chickens. this is why I love being Jewish this time of year. Yes, I buy a few gifts (nearly all online, thank you god for the Internet) but mainly I do a big latke party for all my goyim friends and otherwise sit back and smile smugly at you Christians running around like headless chickens.

]]> By: Sheryl http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/11/how-to-survive-the-holidays-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-4935 Sheryl Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:15:09 +0000 http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/?p=3060#comment-4935 I hate the holidays (at the risk of sounding like Scrooge). I really do. Everything gets crazy and crowded and everyone gets nasty and stressed. I'm ever-so-happy when January brings and end to all the madness...thanks for this post. I like your gentler, kinder approach! I hate the holidays (at the risk of sounding like Scrooge). I really do. Everything gets crazy and crowded and everyone gets nasty and stressed. I’m ever-so-happy when January brings and end to all the madness…thanks for this post. I like your gentler, kinder approach!

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