G
shereads
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My sister always plans a fabulous gourmet meal for the big day, often cooking for days in advance, and by around midnight on Christmas Eve she's drunk on the wine she has secretly been imbibing in the kitchen.
As her son snuggles under the covers, listening for the sound of reindeer hooves and jingle-bells on the rooftop, his mom begins to cry in the kitchen just beneath his bedroom.
As his dad, my brother-in-law, arranges the "Santa gifts" under the tree and assembles the new bike or pirate ship, he finishes off a bottle of vodka begun at brunch the day before.
In the wee hours of Christmas morning, one can usually count on hearing a female voice piping,
"You're just like your fucking father! Nothing I do around here is appreciated."
I can hardly wait! I'm as excited as a kid.
As her son snuggles under the covers, listening for the sound of reindeer hooves and jingle-bells on the rooftop, his mom begins to cry in the kitchen just beneath his bedroom.
As his dad, my brother-in-law, arranges the "Santa gifts" under the tree and assembles the new bike or pirate ship, he finishes off a bottle of vodka begun at brunch the day before.
In the wee hours of Christmas morning, one can usually count on hearing a female voice piping,
"You're just like your fucking father! Nothing I do around here is appreciated."
I can hardly wait! I'm as excited as a kid.
RenzaJones
you know you like it
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On Christmas eve the Mrs and I meet my family for the annual family fight followed by drunken hysteria and present opening.
Then we have dinner round two of the fight begins, dessert, then round three more drinking, followed by drunken apologies and then everyone goes off to bed.
The next day we visit her family, just about the same deal except where we scream they cut you to the quick with a quiet sarcasm. Generally we leave after "Christmas Dinner" which is thankfully served at one and over by three.
Happy F'ing Holidays
Then we have dinner round two of the fight begins, dessert, then round three more drinking, followed by drunken apologies and then everyone goes off to bed.
The next day we visit her family, just about the same deal except where we scream they cut you to the quick with a quiet sarcasm. Generally we leave after "Christmas Dinner" which is thankfully served at one and over by three.
Happy F'ing Holidays
RenzaJones
you know you like it
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shereads said:Thank you, Renza. I thought it might be just us.
lol we were thinking of skipping it (not the drinking just the family's
but we tried that once and there was hell to pay
oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
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We go to the beach
Christmas Day used to the day for the immediate family.
Now they have left home we try to meet up on Boxing Day.
On Christmas Day my wife and I go to the beach because it is deserted and go for a long walk. We used to do that when we were newly weds and had no children. Now we are doing it again.
This year we live in a house by the beach - Duh!
We're still going for that long walk - on someone else's beach.
Og
Christmas Day used to the day for the immediate family.
Now they have left home we try to meet up on Boxing Day.
On Christmas Day my wife and I go to the beach because it is deserted and go for a long walk. We used to do that when we were newly weds and had no children. Now we are doing it again.
This year we live in a house by the beach - Duh!
We're still going for that long walk - on someone else's beach.
Og
shereads
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I love your tradition-to-be McKenna. Wish I could be there...
There is a lovely and odd regional tradition in my mom's rural part of Florida. An eccentric old man who lives out in the farthest boondocks spends all of his time and apparently much of his limited income decorating his little "farm" with Christmas lights and animations.
I know, everybody's town has a spectacularly garish light display somewhere, and I'm a sucker for those. Who doesn't like twinkly lights? But the charm of this place is that the old guy clearly can't afford to put on this display but does it anyway, purely for the joy of it.
His "farm" is little more than a trailer with some tumbledown storage sheds and a collection of abandoned cars on concrete blocks - all of which are strung with lights. His driveway is a rutted dirt road that winds throughout the property to provide close-up views of some favorite scenes. On Christmas Eve, if it's not raining, this place in the middle of nowhere is jammed with carloads of families, the cars lined on on the road awaiting their turn at the driveway.
When he's able, the proprietor stands at the mailbox greeting everybody and accepting donations to pay for upkeep on the lights. There must be hundreds of thousands of them, strung in no particular order other than the grand design that exists in his head. It really is a marvelous bit of folk art.
There is a lovely and odd regional tradition in my mom's rural part of Florida. An eccentric old man who lives out in the farthest boondocks spends all of his time and apparently much of his limited income decorating his little "farm" with Christmas lights and animations.
I know, everybody's town has a spectacularly garish light display somewhere, and I'm a sucker for those. Who doesn't like twinkly lights? But the charm of this place is that the old guy clearly can't afford to put on this display but does it anyway, purely for the joy of it.
His "farm" is little more than a trailer with some tumbledown storage sheds and a collection of abandoned cars on concrete blocks - all of which are strung with lights. His driveway is a rutted dirt road that winds throughout the property to provide close-up views of some favorite scenes. On Christmas Eve, if it's not raining, this place in the middle of nowhere is jammed with carloads of families, the cars lined on on the road awaiting their turn at the driveway.
When he's able, the proprietor stands at the mailbox greeting everybody and accepting donations to pay for upkeep on the lights. There must be hundreds of thousands of them, strung in no particular order other than the grand design that exists in his head. It really is a marvelous bit of folk art.
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