What does Christmas mean to you?

[Mick and Maggie]

Perhaps for one reason or another you are a crusty old Ebaneezer and choose not celebrate Christmas. Or maybe for you its a time to - out do - the rest of the marina and to cover your boat with those delightful twinkling Christmas illuminations. Maybe its for taking a trip to the ever more popular 'German' market on our high streets for fusty sausage. I know for some it will be the chance to buy much needed socks and pants for their loved ones. For others it will be the office party and the usual fun with the photocopier. Or having a snog in the cupboard with drippy Sandra from accounts.

 

So what does the festive season mean to you?

[Naughty Cal]

Christmas for us is a time to escape the city and head out on the boat.

 

We do the delivering of presents and gifts in advance during week day evenings (next week is set aside for this) then we enjoy the rest of the festive period on the boat, how we want to relax. Of course we over indulge on good food and drink, thats pretty much mandatory isnt it?

[Athy]

Enjoying the peace and goodwill of the season, the exchanging of gifts, relaxing in front of a cheery log fire at home, seeing friends and family.

Then, once Boxing Day has passed, starting to knock a year's worth of accounts into shape before filling in my tax return in January.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Athy

[jodansgang]

Christmas for me has always signified the end of an old year and the beginning of a new. As it's my birthday on Boxing Day it has always been my yearly counter.

Since having children it has also become a time to give joy in the form of gifts and the illumination of wonder and excitement in them relights the love of life in my soul.

The old and new religious significance of Christmas has always enthralled my imagination, even as a child and the joy of bringing new hope or ever green into the home means a lot to me and I just love the music at Christmas time.

To celebrate and to share in those celebrations in this one brief moment is for me also special.

And this year, a new onesie, will hopefully crown, what is for me, my fortieth year on planet earth.

[Athy]

 

Christmas for me has always signified the end of an old year and the beginning of a new. As it's my birthday on Boxing Day it has always been my yearly counter.

Ah, you were meant to be the Second Coming as well, were you? My birthday is on December 22nd so I know what you mean.

[jelunga]

Enjoying the peace and goodwill of the season, the exchanging of gifts, relaxing in front of a cheery log fire at home, seeing friends and family.

Then, once Boxing Day has passed, staring to knock a year's worth of accounts into shape before filling in my tax return in January.

Agree / like /trending/ whatever the modern idiom is.

Especially the dreaded tax return

[Athy]

 

Agree / like /trending/ whatever the modern idiom is.

Especially the dreaded tax return

I should of course have written "starting" not "staring". Come to think of it, when i start to write up my accounts each year I do a fair bit of staring: staring uncomprehendingly at figures, and staring at the wall wondering how the heck I shall ever get them all added , subtracted etc.

[Phil Ambrose]

 

I should of course have written "starting" not "staring". Come to think of it, when i start to write up my accounts each year I do a fair bit of staring: staring uncomprehendingly at figures, and staring at the wall wondering how the heck I shall ever get them all added , subtracted etc.

I used to be just the same, then I hit on a solution, I got my wife to be my wife to take over the books!

Not that I'm suggesting she will do yours :-)

Phil

[DeanS]

As a Christian, Christmas is meant to be all about the birth of Christ, however.....we all know that the "festival" was actually adopted by the earlier church from a common "gentile" festival where people would run around a tree etc. ...and I'm not good at the whole "nativity scene" thing. I heard about the 3 little kids in a school play who were given the roles of the 3 wise men, and had to bring presents to Jesus. One said...."I bring you gold". The other said "I bring thee mir" The last one forgot his lines and said..."Frank sent this!"

 

For me Christmas is a family time....a community time.....replenishing the kids stock of toys for the year. Most of my clients stop bugging me over Christmas...so it's time to relax and do other stuff.

[Proper Charlie]

Bah humbug comes to mind...

 

It's not that I detest Christmas - thinking of those less fortunate than yourself and having a few days off work to take stock, count your blessings and spend time with those you love, is brilliant. But the commercialisation of Christmas drives me crazy. It's by and large a retail festival and little more, and too many of us have our priorities all wrong. The hideous 70s rubbish pumped out of the speakers at Tesco, trying to get you in the mood to spend, spend, spend, makes me feel almost psychopathic. We spend too much money on things that nobody really wants or needs. It doesn't make us happy at all, in the end, and we pay for it for the rest of the year.

 

Christmas time,

Buy some more wine,

Children crying, chuck them a dime,

There's logs on the fire and gifts round the tree,

We'll be bankrupt by Easter: you, him and me.

 

Merry Christmas everyone.

[HappyBunny]

Hmmm yes, i like the old chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and the pretty lights, and the goodwill, and the eating, drinking and making merry .... but tend to do it on the 21st .... as for all the commercial hype and ritualised, meaningless, present buying nonsense ....

 

AH BUMHUG ..... or was it bah humbug

 

[Dottyshirl]

I find it all too commercial, being in the supermarket next week will make me feel psycopathetic, I will feel frustrated, mad, impatient and could even crumble into a jibbering wreck (as long as I do it in the wine department eh?)....... Bum Hug indeed. Have a good one peeps x

[Tonka]

Christmas is one week before Easter Eggs go on sale. Far too commercial now and too many charities advertising on telly at the mo

[W+T]

I think of christmas as a time to have fun with friends and familiy, we, as a familiy back then had the best times ever together at xmas, since my nana died it all went down hill and things have never been the same, i wish i had kida to celebrate it with and a close family, i am one who loves to listen to the good old and new xmas songs and sing along all the time they are on, i have had folk laughing at me at the traffic lights whilst i wa in my truck singing along to the radio, mind you i do that all year long lol.

 

Christmas is on commercialised if you let it be, its about buying gifts for friends and familiy so you need to go to a commercial place to do so, just control yourself when you go lol

 

Theres to much moaning and stress throughout the year and xmas is a day to be happy for a day or two, so lets all be happy and gay.....er joyfull lol

 

 

From me and T to all, have a great xmas and all bets for the new tax year

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I haven't been lucky enough to have kids in my life,& am not a follower of any religion.I'm not a bah humbug,I just go with the flow.

so for me,I use the end of the year as a time to reflect,on the past year,sort things that need sorting,make sure I have been a good friend to my friends,& plan as best I can for the coming year. A sort of personal audit if you like. When ime happy with that lot I can enjoy the time of year,value the company I keep & hopefully start the next year with a relatively clear desk,clear head,& a smile on my face even though ime a year older.

(Can we still say Happy Christmas !.)

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !.

[Dave Payne]

When you have kids its very easy to get caught up in it all, although we set a limit each year for each child, this is based on what we have, not what we can borrow, we never go over meaning January is not a pay back month...

 

I do love buying the kids the things they want though, as i never really got that much as a kid.

 

However, i am looking forward to the kids being grown up and not having to buy them loads of expensive items, maybe me and wife can start going away for xmas, that would be nice!

[Guest]

One thing I truly despise about Xmas this year is the frequency with which the payday loan company's are pushing their ads. on TV, Wonga have even started to write to my daughter FFS

 

- totally praying on some peoples inability not to spend money they haven't got.

 

 

 

 

 

ed payday not payay

Edited December 13, 2013 by The Dog House

[Athy]

 

Christmas is one week before Easter Eggs go on sale. Far too commercial now and too many charities advertising on telly at the mo

Last week I onserved hot cross buns on sale in a well known supermarket.

[Ally]

I used to love christmas, but that's been beaten out of me one way or another over the years. The last 5 years have all been bad at this time of the year for one reason or another, and this year is no exception, so now it's a time to avoid as much as possible for me.

[Dave Payne]

One thing I truly despise about Xmas this year is the frequency with which the payay loan company's are pushing their ads. on TV, Wonga have even started to write to my daughter FFS

 

- totally praying on some peoples inability not to spend money they haven't got.

 

 

Spot on Martin.

[Caprifool]

I don't do Christmas. Took a conscious decision against it in 2004 and since then it's been a time of freedom and happiness.

[KevMc]

What does Xmas mean to me?

On the bad side :

• pubs packed with people getting drunk just because its Christmas,
• enforced jollity,
• crap food,
• worse TV,
• it's only a week until the worst night of the year

On the good side:

• getting together with famiy,
• giving presents,
• our family's secret stuffing
• empty trains

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I do think Christmas is lost on some people.

One of my friend's wife,asked if we wanted to go and join them for a 'Christmas mass'

I said,well i don't practice any religion,& singing isn't for me.

She then actually said "what's religion got to do with it " "just come along with us" !..

[johnmck]

We really have lost the true value of christmas.

 

For me, it has always been about giving. Now it is a fest of plastic crap for the children and I just do not like it, sorry.

 

Kid's get so much that they just do not appreciate individual presents and thus there is little value,

 

I am getting old !

 

Getting a stocking with nuts, chocolates and and tangerines was brill, but i am of my time!

 

So give at christmas, without reward. I would personally rather give a donation to the charity of choice, than receive a present that sits in a drawer.

 

Just a thought.

[James T Berk]

Nativity plays featuring the Big Scary Pyfon of the Lawd or a holy Gnu.