1. What's the best present you every bought someone? Trying to remember! I have such a large family and it's been so many years of holidays... Made for someone? Before we got married, one year I gave my (future then) MIL hand embroidered pillows. Took me months to do them and she kept them on the couch for years. 2. What is one holiday related food you won't eat? I'm also going to double down on this question: fruitcake and all those fancy baked goods. No offense, but I just don't care for cookies tricked up with all the gunk. 3. What is your favorite holiday food? I would say turkey but since I do both T'giving and Xmas at my house now, I just can't handle a full on turkey fest twice in a month. I think this year I'll do chicken piccata, which I also like. I can make it ahead and then warm it up, make my famous 'taters in a bag' (Idahoan dried flakes, they are amazingly good), a green salad, bakery french baguettes and voila, a holiday feast! 4. What is the biggest inconvenience about the holidays? Crowds. Although I do a lot/most of my shopping online it is a huge hassle to go anywhere and do anything because of all the folks out doing their bricks n mortar thing. And, living in a tourist town whose high season gets underway right now, the cars and congestion and hassle factor is magnified hugely. 5. What is your favorite thing that happened LAST year at this time? I vividly recall during the holidays having a moment sitting quietly in the house, with the tree lit, candles burning, holiday music on and realizing that I was so utterly blessed: my family all healthy and together, my children growing into fine young adults, a solid marriage, a home, financial security. I'm an extremely fortunate person.

A relative newcomer to this forum, this thread brought a smile to my face. I've been the weird duck around here for a long time. Thought I was the only guy in the world to dread Thanksgiving to Easter. I used to really enjoy Christmas. It was "my" holiday, I guess. I enjoyed a little decorating, a live tree, lights, giving gifts that I really planned for and thought for the entire year to get just the right thing and often I'd do a lot of shopping on about the 23rd of December... Yes I enjoyed it. Then I started working in retail.... (Need I say more? LOL) The Christmas music in October, the grouchy people, etc, etc. Never really liked the "family" get-togethers anyway. Since my Mother died some cousins were hosting and you had to kind of toe-the-line to their expectations. Obviously if you're not married, you must be gay... If you don't have kids, you're flat out weird, and/or a child-hater and so much so they put such pressure on their own kids it was awful and showed in their relationships. So I didn't go to them too often. I tried to change, but they did moreso. Became lying backstabbing interlopers, long story but suffice to briefly recap it that way. I couldn't take it anymore and said never again. I did spend a lot of time with co-workers who had a strange schedule like I did and understood it. We'd have a get-together of our own and watch a football game and have a few drinks. Last year was the first year in nearly 20 years that I felt some Christmas spirit. I enjoyed the lights and drove around a time or two to look at it. Thought about putting up a string myself. Didn't. But this year I got a 4' prelit tree at a garage sale for $2. I put it up. I like it. So do the cats! Never been overly religious. Have certain beliefs. But I've started to make the best of the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas I try to do something special for myself, usually make myself a special meal. I usually use a different theme. One year it was "traditional", then I did Italian, another time it was Scandinavian favorites, another time I did "fast food done right" another time it was comfort food.... Oh, and I had thought several times about taking a little trip to get away on the holidays, but the problem is that it's such a popular travel time, argh! That's a whole new can of worms! My gift list has been cut WAY down. And I don't dread the season so much anymore. It was conflicting anyway since I actually enjoy winter! If you want my opinion on what to do about telling the BF your thoughts, I'd say bring it up. When I've been socializing with a gal, I say up front that I'm not big on the holidays and then see their thoughts. I appreciate when they tell me. If it's a huge thing to them, it probably would not go far. But that's OK. One GF would simply go and spend the time with her family at their big celebration and I'd stay home. I was fine with that. If her family asked, she'd simply say I was with my family, which was honest enough for them! And we could have quality time without the holiday pressure. Hope the season is tolerable to all!

On Christmas stories, there's Dylan Thomas's A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES which is a memory from his childhood. Very funny as well as atmospheric. How about Thomas Hardy's UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE which starts with the carol singers. He uses a lot of memories of his own childhood and youth in Dorset here, too, in this tale of Fancy Day the young schoolteacher who turns up in the village, and of Dick's love for her. Then, from Susan Cooper's children's series of 4 books called THE DARK IS RISING, the second novel, actually called by that title, is set over Christmas, That series of books is an all-time favourite of mine - about The Old Ones who span time and space and who fight, of course, for The Good against the powers of evil. A couple of them are set in Wales; one, at least, in Cornwall. For Christmas, I think I'll take that last one away with me (to Stratford upon Avon where we'll spend 4 days) to read again. And, not christmassy at all, but Jane Austen's EMMA which I haven't read in years; though I've just taken in PERSUASION and MANSFIELD PARK again. Her heroines are so very real and so touching - particularly Anne Eliot. Dido

Oh dear. I too have one of those ceramic trees, and I have the perfect spot for it. Alas it was made by my ex-SIL and I have such unpleasant feelings and memories of her, I can't put it out without being reminded. It's so odd...I get along with mostly everyone, but she just sets me on edge with such unpleasant feelings. I know the zen in me says to put it out and explore and be with those feelings, but I just can't...I want decorations to bring me joy. We'll be decorating this weekend and will do pretty much the same as every year. My old wreath on the front window needs replacing, which I've ordered but have yet to receive. Hopefully soon. The angel is a counted cross stitch done by my SIL who had the most incredible patience for tiny stitches. She also did incredible beading. Here are some close ups: Photo a neighbor took of our barn that made the cover of the local paper when we had one...