xmas cancelled

[Simon Turner]

For the adults in this house there will be no xmas (again), just sat down and worked out the money, with the bills paid and a bit of food there is absolutely nothing left in the kitty for presents for me and my wife. We have presents for our daughter thats the main thing.
Im gutted, this year should have been ok and we planned it carefully but it hasnt worked out again.
Its not the first time this has happened, we didnt celebrate xmas last year either due to bad financial problems.
Its official, I hate xmas and with good reason, I absolutely refuse point blank to get into debt that I cant afford for the sake of one day.
I found it hard to get in the spirit this year but still dared to hope things would pan out ok.

Oh well, I have my wife and daughter and im gratefull for that. At least the fat cats in government will have a good time on the 156k Ive saved them this year.

Oh and to make matters worse ive got to do a 200 mile round trip tomorrow using fuel I cant really afford to do the family present run, weve managed to scrape enough together for their presents as they get very stroppy if they dont get a "Decent" present (last year my dad actually complained that he only got a half bottle of southern comfort as opposed to the full litre bottle and my nephew was "disgusted" with his xbox live voucher so he could get online and play games which he loves doing) so to do none atall would cause serious upset, at least ive made the effort unlike the family last year who seemed to forget we existed anyway.
Dont get me wrong im gratefull for the support they showed me earlier this year but things are far from rosy in my family.

[paulingreece]

Hi Simon, you are not alone there, thousands of families will have cancelled christmas, some will get themselves into debt they cannot get out of. Wish i could be more positive for you, hope you have a good day no matter what.

[Scally]

I'm just getting rather bored by Christmas, its so tacky. And I'm not a Christian, and even if I was I would know that Jesus (if he existed) was most likely born in March. And I dont need any gifts, thankyou, especially not the tacky ones like over-priced after-shave. I've just gone off "things" - though I never say no to a bottle of malt or a side of salmon.

Carols? If we love carols so much why is it that Slade is so popular in shopping malls?

Deck the Malls in Plastic Holly, fa la l;a la la, la la la la.
Tis the season for waste and folly, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Spend we now in gay abandon, fa la la, &c
Pay back later at Percentage Random
Fa la frigging La la la la la.

So all we really have left is the old fashioned Pagan celebration of plenty, lets all get tiddly on quality booze, and somehow, as for the rest, central heating makes the Yule log obsolete and Christmas trees arent very eco-friendly, are they? And we cant even sleep with each other's spouses these days in some kind of pagan orgy under the mistletoe, the public health police have banned that too.

So all that is left is to eat, and around here there is a major goose v turkey division. So Christmas, what is it really for anyway? Roll on Easter. At least we know that the Bunny is real. I mean, nobody messes with the Easter Bunny, right?

[Limana68]

I feel the same, dread Christmas, but have to make the effort for my 2 kids who are 12 and 8. I am only getting them presents this year, and I am not sending any cards.
My Mum is in respite till they know whats going to happen, as I cant cope with her back with us.. I feel guilty because I dont want to bring her back here for Christmas dinner, another farce as we are veggies and I wont be eating any animals.
Bah Humbug!

[poppett]

I lost my Christmas spirit when I was eleven, not because Santa (may or may not be real)..... but because my beloved Grandad dropped dead on Christmas Eve... burial on New Years Eve ....so never a happy time.

Make the effort for others, but I would rather have a contribution towards keeping my car on the road than stuff I don`t want or need.

I have my OH beside me, what else could I wish for?

Take care
Meg

[Maxi]

Its the usuall orgy of spending,recession or not,tacky,void of meaning,a material fest of GREED.

[ladybird]

With sympathies to you Simon, we have been there and know all too well what it is like. I truthfully hope that you will still manage to find some happiness and a positive moment or two over the Christmas period.

I am not especially religious but nor do I hate Christmas. Yes, it is commercialised and has been for years but I choose to try and ignore that part of it and take the positives. There is greed, debt and what have you and there is pressure, far too much. However, there are a whole load of unsung people that give their time to make sure that others don't miss out and at least have some company or a meal.

I have worked for many years and I have also been on benefits (where I am at the moment) and know it's tough. 5 kids, now all grown but who never demanded the latest toys or gadgets because they knew we just couldn't afford them but would do what we could..there were never complaints.
Funnily enough, our adult children remember things that we have almost forgotten. Helping out with dinner, sock hunt games (essential when you have a big family..the finder of the most odd socks gets 50p), just being together.

I understand for some of you who have suffered painful losses that this family time will always hurt but I hope that you can get by with good memories of when it wasn't so difficult.
To be able to talk to friends, "virtual" or not is a gift in itself, we have the opportunity to not be alone at Christmas and to speak here about how we feel and know that there are others who genuinely care, even if we have never met them.

I am not a "softie" by the way and have (and continue to have) many family problems. I still get depressed from time to time but I have got the greatest faith in the human spirit, for every nasty piece of work out there, there is always someone who cares.

It might sound glib and I don't want it to be but I honestly think that Christmas, Easter, holidayofyourchoice, is what you make it..try and make it what you want it to be.

I hope everyone understands what I was trying to say..not too good with words at the moment!

[Lazydaisy]

Ladybird, what a lovely post. Thank you.x

[Brindleboy123]

Ladybird...wrong, I think you are very good with words. Your post was excellent.

Bell x

[malc]

dreading christmas,another benchmark date for me to remember,just another day that has been tarnished by alzheimers,i will run about cooking dinner and tidy up trying to make it special for the family when all i want to do is get drunk and hope it passes quickly,new year always makes me depressed how can you say happy new year when you know next year is going to be as s**t as this one