Holidays

[sfy]

We're officially six weeks out from Thanksgiving and I'm as pressed as my Hallmark store which put Christmas stuff out in September !

What are you celebrating this year?
Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc?
Are you traveling?
Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating?

[sunshine608]

1. Thanksgiving, Christmas, NY
2. Not hosting to my knowledge, but this could change. I do cook our own Thanksgiving dinner before we head off to visit family so I will do that. I do the traditional southern meal- Turkey( fried), dressing, green beans ect..
3. Nope my family is local. We will not travel ever again as long as I can avoid it.
4. Gifts will be light this year- immediate family only, no cards, but lots of decorating.

[raangoli]

Ugh I hate this time of year. It's not that I am a Grinch, it's more that it involves a lot of planning and traveling/schlepping.

This year we're celebrating:
Diwali (October 30)
Thanksgiving
Christmas

We usually just get together with my family for Diwali. Last year we went to a local Indian restaurant and then back to our house. This year, we will probably just go see my parents at their house.

I think we will host Thanksgiving. We've done it the past 2 years because we were tired of being the ones to traveled, so we made people come to us. I think we will do it again this year. But I am lazy and I order the prepared meal from Wegmans (it's delicious, seriously!) and then make my beloved mac and cheese.

I have no idea about Christmas this year. Since it will be BB's first, I am sure we will travel between families. I am tired just thinking about it.

[andwhat]

What are you celebrating this year? Halloween (lets not skip that), Thanksgiving, Christmas

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc? Our plan is to have Christmas breakfast in our new home. It is usually at my parents. I think it is about 15 people. This year may be more if at our house because ILs might decide to come. H has said he is not leaving the house this year on Christmas. Anyone who wants to see him has to come to him. Ok.

Are you traveling? Within DC area

Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating? Gifts will be VERY minimal this year since we just moved. We normally do New Year's cards because I can never get myself together to have it done by Christmas. The only thing I ever care about is having a live Christmas tree. So we are going to have that. And this year it can be bigger. Yay.

[EnchantedSoul]

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!! I'll be back to answer the questions but I just had to let y'all know, only 10 Sundays til Christmas!

[sfy]

Oct 13, 2016 10:16:16 GMT -5 EnchantedSoul said:

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!! I'll be back to answer the questions but I just had to let y'all know, only 10 Sundays til Christmas!

I thought I was bad!
Save

[kicks]

I'm such a Scrooge and don't care about the holidays. I especially hate hate giving and receiving gifts.

Last year I stretched the truth and said I had to work on Christmas (I really just worked the day before and after) so I spent it on the couch in my pajamas with my boyfriend while he cooked.

Plus add in the complication of my parents being divorced and splitting time, ugh.

Anyway I generally suck it up because family is important. I'll spend thanksgiving with my moms family, then the next day going to Cozumel wahoo.

I don't know what I'll do for Christmas, I don't have to work and I'll feel guilty just not going to spend time with my family.

I swear I'm usually a very cheery person I just hate the insistence on spending gobs of money on the holidays, bah humbug.

[andwhat]

kicks I hate giving and receiving gifts too. I would much rather just get to spend time with people I don't get to see on a regular. I am grown. Why buy you a $50 gift you don't want, so you can do the same for me. I only think you should buy gifts for kids.

I think I am going to start putting the message out now to please not buy anything for us because we are still trying to get our house organized and we don't know what we want or need yet. I hope people listen.

[NitaX]

I need to get on it!


What are you celebrating this year?

Turkey Day & Christmas

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc?

We usually host Christmas Dinner, and I host an annual New Year's Day Brunch for my close friends and church members (since that circle pretty my coincides lol)

Traditional Dinner for Christmas - we're not a big turkey family BUT a friend of mine makes a fabulous fried turkey, so Imma holla at her to hook me up again this year. 

I'm working on New Year's Day Brunch. I have a Pinterest page for recipe ideas

Are you traveling?

Our family (just the four of us) travels every year to Gatlinburg, TN for Thanksgiving. The kids look forward to it every year. I love it because it's quiet and we just get to hang out. My baby sister and her son may go with us this year. We'll see. I haven't told this to my H yet.   But, I doubt he'd be upset because he and my baby sister act JUST ALIKE. Both are rather quiet, so he won't too much mind. Plus, my nephew and my H could likely play video games together. So, it could be a win!

Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating?

We need to do a Christmas gift exchange this year. I need to float that by my sisters and get it organized. 
I'm going to do my best to send out holiday cards this year. We had some great vacation photos this summer, so I have no excuse. 

Decorating - I may do Christmas decorations before we leave out for Thanksgiving. I'd like to have all of that up before we go because I'm always too pooped coming back from Turkey Day to get my decorations up on time. 

[itsme]

I used to hate the holidays and all the stress but I started budgeting for it and now I enjoy them again.

Celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas

I may have to host something because of family drama but I really don't want to be in the middle of it. I feel like my whole family is at war with each other.

Not traveling

I used to make cards but no longer do that. I decorate very minimally for Xmas but I buy gifts for everyone.

[starlily]

What are you celebrating this year?
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc?
Probably NYE. Heavy apps, desserts, and champagne are on the menu.

Are you traveling?
Nope! We'll drive out to FIL's for Christmas Eve, but it's only an hour away.

Doing any gift giving?
Yes -- kids, parents, nephews, niece, Twitter elfster. H&I do just stocking suffers for each other.

Holiday cards?
Yes.

Decorating?
Yes. Tree, garland & stockings on the mantel, bows on the banister, lights on the balcony, wreath on the front door, and a Dept 56 Peanuts display in the loft.

[EnchantedSoul]

I just love the holidays so much. My birthday is end of September and I always mention that once it's passed, time flies.

Celebrating:
A Halloween party at my cousin's house. We have 9 kids between the two if us 😳.
I'll be running The Thanksgiving Day 10K so I'll put a turkey breast in the crockpot before I leave. Patty LaBelle's mac n cheese recipe, mashed potatoes, greens, dressing, rolls, yams and some dessert(s). My family can't seem to get their shit together so I'll probably just hang at home with my husband and kiddos.

Black Friday: My friend and I pretend like we BF shop. We meet at Starbucks at 9 and then hit like 3 stores after all the crazies have gone home. I also tend to buy our real tree this day or a little after.

CHRISTMAS: We will watch alllllll the Christmas movies including both versions of The Grinch, Elf, Rudolph, Christmas Vacation (not the kids). I'll probably watch the corny Lifetime/Hallmark movies.
We do the Christmas train display at the museum. The Elves display. Festival of Lights at the zoo. Christmas Eve is always at my cousin's house where everyone wears jammies and we bake cookies. Last year we added a hot chocolate bar and it was awesome. We get home way too late and put our kids to bed. Do marathon wrapping and staging the tree for when they wake up. I'm teary eyed just thinking about it.

We never travel for the holidays.
My husband and I exchange gifts and we buy for our kids. I stopped buying for everyone else a few years ago.

[Queen Mamadala]

Oct-Dec is my favorite time of the year! SO excited for the holidays. We celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Yule, Christmas (in the secular sense), and New Year's. We're spending Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, Christmas Day with my in-laws. They live 45 minutes away. I usually bake pies and make rum balls (grammy's tradition). I make jambalaya on Christmas Eve.

I love to decorate, and we give gifts and send cards. Our city does a Christmas festival every Nov/Dec that we'll likely attend. We watch ALL the movies! All the classics. It's a Wonderful Life is H's favorite movie. We'll watch it a couple times I'm sure. Can't forget Elf, Home Alone 1 & 2, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, Jingle All the Way, Rudolph, The Polar Express, Arthur Christmas, and cheesy ABC Family and Lifetime movies.

My mama is planning to fly out with my sister in Dec. I'm so excited. We haven't seen them in two years. 

[kicks]

Oct 13, 2016 10:48:50 GMT -5 andwhat said:

kicks I hate giving and receiving gifts too. I would much rather just get to spend time with people I don't get to see on a regular. I am grown. Why buy you a $50 gift you don't want, so you can do the same for me. I only think you should buy gifts for kids.

I think I am going to start putting the message out now to please not buy anything for us because we are still trying to get our house organized and we don't know what we want or need yet. I hope people listen.

And one point my moms family did the pick the name thing but that kinda died out and people still kind of give some people gifts. But I have taken a stand and don't bring anything.

But my dads family is still doing gifts for everyone! Not a single kid in the family,We are grown ass adults. No.

I got out of it while living in S Africa thankfully but now I'm back to feeling like I can't show up to my dads family empty handed. I think I'm just going to tell them this year, no gifts!

[raangoli]

I forgot about the decor part! This year, I decided to try to make paper "marigold" garland for Diwali. I ordered stuff from Amazon and I hope it works out. I'd like to put up lights, but I hate that people are stupid and think that you've already decorated for Christmas.

For Thanksgiving, I have a few fun decorations for the mantel, like this owl garland:



We have an artificial tree for Christmas and lots of traditional decor, so I think we will stick to that this year. 

[iammalcolmx]

What are you celebrating this year? Thanksgiving and Christmas

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc? NO WAY

Are you traveling? Yes for Thanksgiving.

Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating? For Christmas we bought all of our parents Charter Memberships to the African American Museum. H and I haven't decided on what to give to each other yet. 

[raangoli]

Oct 13, 2016 13:59:11 GMT -5 freedom said:

raangoli I LOVE that owl garland

Thanks! I got it last year from paper source. You have to make it yourself but everything is pre-cut for you. It was a lot of fun to put together

[busybodyk]

What are you celebrating this year? Thanksgiving and Christmas

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc? No

Are you traveling?

Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating? We always send holiday cards. The last 2 years they were pics of DD with Santa. I'd like to do family pics but I'm not super motivated to organize them so they will probably be the same this year. We have a fake tree but I'm not sure if we will put it up since we will be traveling. We have a small one I might put up for DD to enjoy. We will give some gift cards.

[meshaliuknits]

Halloween, thanksgiving & Christmas.

We DO UP Halloween, half-ads thanksgiving & 3/4-ass Christmas. I put in the extra work on Christmas for the kids all the while longing for ye olden days when we spent the day laying on a beach.

[DesertMoon]

Well in Canada we already had thanksgiving, I cooked and everyone enjoyed it but I think I cooked the turkey dry.

We celebrate Christmas and the orthodox Christmas in January. Other than that we have baootha coming which is a 3 day fast for Jonah (Jonah and ththe whale) because he saved our people of Nineveh (Assyrian ppl) it's a whole thing with specific things we do, it's kind of interesting, although personally I'm an athiest I keep up with this stuff because I think it's special/ cool to show my kids their culture.

For baootha we

*fast for 3 days vegan and do not east until sun down

* on the last day we set our table for Jonah.

* we put out parsley, a cup of water with a cracked egg inside (by morning the egg in the water should make a symbol, usually a church) these walnut taffy sweets we make with powder (in the morning we should see signs of him tapping his cane in the powder) A mirror and a brush (for him to comb his beard)

* we put salt under our tongue before we sleep and pray with a special intention. (You should have a dream from him that night if your fast was good)

[andwhat]

That is interesting DesertMoon. I have never heard of that.

[newnamesameperson]

Oct 13, 2016 7:38:59 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Ugh I hate this time of year. It's not that I am a Grinch, it's more that it involves a lot of planning and traveling/schlepping.

This year we're celebrating:
Diwali (October 30)
Thanksgiving
Christmas

We usually just get together with my family for Diwali. Last year we went to a local Indian restaurant and then back to our house. This year, we will probably just go see my parents at their house.

I think we will host Thanksgiving. We've done it the past 2 years because we were tired of being the ones to traveled, so we made people come to us. I think we will do it again this year. But I am lazy and I order the prepared meal from Wegmans (it's delicious, seriously!) and then make my beloved mac and cheese.

I have no idea about Christmas this year. Since it will be BB's first, I am sure we will travel between families. I am tired just thinking about it.

Happy Diwali! 

[newnamesameperson]

What are you celebrating this year?
Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc?
Are you traveling?
Doing any gift giving? Holiday cards? Decorating?


Celebrating - I'd love to find a Diwali function but we'll be out of town so we'll see.
Hosting - I had really hoped to but life happens. Will likely go to the in-laws.
Traveling - Not really
Gift Giving - Yes, I have a slight problem with gifts. It's how I show people I love them....so um you get the idea.

I used to do Holiday cards but I'm not feeling it this year.

Decorating - See the above life happened, but maybe... I tend to love to shop so well...

[raangoli]

newnamesameperson Happy Diwali to you and yours !

[rootbeerfloat]

Celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

Not hosting anything. My mom likes having Thanksgiving at her house. My family (parents, sister's family, my family) goes out for Christmas Eve, then it's just my immediate family Christmas morning.
 
Nope. This would've been a year to celebrate with H's family, but we're trying to get on the same schedule as his brother, so we're skipping a year.

I love shopping for and giving gifts. I usually do cards to because I like to AW photos lol. I'm not big on decorating, but I let the kids take that over.

ETA: Also celebrating DD's birthday (late Oct) and DS's birthday (right after Christmas).

[sfy]

Happy Diwali, raangoli and newnamesameperson !

Sorry, I thought I was waiting for the 30th on this .

[thejackpot]

What are you celebrating this year?

We have so much stuff in the next few months our anniversary on 10/21. Dh bday, ds bday which falls on Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then my bday. My favorite time of year

Are you hosting anything? If so, details--how many, what's on your menu, etc? Not hosting Thanksgiving. We are going to friends who live about an hr away and my sister and her family will join us there. I will probably make a dish or two but nothing major. I will buy a bday cake from my favorite bakery.
Christmas is not nailed down yet.

Are you traveling? We may do Miami for Christmas. Dh originally said he wanted to stay home which was great because who wants to travel with 3 kids but I am ok with going to my Momma's house. It's easy once I get there and the weather is perfect.

Doing any gift giving? Def getting gifts for my niece and bestie's girls. My kids don't need anything but dd has fallen hard for Santa so we shall see.
Holiday cards? I always do NYs cards. Less pressure to get them out by a certain day. Well I guess they need to be sent before Feb but that's doable.
Decorating I can't wait to put up the tree and stuff. Less stuff with the littles being so hands on but I must put out one black Santa!

[thejackpot]

newnamesameperson and raangoli Happy Diwali !

[andwhat]

Oct 14, 2016 16:23:20 GMT -5 sfy said:

Happy Diwali, raangoli and newnamesameperson !

Sorry, I thought I was waiting for the 30th on this .

Me too. Happy Diwali raangoli and newnamesameperson

[meshaliuknits]

Oooh, @kirkette is visiting me for Christmas!