Honestly? It's too much stress for me. I hate Christmas lists. I mean - if you're just going to buy me a list I'll just send you to the store next time I need to go and save the money on the wrapping and the effort of unwrapping.
And I still have never been in a one horse open sleigh or really heard "jingle bells" - I live in the Willamette Valley where our weather is very rainy but very mild. I really need to sing something about studded snow tires and chains and how people can't drive when there's 1/16" of snow on the pavement. Otherwise the Christmas songs by and large just don't resonate with about anything here. We do have a Catholic church across from where I work that is also a school and they actually do have a real school bell that rings for school in the morning and it gets rung for services and such though. That's kinda cool.
The get-togethers? Too much. Rush - race - gotta pack up - gonna be late. Can't sleep in - gotta go! Gotta be back early from 1/2 of the family visits on Christmas eve so the kids aren't tired and grouchy on Christmas morn and we only got 90 minutes before we gotta race somewhere else and OH FORGOT THE CROCK POT STUFF!!!!
Save the receipts! So they can take it back if you didn't do the shopping list right!
Just - it's all more work than its worth......but that's just me. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. Maybe it's because I'm a grouch. For some reason my most memorable Christmases was one when I was on night patrol once overseas for some reason - I don't know. I just felt the spirit and - well - there's something about being out there so someone else doesn't have to.
