How are your holiday preparations going?
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Well we already had Xmas with my parents (hardcore Christians and hardcore Dems) wherein I needed to get another look at our health care system. Tonight going to see her family which is cool but we have to spend the night which is not cool since our bed is so perfect I am ruined for sleeping on anything less and it annoys my back.
GREAT!
My Mom and I are too poor to give gifts, so no one’s expecting any.
And we’re not going anywhere, and no one’s coming here.
I’m going to pick-up some Chinese food on Christmas Day – and we’ll enjoy the left-overs on Friday!
But don’t feel bad for us.
We’re Russian-Orthodox (in truth, I’m an Agnostic), and our Christmas is on January 7th, and we’ll all head over to my sister’s house for our feast.
When I was a kid, and people used to tease me about our Christmas coming late, I used to tell them, “LATE? We’re not 2 weeks behind you. We’re 50 weeks ahead of you! Look at the calendar year, and you tell me whose Christmas is late?!?!?!?!?!”
That usually worked, because it confused the hell out of them!
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, to one and all!!!
Tree is set up and lit.
Sam’s presents are purchased. My parents will have to wait til Friday or Saturday, but they know that.
House is pretty well cleaned.
Bagels set aside for Christmas Day.
Invitations to open house sent.
Going to pick up homebrew gifts tomorrow.
Preparing for the airport nightmare to go pick up Sam.
However, I didn’t get my festivus pole set up. No matter: there will be airing of grievances tonight. I got a lot of problems with you people!
All taken care of except… no present for mom yet. Mom is hard. 🙂
I gave my mother a Roomba. She was complaining that her back wouldn’t allow her to sweep under the furniture.
We are all set, I think. Have a get together tomorrow just down the road. Having my family here on Christmas Day. Wife’s family here on the 27th. Since I am the one who likes to cook, I end up working my ass off with all the food prep. That job will start tomorrow afternoon when we get home from the first shindig. But I enjoy it. The only down side is after all that work in the kitchen I don’t feel like eating when I’m finished. I just want to pour me about a triple shot of really good scotch, prop my feet up, sip at my leisure and watch everybody else eat. But hey, I’m the host. So I can do what I want, right?
Terribly. I have purchased nothing. Haven’t had time to shop. I wish we just said “we are done giving gifts now that there are no children”.
I hate gift giving, especially culturally forced gift giving. Same with receiving. I don’t WANT or NEED anything. I’m a terrible consumerist lol.
Actually, my holiday is almost done.
Normally,with the kids grown up, I prefer to try to ignore the holiday faux jolliness and commercialization of a prophet’s birthday who probably wasn’t who we think he was and who probably wasn’t born when we think he was.
Normally I’d go for plenty of grim counter-programming, anti-holiday entertainment fare, like a reviewing of the 2000 Aussie (should-be) classic On the Beach, a superior remake of the 1959 Hollywood version.
However, this year I have a heavily xtian tenant housemate who I have to accommodate. So, I’m appeasing her with the purchase of a small tree, a few ornaments, and one or two nice gifts for her in appreciation of her regularly paying full fair market rates on the rent and not bothering me too much with her religious beliefs.
Coming from another country, she’d never seen The Shop Around the Corner, so I feel good about introducing that one to her. Unless of course it too was communist-influenced …
Heh.. I’m from a devout Christian family and my folks refused to put up trees or lights. They immigrated here as adults and just never bought into the hype of the holiday as a secular or religious event.
I was done 2 months ago.
No kids, the fathers of my grandson are Hindu/Atheist and my wife is non-practicing Jewish.
Now, if I could just get the radio to stop playing “rock around the Xmas tree” …
It’s all set here, with the exception of wrapping a few small last-minute gifts. My best present came early; my middle son is home for ten days!
We’ll have a quiet Christmas Eve at my husband’s mother’s house, then come home and share gifts with my sons. Christmas Day will be spent with my husband’s family, but all I have to do is cook green beans and bring broccoli salad. Thanksgiving was on me, Christmas is on my Sister-in-Law.
Best holiday wishes to the folks here at the frog pond, and to Martin and his family. We have much to be thankful for, and much to enjoy.
From me too! I forgot.
We’re determined to not work too hard. No Hanukkah at all, Yule tree and a couple of presents, a couple of nice meals, and very short family trip upstate after the weekend because the boy has to work. Smartphones have made last minute despair shopping queues less hellish. Helpmeet and daughter must go to a Chinese wedding on January 1st (what is wrong with these people, don’t tell me they got a deal on the restaurant) so the 17-year-old and I can be bros together tied to our screens all day, sorry, that does sound a little sick, but I figure you can’t have relaxation without lax.
Japan where I’m currently living doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
Our friend across the street committed suicide yesterday.
We need to get some worcestershire sauce at Safeway.
Otherwise, the sun in Portland has been hiding lately.
I’m not much of a gift giver, but I did buy some things for my god baby Maddie. The last bit of stuff i bought for her arrived via FedEx today. She’s 3 though, and I’m not planning on wrapping it cause she could care less.
As for the other kids, I’ve got to work at the hospital on Christmas day, but I get off early enough that I’m planning on taking a few of the kiddos to see Annie, cause I know they’d love it. If I lived in one of the limited cities where Selma will be released though, I’d be going to see Selma with my older cousins instead.
Been hearing alot about the “Selma” movie this week. I was always gonna see Selma, but I also had the Angelina Jolie movie “Unbroken” on my ‘biopic” list. Of the two though, I’ve had at least 3 or 4 people I trust to review movies who have told me that Unbroken is “uneven” and not as good as the hype. Selma on the other hand, I’ve been told is STELLAR. In fact I was told to bring tissue because it’s uplifting, yet bitterswet.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has 43 critic reviews so far, has a 100% rating among critics and 95% among audiences who have seen it. Wow!
Here’s a new clip from the movie.
Selma New Trailer
I ain’t gonna lie, when the lil girls says at the beginning of this clip “Uncle Marty!” with such joy, I get a little misty!
Excellent! An experience during the holidays is a longer lasting, fond memory than almost all the tangible crap kids receive. Hope this version is more cool than what I took (and a spent a huge amount of money on) my then young (but probably not young enough) nieces to see many years ago.
An unusually early finish with preparations for me, the family serial procrastinator. We’re off to my brother’s farmhouse with all the kids and grandkids tonight for dinner and gifts and will finish up tomorrow night with a quiet dinner at our friend the chef’s home. No kids there, just the cats.
Workshop smells of varnish and turpentine as I’m finishing up a couple of hand-made wooden toys. Elves rock!