Christmas. …….‘30 last minute gifts under $100’ – trust me, if I am paying $100 it will be well thought out present not a last minute gift – is this to add to the ‘others’ I have bought?’
‘Great for stocking fillers–only $30’ – that is not stocking filler – that is a present. How absolutely ridiculous – a stocking filler is a hanky – not a bottle of Givenchy
I am not a Wowser, a Grinch or a Bore and have never been one to poo poo a blow out at Christmas. But this Christmas I have witnessed so many trolleys with piles of presents with Mum looking anything but thrilled with her latest purchases– guilty, resentful, harassed but not thrilled. It’s another job and she knows she still has to buy groceries for this week and then MORE for Christmas and then she has to COOK it all and then she has to CLEAN it all up and then….do it all again on Boxing Day before she goes back to work in a week.
The chaos at the supermarkets – there is not a wombok to be seen. There are a few scattered tins of condensed milk, there are gaps in the custard rows, the jelly crystals are sparse – definitely no Aeroplane Jelly – and it will be worse on the 24th – THAT is the day everyone buys their fresh produce, the last minute extras – like another whole trolley of essentials.
Just let me say at this point, I know it is everyone’s right to do whatever they like and spend what they like and its none of my business at all, but not if I am impacted. And I am – the uneasiness I feel seeing the unyielding eyes of the Septuagenarian as he goes for the LAST parking spot in the Shopping Centre say ‘don’t even THINK about it girlie”. Never underestimate anyone – it is the last park and its fair game. Oh the rage, the horn tooting, the cursing, the finger pointing, the anger. It is not pretty and really the outright aggression gets worse each year.
It also puts an incredible amount of stress on families. The rushing between relatives, the overload of extra work with cooking, shopping, present buying, the disagreement between husband and wife about the venue, the gifts, the time, the designated driver, the spend – it is stressful because it is SO important to make it perfect.
I know a lot of people love it and that’s for many reasons, I also love the family time with the extended family. I remember……a while ago when I was young, we had a roast lunch. We only had chickens a couple of times a year so it was special, we had roast veggies and a few desserts, and it was about the only time we got lollies so it was a huge treat.
It is very hard now to compete with that as we get spoilt daily. The only way I can see it going forward is to reverse it. Make it a day of fun, laughter but less of everything. Make it special for what you do with your children instead what you give. Don’t spend all of December stressed and then all Christmas day in the kitchen to feed them when it is probably more important to us than the kids. Enjoy LESS instead of worrying all day about how you are going to pay for it and then the depression on Boxing Day because it didn’t live up to expectations, and you have a huge credit card bill to pay off.
Our family has morphed our presents down to one $10 present only per person for the Adults. The children still get presents up to $30 each from each family. We play Dirty Santa or White Elephant or Yankee Swap – it goes by many names – the game where you buy one present for under the tree for $10 and the next person can choose a present from under the tree or take someone else’s. If they take someone else’s then that person gets to choose from under the tree again and so on. It’s hilarious, brings out all kinds of ridiculous behaviour from the adults, and no one ever really likes their present but its great fun.
For my birthday in November I asked my sons to either paint me a picture I could frame or write me a poem. They chose the poem and wrote it together. I am so very glad they did. When all is broken and eaten and drunk and thrown out, I will still have this most beautiful poem till I’m 120 years old from my 2 boys and I will cherish it. Merry Christmas. xx
