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Old 23-10-2019, 05:20 PM   #347
emma_mcraf
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Devon
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Originally Posted by Yvonne G View Post
Several years ago my grand daughter, who lives in Texas, came to visit me on Christmas. We bought one of those tiny trees and decorated it. After she went back home I planted the tree in my leopard yard. It's now taller than me. I don't do Christmas anymore. Too much work for not enough reward. No decorations, no music, no shopping. I do send out a few cards. Over on the Tortoise Forum, a group of us have a card exchange. It's quite nice receiving cards from folks all over the world.
I streamlined Christmas a few years ago. I used to write over 70 cards, many out of obligation and to people who only get in contact around Christmas, so I knocked that on the head. Now it’s immediate family, closest of friends and colleagues only.
Likewise, the ‘obligation presents’ also got knocked on the head.
So now we just do it for us and I buy presents only for my husband and children.
I don’t believe in the religious side of Christmas but I love the spirit of the season and so we do it our way.
It’s certainly hard work decorating, but we enjoy it, though keep it fairly low-key as my youngest is autistic and so doesn’t really like too much change and doesn’t feel the festive vibe.
I do almost all the shopping online and have hubby and my eldest daughter to nip to the shops for me and pick up anything I can’t get online.

I think it’s as hard work as you want to make it. We just do it our way. I think, for me, the reward is having the family sit around the table together for the Christmas meal on Christmas Eve (we stopped having it on Christmas Day when the kids were young as I was spending most of the day in the kitchen and not playing with them!) and then just chilling the next day.

It’s lovely you do your Christmas card exchange and have cards coming from all over the world.
I think people put too much pressure on themselves to have a ‘perfect Christmas’ when there’s no need. I like to hear when people just do it their way and aren’t bulldozed into doing what the extended family demands and so on.
For us, it’s just a couple of days to be together, eat and relax.
Enjoy your Hallmark films!
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Emma

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