Hi Tupp,
It's nice to know you have something to do. The Season is so different for so many people.
There was always a tree and the family when I was growing up, then, when we all had partners, we began to split between families, things change----as we all know, Nothing stays the same.
For my D and me, I always had a tree and tried to give her a good Season. We were usually with family, as the 3 siblings had 2 kids each, all born one a year from 1957 to 1965 (with the exception of 1962)= 6 + my D. My brother was later with his 2 kids. Now we are all grandparents of those kids' kids....come one year one of us will be a great grandparent!
For me? Y stopped putting up a tree when D and her husband stopped coming in a xmas and gave up on it entirely when I was dismissed. I have been out here for 14 years and have accepted a couple of invitations, but I don't have "the feeling" anymore. Karla does a great Xmas, as I found out last year. A jar with all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies (just mix and add melted butter, mix, drop and bake) a used book, (she threw in a bottle of wine for me--haha) but things that were useful, recycled etc. but nice. I was very impressed with her excellent imagination.
I bought her a yoga statue, as I had given her one for her birthday and she told me the setup of it and now she needed another, as she is into symmetry, so symmetry she has with her twins!
My D has a ½ sister, through their father, who lives not far from me. M invited me there the first year I was here on my own and gave me a wonderful big red Xmas ball, on a long red ribbon....it hangs all the year round from a ceiling hook in the corner of the living room--I dust it with a dust mop....so am always ready with at least one decoration.
I could say I am a Bah-Humbug, but it's not quite true--- I believe it is who you spend time with over the holidays, and any holiday!
Best
Izzy