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Hellidays: for the inner Grinch

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Hopalong:
No need for anybody to post here at all...though I might!
But here's a "safe space" [snort] for holiday-snowflakes like myself to comment/vent/hiccup if ever needed.

Love and hopefully some laughs too--
Hops

Twoapenny:
I love my inner Grinch, Hops, and my loathing of Christmas excess has become legendary :)  Lol.  I'm going to invite a friend who's had a pretty bad year to stay if he wants to - he has a young son so he might be seeing him over Christmas but if he isn't he's welcome to stay with us for a few days.  There are several homeless guys in town I've been getting to know so I've started putting together Christmas boxes for them.  One of my neighbours is an elderly disabled chap - I think his neighbours the other side look after him pretty well but I'll check and if he's on his own on the day I'll pop round.  But yeah, the endless presents, all the wrapping and packaging that goes in the bin, the forced merriment and the horrible sense of loss and loneliness that a lot of people endure at that time of year - I'd be happy to see it all become about helping other people out and rewarding yourself with a bit of chocolate at the end of the day :) Grinch away!! Lol xx

Hopalong:
That's the loveliest way to deal with it, Tupp.
I really respect you for this.

Gifting to others who have it worse is THE answer.

Thanks for the inspiration!

xo
Hops

Hopalong:
Occurs to me I could do something that is very simple, and embodies what I like about the holidays. A sense of play and sharing joyfulness that is what Christmas lights are about. And sharing that by displaying them.

Lights have no dogma, verse, family formality or ritual, expectations, or big meaning. They are just there. Colorful (or white). And they're giving because they give delight to people walking or driving past in the dark and cold.

I have a very big front window I've often thought would look delightful with a couple cheap strands of simple twinkly lights. Hmmm.

Just that. Nobody can interpret, amplify, assume, conclude anything from twinkly lights (maybe some with color). They just drive past and for a moment, smile.

Wait. Am I losing my Grinchitude?  :shock:

Hops

Twoapenny:
I love Christmas lights, Hops, it's my favourite thing about Christmas.  I have visions one day of having some sort of frontage in a public area that I can dress with lights to suit all the seasons, events, special days and so on because I just think twinkly lights look so pretty :)  I love lights in trees over the winter as well, and the lights they put up in town :)  I'm not completely averse to the whole holiday period, I'm just very aware that for a lot of people (and I included myself in this for a long time) it's a miserable time because it highlights their loneliness, people they won't be spending it with (for whatever reason), it puts pressure on people to buy things they can't afford or just to spend money unnecessarily.  Add to that the excess drinking, eating, enforced time off, having to go into work when everyone else is off (whichever way it goes it's annoying) and just that pressure that you ought to be having a wonderful time and bleurgh, I'm glad when the whole thing is over.

For son, the whole thing is a complete sensory overload from September onwards because it's just everywhere.  The shops are full of Christmas things from early September, there are adverts up advertising Christmas meals and Christmas events from August - everyone wants to make money out of it and it's just too much for him.  So Christmas for us had to be quiet because he couldn't cope and that's when 'the spirit of Christmas' comes out for me.  If you can't get out or are spending the day alone, for whatever reason, you soon find out which people are thinking of you and pick the phone up and which are busy enjoying themselves and don't give you a second thought.  The enforced solitude doesn't bother me anymore; other than son's presents I treat it like any other day.  I'm not doing a traditional meal this year because that just feels like a faff; I don't particularly enjoy big roast dinners because they leave me bloated so it's another thing I did because it's tradition.  I'm going to buy myself lots of nice finger buffet type food this year so son and I can graze throughout the day.  I'd just love to see the whole festive period being more about people than stuff x

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