Skipping the holidays.

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Aug 15, 2020
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Atlanta, GA
Holidays have become much more of a chore with my family. Thanksgiving to Xmas is just a bunch of arguing and stress. This year I have eschewed all the traditional celebration and so far it has been stress free.

Thanksgiving we skipped the traditional at home celebration and instead cooked a few dishes for a potluck. No stress.

Xmas - skipping the family visit (always drama) and just jetting off to the Caribbean. No stress.

Don't get me wrong I love my family but I am definitely taking the easy road and just not dealing with any of that non-sense. Yes all the nieces and nephews are getting gifts via Amazon, as for me I will give the family a call from my hotel on the beach.

Holidays have become so stressful lately they just aren't even worth it.
 
The holidays are nothing but fun and relaxation for me. If they weren’t, I’d probably skip them too. Life is too short and because families involve so many personalities many times the family dynamics aren’t fixable - they just are what they are.
 
I agree its not worth it. Thanksgiving I worked getting a gas tank repaired and some other things then a night did 2 sets of injectors and had a normal dinner. Christmas is just another normal day here, we used to do it for the kids but they are grown and gone. We like it this way and have no desire to change, I do like watching bad Santa though.
 
Can't say I blame you. We have a pretty cool, stress-free, family for the most part, and there have been plenty of times that one or all of us have skipped a holiday/birthday/etc and just run off and done our own things. Sometimes you just need the change. A good family will understand, although it sounds like you'll probably catch flak for your decision, its not their life, its yours.
 
No kids here, but we stopped with the family visits about 20ish years ago.
Since then Christmas is spent at the ski resorts with a "Merry Christmas" phone call to the parents and few family members.
I must admit, over that time things have gotten much more stress free.
🤷‍♂️
 
My problem I have with "holidays" is all they have become is a retail moneymaker. "You're a bad person if you don't come into our store and spend all your money!". Christmas (hence the name "Christ" mas) is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and not about stuffing some corporation's wallet with your money.
 
4 and no more is my motto - just the immediate family.

We used to travel for Christmas - haven't for a while because lots going on but its a great idea.
 
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This year I have eschewed all the traditional celebration and so far it has been stress free.
Same here, but mostly because we're poor.

Xmas - skipping the family visit (always drama) and just jetting off to the Caribbean. No stress.
Unfortunately I can't skip this one. So I will gift everyone low-cost items, ensuring that the visit will be short and swift. No stress here either.

Don't get me wrong I love my family
Listen, and believe me, you don't even have to bother explaining yourself, I get it.

Yes all the nieces and nephews are getting gifts via Amazon
Greeting cards via USPS First Class mail is all mine get. Hopefully they arrive on time. Either way, it's the thought that counts. I love my family too, very much, however, I'd rather spend the money on things we need at home.

as for me I will give the family a call from my hotel on the beach
Way to go! Wish I could afford to go to the beach. 😥

Holidays have become so stressful lately they just aren't even worth it.
Couldn't agree more. We skipped Thanksgiving this year, but we were still thankful, mostly because we didn't have to eat turkey.
 
Holidays have become much more of a chore This year I have eschewed all the traditional celebration and so far it has been stress free.

Holidays have become so stressful lately they just aren't even worth it.

Like you, we are avoiding family and friends on holidays. Choosing instead to see them at other times. This makes for a much closer, more casual and friendly time, devoid of specific responsibilities and excess work. The result is fantastic. This is one of the secrets to a good life.

I loved the tradition of smoked turkey with my father in law, and the fun family gatherings on the various holidays. But he worked for days to make that happen. In a way, just to get family to show up. What he never understood is that he could have spent the same amount of preparation time visiting family and have had much more "face time" with everyone.
 
Were still an Old Skool family, just the wife and my 2 grown daughters, the girls love cooking on Thanksgiving and we still decorate for Christmas, lots of sentimental reasons, we enjoy the holidays and giving, can't tell you how many holidays I missed in my 22 yrs of service. ;)
 
I would totally be lost if we skipped holidays. I take holidays very seriously. I couldn’t imagine not having Christmas. It’s about family and Christ but I greatly enjoy the gifts too. I find it weird most adults don’t buy each other gifts. I certainly would. It’s not just a kids thing. My parents still buy each other gifts and put them under the tree. Maybe I’m misunderstanding your post or just don’t feel the same but I certainly could not skip any major holiday but to be fair holidays usually aren’t stressful for me plus who is going to complain about being off from work and getting paid and getting free stuff lol. If anything holidays generally take my mind off everything else. Now if only they would give us Columbus Day and MLK day off and Halloween and the day after Easter I’d be a very happy person. But they don’t ask my opinion of what days we should have off lol.
 
I couldn’t imagine not having Christmas.
Coca Cola popularized Christmas as we know it today. They also help create Monsanto, so there is that...

It’s about family and Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ wasn't born on December 25th, and having a Christmas tree in your home is mostly a pagan tradition.

Now if only they would give us Columbus Day and MLK day off and Halloween and the day after Easter I’d be a very happy person.
If you want long holidays and a low number of work hours per week then move to France.

I'm a very conservative person, and so is my family. However, Christmas was turned into a commercial holiday a long time ago and most people use it as an excuse to self indulge ... into their credit cards so they can buy themselves stuff they don't need to fill gaping holes that can't be filled.

Try Christmas without gifts and all the nonsense, you will enjoy it more.
 
My problem I have with "holidays" is all they have become is a retail moneymaker. "You're a bad person if you don't come into our store and spend all your money!". Christmas (hence the name "Christ" mas) is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and not about stuffing some corporation's wallet with your money.
And even worse - displacing all my Lawn & Garden products with 🇨🇳 junk - 😷
 
I'd be perfectly content with skipping Christmas. Our house is nice and peaceful and our kids are very well-behaved. I'm way out of my element at a big noisy get together with everyone else's wild and crazy kids. I enjoy the time with my immediate family but I could do without all the rest of the spending, family drama, etc. If it weren't important to my wife and kids, I'd just stay home and save my money and time.
 
My problem I have with "holidays" is all they have become is a retail moneymaker. "You're a bad person if you don't come into our store and spend all your money!". Christmas (hence the name "Christ" mas) is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and not about stuffing some corporation's wallet with your money.
agree 100%
 
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