Despite not being a part of your community, thank you for everything you do.
Your Christmas Plans
- Thread starter TimeFlies
- Start date
Heading to my mom's ranch on the 23rd, delivering groceries. The rest of my family arrives around noon on Christmas eve, I will be the chef that evening, and Christmas day. Christmas lunch will be cornish hens with curry and cranberry rice stuffing. Tractor time somewhere in there chopping trees, hauling brush, installing a weight distribution hitch, loading the Tractor to take to my house on the 26th. The tractor might then be due for a 100 hour service during the week, then heading to east Dallas the 29th to dig a 175 foot ditch, redo a 25x80 foot driveway, and maybe a few swales. Returning Jan 2nd.
Wife is headed to Mexico tomorrow to visit family for Christmas. She'll be gone two weeks. I'll be home watching our dogs and tending to the home front. No plans for Christmas. Probably just visit my mother's grave, call my dad back east, and watch TV.
No, the OP's question was "Christmas" not "the week of Christmas". But you already knew that.
It's all more like the, "months of Christmas". The one thing that I'm noticing, is that Christmas is becoming more and more commercialized every year. I get that it's the biggest time of the year for most retailers. And it really reflects on their yearly bottom line.
As Joe Pesci said about the Mob, in the movie, "Casino"...... "The dollars. Always the dollars". Every year the Christmas decorations and "specials" come out earlier and earlier. Back when I was a kid, you never saw anything Christmas related until after the Thanksgiving holidays.
Many stores worked around the clock the day before "Black Friday", getting everything all set up. Today it keeps getting earlier every year. Stretching the "Christmas" shopping season as far as possible.
My local Walmart had half of the lawn and garden department cleared out. And they had it filled with decorations, trees, and other assorted Christmas crap way back in late September.
Then comes all the "after Christmas" sales that run well into the New Year. It won't be long until this becomes a constant and continuous, never ending deal.
As Joe Pesci said about the Mob, in the movie, "Casino"...... "The dollars. Always the dollars". Every year the Christmas decorations and "specials" come out earlier and earlier. Back when I was a kid, you never saw anything Christmas related until after the Thanksgiving holidays.
Many stores worked around the clock the day before "Black Friday", getting everything all set up. Today it keeps getting earlier every year. Stretching the "Christmas" shopping season as far as possible.
My local Walmart had half of the lawn and garden department cleared out. And they had it filled with decorations, trees, and other assorted Christmas crap way back in late September.
Then comes all the "after Christmas" sales that run well into the New Year. It won't be long until this becomes a constant and continuous, never ending deal.
Comfort and joy... hoping you have some this Christmas.
Really excited that this will be the first year we've been married that my wife doesn't have to work. Actually I think it's the first Christmas she's had off since starting at her hospital in 2016. It's going to be extra special because it's also our first Christmas as 3 of us, not just the two, with our 11 month old along with us.
My family does not live around here, so we will see them next week.
Christmas day will be breakfast at my wife's grandmother's with extended family followed by later evening just at the in-laws house with my wife and her siblings. It will be a lot of fun of course with our eleven month old and her sister's 18 month old.
Country ham really isn't a "thing" around St. Louis, but my wife's parents actually came to Kentucky for Thanksgiving and they were quite taken with the Country Ham my mom served. I hunted for a while(I made the mistake of not buying one in Kentucky) and found one at a farm we've bought from a few times. It wasn't cheap, and I ended up with 15lbs of ham, but I'm going to cook the thing for Christmas at her parents(and we're probably going to be eating ham for a month). I need to start soaking it today, as my plan is to cook it Saturday. This should be quite an adventure, but I'm optimistic for something good.
My family does not live around here, so we will see them next week.
Christmas day will be breakfast at my wife's grandmother's with extended family followed by later evening just at the in-laws house with my wife and her siblings. It will be a lot of fun of course with our eleven month old and her sister's 18 month old.
Country ham really isn't a "thing" around St. Louis, but my wife's parents actually came to Kentucky for Thanksgiving and they were quite taken with the Country Ham my mom served. I hunted for a while(I made the mistake of not buying one in Kentucky) and found one at a farm we've bought from a few times. It wasn't cheap, and I ended up with 15lbs of ham, but I'm going to cook the thing for Christmas at her parents(and we're probably going to be eating ham for a month). I need to start soaking it today, as my plan is to cook it Saturday. This should be quite an adventure, but I'm optimistic for something good.
Not at my house. We love ham. Casseroles, soup, omelets, sandwiches etc. In fact, if it were up to me, we'd have ham on Thanksgiving.
Our family doesn't do Christmas gifts other than for the kids and some treats for the adults. I think we all prefer to buy ourselves what and when we want it rather than be at the mercy of someone else's questionable taste.
Tamales are a Christmas tradition I could really get behind!Staying home, daughters are making Christmas turkey dinner. no tamales this year.
I wish we were that way. I'm having a terrible time finding something for my wife. Clothes are out as the last two occasions she's complained that I buy her stuff that looks like what I bought for my mom.
I got an idea. Your wife would love it if you were to take her shopping for several hours or the whole day. She can model for you dozens of dresses, sweaters, and shoes, maybe even socks. She will ask you what looks best on her and then give you the eye before choosing another option. It will be great fun - for her anyway!
You're a, evil, twisted man, VavaroomI got an idea. Your wife would love it if you were to take her shopping for several hours or the whole day. She can model for you dozens of dresses, sweaters, and shoes, maybe even socks. She will ask you what looks best on her and then give you the eye before choosing another option. It will be great fun - for her anyway!
Actually, we're supposed to go shopping together tonight for kids in the family. I think I'll make her pick her own present out this year.
Thank you!You're a, evil, twisted man, Vavaroom
Do what you have to do!
I’m going to Del Rio, Texas to visit my in-laws. It will be the normal Christmas stuff, but they usually have beef fajita meat and sausage instead of turkey and ham. My FIL has a friend of a friend selling an ‘82 Lincoln Mark VI sedan with 51K that has been sitting a few years that I might buy for my son’s first car. I’m also going to check out a 58 Cadillac Sedan DeVille that an elderly friend of my FIL is selling, but will need a full restoration and has been sitting since about 1980. My son really wants the ‘58, but I doubt I’ll have it safely roadworthy by 2027, when he turns 16. My FIL also promised him his unrestored ‘31 Model A 5-window coupe. Of course, him getting any car is contingent on grades.
That's exactly what we do. After we got married we agreed to no gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Valentines Day, "sweetest day", anniversaries, and all the other nonsense.
Instead, when we see a big ticket item, or anything else we really want, we simply buy it. We always end up money ahead. Especially when you factor in cards, flowers, candy, and all the rest of the crap people waste money on. It's worked well for 40 years.
