Moxie Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I am seriously considering NOT sending Christmas cards. The stress of getting my 4 kids dressed up and smilling all at the same time is too much. I end up screaming, "Smile! Why aren't you smiling?? This isn't over until everyone smiles!!" Any ideas why they aren't smiling during such a pleasant experience?? I'm NOT buying special Christmas outfits this year. We'll be home, the only time we have to wear them would be Midnight Mass and, at midnight, who cares?? I'm trying very hard to NOT exchange gifts with the kids cousins this year. We see each other about every 2 years, we don't know them and they don't know us. Plus, none of these kids is hurting for more stuff! And I hate going to the post office! So, what are you NOT doing, by choice, this year?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I'm not sending out Christmas cards either ... honestly between my blog and Facebook, I figure anyone I would send a picture to would see it already. :lol: I *will* probably print out a nice picture to send to my "aunt" in Ohio, just because I love her that much. :) And more this week related, but we are not doing anything for Thanksgiving. Tonight we are hosting the grandparents, an aunt, and an "uncle" for a joint birthday party honoring dd (1!) and ds#2 (8) ... tomorrow we are not doing anything nor having anyone over. I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately we are doing a gift exchange with the cousins on my mom's side, but it's the only one, so it's not too bad (plus my mom offered to help me with the gifts as I need to buy four - one for each of my kids to hand out). I was really hoping to avoid it this year, but the cousins are coming to Christmas Eve and they are all young enough (for the most part) to warrant an exchange. I am not "allowing" dh to put up his Lego train under the tree this year until he is on Christmas break (he teaches through the 23rd). I am not going to constantly redirect an army-crawling one year old from it every five minutes of the day for 2+ weeks (once we get the tree) while trying to teach the boys. So, he has to wait. :) I need to keep my sanity somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I am not going to forget to send Chrsitmas cards. And we are not going to buy an obscene amount of gifts. We pare down every year and it's still ridiculous. Otherwise, we put the kibosh on the forced holiday appearances in previous years. I refuse to drive hours to exchange gifts and socialize with people I just don't want to spend a single second of my life with. The stress of it taints the whole season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I stopped sending Christmas cards many years ago. Over the years we kept paring down outdoor decor until finally stopped altogether except for a wreath on door. To ease stress, we ceased driving 8 hours in sometimes foul weather to visit extended family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I don't send Christmas cards. We do take pics this time of year. Don't dress everyone up, and take a natural picture. I have pics of 2nd son screaming in a few of ours. Nothing I could do about it. It tells a story. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Rather than Christmas outfits, everyone gets a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. We take a picture of everyone in their new Jams on Christmas Eve and the kids wake up in new Jams on Christmas Day for pictures while opening gifts. We are pairing down the number of things and trying to buy at least 2 of each child's top 5 gifts. We are only spending $15-20/school-aged neice/nephew rather than up to $50 per every neice/nephew. We are not eating T-giving dinner on T-giving... We are going to a Chinese buffet, something DH and I used to do every year before children. We will have turkey dinner with all the fixings on Saturday, something my side of the family has done for years. Come over to the Dark Side! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I am seriously considering NOT sending Christmas cards. The stress of getting my 4 kids dressed up and smilling all at the same time is too much. I end up screaming, "Smile! Why aren't you smiling?? This isn't over until everyone smiles!!" Any ideas why they aren't smiling during such a pleasant experience?? I have never equated Christmas cards with photos. In fact, I have never included pictures in cards. I know many people do but it feels so weird to me. And I never keep the few pictures I have received in cards. Then again, I'm not really a 'picture' person. This is really bad, but I am not operating on a budget this year. I mean, I'm not going to go crazy and spend thousands of dollars but the last couple of years was so stressful with me trying to stay within a certain dollar range. This year I am going to gift the things I know the recipients will really like rather than having to focus on just what I can buy with the budget I'm on. It's one reason I started to shop early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I haven't bought a Christmas dress for dd yet and probably won't. I'll dress her nicely and take some pictures outside. I am going to send Christmas cards but probably just generic ones for everyone....buy a box and send them. I'm essentially finished Christmas shopping so I'm not going to go out in the stores much during the holidays. I don't know if we are going to send a family letter this year either. DH's family is going through some crises this season--I don't want to flaunt our good fortune in their faces right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Not making a turkey at Thanksgiving! :tongue_smilie: But I will on Christmas Eve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) We are not: Sending Christmas Cards Exchanging gifts with Dh's sibs and their children, my brother and his wife, and we do not have "teachers" to give gifts (normally home baked goods, with some of my home canned veggies and fruits, in a decorated box, tied with a bow) since our kids now stay in service with us. No baking for me! Yay!!!!! We will do a gift card for the youth pastor & spouse, as well as senior pastor & spouse. We will not be hosting, nor assisting with any 4-H Christmas events. Our own club will not be meeting in December. We are not attending the church Christmas dinner so I will not need to cook a large main dish to pass plus dessert nor feel compelled to help decorate, provide banquet music, or clean up. We are not putting up a Christmas Tree. Instead, we are hanging fake pine bows on the walls with bows, and placing a 3 ft. artificial tree on top of my baby grand piano. This means that dh doesn't have to do the annual shuffling of furniture (it's a big job) in order to accomodate a tree. I told the church they would have to find another accompanist for the worship team and choir if they planned another year of such elaborate Christmas music that they held 12 practice sessions two or more hours in length during Advent. I think the point was well taken. I haven't been asked to do ANYTHING musically but show up on Sunday and play for congregational singing. :001_smile: As much as I love my mother, I am not allowing her to plan five family get-togethers, cookie decorating, gingerbread house making, etc. that heavily involve me in order to pull it off. My dad has been instrumental in reminding her that she needs to slow down for her own health and that the podiatrist would like her off her feet a bit more. What we are doing is: Personally, I'm working on promoting more of a feeling of peace and that is why none of the above is happening. I am a people pleaser and I have, in the past, allowed those who are good with the manipulation/guilt trip game, ie. "You are ruining our church Christmas because we just have to have all of this elaborate music and it's your fault we won't have it because you are the only one that can play this difficulty level." or "Our school has no one else we can turn to...the children will be so disappointed if they can't have their Christmas musical." or .....you get the picture. Sometimes it really stinks to be the only classically trained pianist in the county. Well, I shouldn't say that...dd can play this stuff well enough herself. But, her college classes and now her paramedic job have not allowed her any scheduling flexibility, thus they still come back to me. So, I'm saying, "No, is NO, is NO, is NO!" People aren't liking it. I'm learning to not care. Things have gotten so bad the last few seasons, that when dd was at Barnes and Nobles a couple of weeks ago, she found the "Bah Humbug" mug and bought it for me! Her brothers' reponse, "It's perfect for mom!". Sigh....big hint that things need to be different for us. I am now drinking coffee from the mug and it's my reminder that things.have.to.change. and change begins with me. I hope this means our next month will be far less stressful and much more meaningful. We are anonymously assisting a single mom with twin boys whose husband developed a nasty online habit that lead to behavior with, shall we say, ladies of the night. They are now divorced and he is in court ordered counseling, but he has no job so she gets zip for child support. She works at our local library, really sweet person, and very little money. We want to make sure she has lots of groceries, heat bill paid for a couple of months, and presents under the tree for her and her three year old sons. This will be my favorite part of the Christmas season. Dh is, for the first time in five years, not working Christmas. Not only that, but he went kind of ballistic on his manager about the year of paid sabbatical they owe him because of his accumulated comp time they have not allowed him take as well as his stress level. His manager thinks dh is looking for another position (which he is not because we are still waiting to find out exactly what mil's diagnosis is so we know if we can leave or not), and out of fear of losing 5.5 million dollars in contracts if dh walks, decided he better do something ASAP. Dh took last Friday and all of this week off as comp and this has also resulted in two + weeks of solitude from work beginning Friday the 16th of December - January 2nd. We are giddy with excitement. In order to make sure he gets lots of rest and NO stress, we are not doing anything elaborate. But we do have some fun, low key activities planned. We might actually get the ski's out and practice not falling on our butts if snow falls! :D I am lightening our school load. The kids are doing very, very well. So, I've decided that from November 28th - December 21st, we'll only have math, science, and for the younger two, spelling...oldest ds will have Latin. That's it and we will begin no later than 8:30 a.m. and be done before noon. Faith Edited November 23, 2011 by FaithManor spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I'm not sending Christmas cards. I was inconsistent with them anyway, sending them some years and not others. I decided to stop sending them. Between facebook, email, and the people we'll see in person, I will wish everyone a Merry/Happy whatever-they-celebrate without mailing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 We haven't sent cards in years. We are NOT going to MIL's for Christmas for the first time...ever. She insists on going to BIL's 2 hours away every Christmas (like they can't leave their house?) and we get the short end of the stick. I put my foot down, now I hope DH will. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I cut several people from our holiday card list. Anyone we hadn't seen or spoken to in a decade is off the list -- and that was quite a few people! I have 3 cards left to write and they will go in the mail on Friday. I am not sending cookies in the mail. I always have 6 or 7 people to send to, everything has to be timed just right and sent priority mail -- not worth it. I'm sending homemade granola instead, which is easier, cheaper, and won't need special shipping. I will still do cookie trays to deliver nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 We haven't sent cards in years. This year we are not going to Florida the day after Christmas like we always have, and are greatly reducing the gifts we buy extended family. It has always stressed me out so much to have about 50 gifts to buy, wrap, and pack up in the car. Having to get ready for that trip has made my Christmas extremely stressful for as long as I can remember. I am going to actually enjoy Christmas this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 not polishing the silver not attending a cookie exchange, which makes me sad :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 We send out Christmas cards every year. We also have family Christmas pictures taken every year. BUT last year just in the attire alone for our family of 5 was over $125!! And that's bargain shopping and ebay shopping! And I can't swing that this year..so I'm thinking of pulling together things we currently own and just pray it comes together fine...otherwise I'll be putting money out for outfits that we really can't afford! :glare: All of that to say..I'm NOT spending extra money on getting us all new outfits for pictures. I can't afford to do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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