My train was stopped in the middle of my ride home because of a terrorist attack, I may have missed the last ever chance to celebrate with my great-grandmother because my entire extended family got COVID, my hometown is desperately trying to prevent a huge flood and when i found out that i would be sad and lonely on christmas my muslim friends ghosted me :) So its a mix of some circumstances.
We... May have to close this thread early, I think you won.
Please remember that it is okay to be sad - sometimes it's literally the only correct response to a situation:-).
Xmas for me was ruined because I found a guy that was robbed and dumped in the middle of nowhere during my drive.
Helping him fucked up my entire days plans and even the little festivities I wanted to take part in but bloody hell who robs someone on Xmas and then leaves them to die? Ofc I had to help.
The intense rain didn't help. I think I'm ill now.
What the fuck.
Hope you're both doing alright. I guess one could say something about how helping others is what Christmas is all about or whatever, but seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people.
Good thing you were there to be a decent human being in a shitty situation.
Glad you were there to help at least. I imagine being robbed and murdered and dying in the rain would rank towards the high end of the "worst Christmases ever". If nothing else today will be one of your more memorable ones.
Thank you for being a good person anyway! Your plans may both have been ruined, but you're a hero to that guy! You'll both remember each other for the rest of your lives!
I said above that Christmas is alien to me, but isn't helping people and doing good the whole 'spirit of Christmas' thing? In a sense, you had the most appropriate Christmas even though it wasn't the most pleasant.
And, of course, you helped save a life. You're a hero!
my mother. asked her to stop bringing up my rapist in conversation with me. she said "ya know other people have problems too." Then she went and had holiday lunch at his house. that was before I was set to drive there for christmas, so instead I stayed home and did nothing. Turns out christmas is just a regular day.
Holy shit I'm so sorry. I'd give you all the hugs if I could.
Your mother sounds like what specialists would describe as a, and i quote, "massive cunt"
That's awful I'm so sorry. That's the kind of betrayal that you just don't come back from.
My <1 year old nephew nearly choked to death on a nerf dart. He briefly went unresponsive before the ambulance got there and would probably be dead if both his parents didn’t have medical training.
So I guess it’s not ruined in that he’s still alive and probably okay (still waiting to see if he aspirated anything), but it’s not how you want to spend Christmas! Especially the older siblings watching all this happen.
Wow I'm super glad he's ok. That could have been so so so much worse
im cpr certified and technically have the knowledge to "save" a choking person as i work a "safety job". i often wonder if id actually be able to do it in a real situation. shits scary i hope kiddos ok.
The doctors gave him the all clear!
You would.
Instincts kick in and you just do without thinking.
Imagine killing someone with a nerf gun. That's gotta be a record!
Whew, glad they saved him! Reminds me I used to tell friends with children or that live alone they should have a LifeVac in their home medical kit. Under 100 bucks.
Thanks! I didn't know this existed.
Humans. Where is my snow?
I too was mad that there was no snow on the ground for Christmas this year. Then I got a blizzard warning on my phone so it might still work out ¯_(ツ)_/¯
You dropped this \
washed up on beaches in Australia
I'm swimming in it! We always have a white Christmas, but this year it's spectacular. You could already ski (cross country) on the 23rd, since then there's 20 more centimetres of crispy new snow on top. It's amazing!
Obviously doesn't compensate for the heat elsewhere, but it won't stop me from appreciating what we've got!
Not ruined, but pretty fucking annoying. In laws came for a few weeks to visit for the holidays. We don’t see them as much as we’d like, and its nice. But MIL wants to include her sister too - the deadbeat aunt-in-law boomer who still can’t get her shit together for over 70 years. Whatever - we tolerate it.
Except she fucking shows up sicker than a dog and is hacking non stop. You know the kind of coughs where you can hear gallons of snot being coughed up - ya that. Wtf - I give it one week and we’ll all be miserable with that exact cold/flu/covid whatever the fuck it is. Fucking loser boomer bitch who thinks of nothing but herself. Sigh.
In order of worst to bad..
My cat of 14 years had to be put down, my parents gifted my sister nearly a half million dollars with the reasoning that she needs it more (with the " dont worry, we will even it out later"), my wifes mom semi disowned her ( not sure exactly what this situation is) and wifes dad is playing favorites with step kids.
Well fuck your parents, and I'm sorry about your kitty.
Well fuck your parents
From Alabama?
What the fuck
If it makes you feel better, I'm not expecting half a million of free money at any point!
Sorry about your cat.
My Wife's Father. I don't care for him even if he has changed following a letter she wrote to him saying she'd be out of his life if he didn't. In the past he beat her Mom and put my Wife through constant guilt trips. He honestly has changed a lot since the letter and he does very well with his grand daughter, but I just wanted to be home with my wife and daughter after working 70 hours out of state on a retrofit job. My Wife's mother and step father will be visiting new years weekend. I just want it to be my family, but my Wife needs the help watching our daughter while I'm gone for work, so I just put up with it like any decent human would.
It's like a trope. Old men who used to be really shitty fathers and now desperately try to cling on to the image of themselves as the heads of the family even though they will never truly be forgiven for who they used to be, and everyone are kind of afraid that they still are.
It's sad, it's painful, and it's fucking impossible to deal with in a good way.
Israel
Downvotes from Zion apologist in... 3... 2... 1...
The religious fruitcake portion of my family. I'm so tired of listening how they're afraid of everything. This year it was the horror of how my state legalized weed, abortion, and some Disney movie had "gay stuff" in it and how thats bad because the movie is meant for kids.
Hello my fellow Ohioan
Hello! Hopefully your family dynamic is a little more agreeable for these holidays
Weed?! Legalized?!? Oh, GOD no!!!!!!!!!!
Oof
hope you will feel better soon!
Working in food/retail has completely destroyed all holiday spirit for me entirely.
It doesn't matter the holiday. Holidays just mean my job gets harder with no extra compensation. The customers are more hostile and aggressive and it's just an overall shitty time.
And it happens multiple times a year
I don't love that this happens, but because I was in those trenches for many years I like to make my holiday shopping trips as pleasant as possible for the retail workers. I'll try to take up as much time with them as I can just shooting the shit and helping them relax a little or giving them knowing looks whenever some asshole engages them.
It's like on-the-job therapy.
Gaza (with the IDF nearly expanding into Syria) reduced my Christmas spirit to 10⁻⁷ well before today. A second cold in the season (with distinct symptoms different from the first) kept me from the family dinner today.
But my wife was dismissed from a 13-year job as an chief administrator of a medium sized general contractor, having been the boss' personal assistant above her office duties. He retired, and the new exec is cleaning house (and is making some bad management decisions). So ours is going to be an It's a Wonderful Life Christmas until we know what our future looks like, and whether we get the good ending or the bad ending.
Update 2023-12-27 Today my wife was hired. It's a significant pay cut, but it's working for a nonprofit she believes in serving a good cause (which is way better than the cutthroat construction industry). I anticipate she'll be happy there and all that's left to work out is how we're going to pay a few more bills. So, we're headed for the good ending.
I'm sorry!
Oof
Do you live in Syria?
Nope. I live in California.
Our cat got a full urinary blockage, so we've been at the vet dealing with that. My mom's horse got colicky, and seems like she's got twisted guts, so she's been dealing with that. Dad broke his hip last week, and has developed a foot infection that he can't deal with properly, so he's been at the emergency clinic dealing with that. I got socks though, and I'm super jazzed about that. And donated a bunch of money to the food bank, so at least some people can eat today.
Well done for giving despite all the crap you've had to deal with. Sorry about all the bad luck. I am also pleased about your socks. Nice socks are far rarer than they should be.
Thanks. It's been a hell of a year. We went from pretty financially secure in July to basically unable to pay bills in December, and we haven't changed anything. Then the food bank put out a call that they have 5000 new visitors this year, on top of the 12000 regulars. If we're in the shit, then everyone below us is deeper in it, and need cash more than we do. Not sure how we're gonna pay for our little guy though, that set us back two months wages.
For Palestinians, definitely Israel
Rather foolish reply, don't you think? Muslims aren't known for celebrating Christmas.
I mean Jesus was born in Palestine and there are still many Christian Palestinians, some of them living in Betlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
There’s even many news reports about how Christmas in Betlehem is canceled. I know it’s hard to comprehend but shit is really that serious. This year’s Christmas is canceled in the birthplace of Christmas.
*Hamas
Say it with me, the ethnonationalist settler colony Israel is conducting a genocide on the Palestinian people. This is happening in front of our eyes. We can see it unfolding in real time. It’s not too late for you to stop supporting a genocidal state and be on the right side of history instead. And let me say it very explicitly. The right side of history is the side of the Palestinian people.
Nothing did, I had a good Christmas :)
I slightly chipped my fingernail polish.
Xmas is fucking RUINED.
Disneyland was charging $1850 for five people for one day at Disneyland and one day at California Adventure, genie plus (some kind of fast pass replacement), and then has the gall to make some rides ineligible for the genie plus and instead you have to pay $28 a head for the fast pass. Why can't we just wait in line? Why did the mouse feel the need to monetize every single interaction in the whole park? As great as the design is in Disneyland, definitely left a sour taste in my mouth knowing that a poor family has an objectively worse experience than a rich one, especially on Christmas. Some rides had a 90, 120 minute wait.
If you genuinely want to know the history & evolution of Fastpass and why it is the way it is: https://youtu.be/9yjZpBq1XBE
Had to be Defunctland.
120 min wait? Good lord
Imagine if the ride got stuck about as soon as it started ay ? 😕🤔😞
The fun part is that not only do you skip the line with Genie Plus but also the folks letting people into the ride will legit let an entire stream of Genie Plus payers in before letting someone who waited in line go. With the old fast pass system they were really good about alternating lines if there was a line for both fast pass and genie plus
Last time I went to Magic Kingdom in Disney world, the park was IMO legitimately too full of people. Seemed like every single space was wall to wall people and every ride, even the shitty ones was like a 3 hour wait. And it wasn't even a holiday or a peak season time. Just a miserable experience. Feels like they just need a daily cap or something on the number of visitors because there's definitely a point where it gets too full to be worth it for anyone.
Profits , profits , profits... Corporate greed = enshitification
Man, I read these comments and I can relate to so many of them. But honestly, this year, nothing. We've recently moved to an area that's more healthy for our family. I have a partner who's not abusive. My kids and myself are getting the mental healthcare that we need. It's snowy outside! We have a Christmas tree and presents! It was not amazing; there was nothing over the top or spectacular. But there was nothing bad. Damn, that feels nice.
That's great!
It's good to hear happy stories too. Especially when many of us posting have not had the best time.
That's about how I feel. I know I am blessed and that makes me happy. I don't take it for granted.
Sorry 😔😐 that someone down voted your comment. That's not very holiday so Spirit like lol... But I think almost half the comments on here always have at least one downvoted so don't feel bad 😞
I truly thought we were going to get through Christmas with zero racism. Then grandma and grandpa came over. Luckily I was able to steer the conversation away pretty quickly, but it always puts a damper on things.
We just had some mild racism too: "There's just too many ethnic restaurants in this town. Why can't we just have American food?!" "There's a Denny's down the street..."
Wait until they find out that Denny's serves crepes.
This makes my head want to explode. I grew up in a white ass family of wealthy-ish English descent and nobody knew what the hell good food was unless it was an expensive steak or fancy seafood which don’t really need much cooking skill to be yummy, it is inherently yummy you just eat it. Ughhh the food I grew up on was tasteless, soulless crap and every time I have good Mexican, Thai, Indian or some other type of food I am deeply thankful I don’t live in a barren wasteland of uninspired shit food. The fact that people actively desire that blows my mind.
White american food is fucking trash, I mean Italian food is good but Italians weren’t even let into the white people club until very recently so that barely even counts. England should just have their cooking license revoked. Choose the type of boiled mush you want and either add salt or pepper but not both because that would be too spicey! Don’t even get me started on the inability of white American cuisine to comprehend the concept of a meal without meat.
My supposed best friends gave me and my husband a bottle of wine for Christmas. I can't drink wine because I have an allergic reaction to something in wine, and they are very aware of this after me having reactions to foods at restaurants we would go to together. So they gave 'us' a gift that I can't actually have.
This comes after my husband and I have spent the last year being there for them through losing their jobs, their car, almost losing their house, and a bunch of other drama. It also comes after we spent all day making a meal free of their allergies, as I always do, and after I spent several days making Christmas cookies that are safe for them.
I don't know if the bottle of wine is cheap or expensive, and it honestly doesn't matter. Last year they got me an ornament for our tree, and it is one of my dearest possessions because it has a small poem about friendship on it. This year's gift stung because of how much of ourselves we gave to them, only for them to clearly pick up something last minute and without any thought.
I don't really have any family or other friends to celebrate with, so the most important people to me besides my husband are them. It hurts to see how little I apparently mean to them in comparison....
That absolutely sucks.
But, coming from a family where we all suck at gifts, it is somewhat relatable. It is unbelievable how difficult and anxiety-provoking gift buying can be for some people, and caring more about someone only makes it harder. In the end one could land on something awful and last minute after worrying about it for months, and it seems like one simply doesn't care.
I of course don't know this specific situation, and it is indeed a particularly bad gift considering your allergy. But don't read it as a sign that they don't care - it could be that they care quite a lot, and that it's a case of something else entirely.
Have you brought up wine and your allergy with her?
If you are asking if she knew beforehand, yes. We once had to rush out of a restaurant because a dish included wine and I didn't know until my mouth felt like it was on fire. She has been there many times as I have had to explain it to others, and when I have been checking food to make sure it doesn't have wine or vinegar.
If you are asking if I have mentioned it to her since she gave me the gift, no. I haven't had the energy to try to deal with that conversation, I still have plans with people through New Year's. I will probably bring it up in a few days, but right now it hurts to even think about and I just want to get through the rest of the holidays.
My father dying. Haven't had very much contact, but the rest of the family expected some things from me apparently, still don't know what exactly, I just left the hospital silently, like my father left my life when I was four. I'm not really affected by the whole ordeal, but it really really annoyed me over Christmas. That guy couldn't even die without making a fuzz. 🙄
While I am a stranger and me saying sorry probably doesn't help much. That stuff sucks and I am sorry you had to deal with it. People have it in their head that we are all supposed to love our family and just get along but people don't realize that families are sometimes just people who didn't love us or loved us less than we loved them or vice versa loved us more than we loved them. Family is tricky. It doesn't sound like you were close and I don't know your entire story but either way it is a loss and regardless of him not being there for you it says a lot that you were at the very least there for him. Which, in my opinion, is the most you can do.
I hope you are the person that carries that forward and uses that as a means to not walk out on others lives when they need you most and I hope in return they are a part of yours when you are on your way out of this world. Enjoy your holidays.
My girlfriend of 4 years decided to dump me.
Hopefully before you gave her her presents.
That reminds me that one year, my cousin's boyfriend got her a $1500 coffee machine, a flight of syrup and like a $500 giftcard to a local coffee shop for beans. Turns out, she was cheating on him with a woman at the time, and she broke up with him like 1 week later to be with her. It took all of us chewing her out to give the poor guy his present back so at least he could recoup the ~$2200 he spent.
We both gave each other a gift before it happened but mine did cost significantly more.
What 'ruined' Christmas this year was having to go home and spend it with my parents, one of whom is bedridden and non responsive from Alzheimers. It's more akin to a wake where everyone is focused on someone who is dead and there's little joy to be had. I've been doing it now for 5 years and there's no sign that it will end soon.
It is incredibly stressful and morose. Christmas isn't really joyful anymore because Mom could die at any time. The worst part of it is that all of us recognize that she's suffering and so are we, but the government won't allow any other outcome.
Still, the family shows up and puts in the work for caring for her for many reasons, the least of which is that she raised us for almost 20 years. She was a wonderful person and she's owed that, bottom line. It is uplifting in a way because we come together and work together for a purpose and while it's hard and sad, we've bonded over it nonetheless.
But.. what kind of Christmas will we have once she's gone?
Hopefully, one with quiet relief.
Mom wouldn't want you miserable every year because of her.
The worst part of it is that all of us recognize that she’s suffering and so are we, but the government won’t allow any other outcome.
That sucks so much; my grandfather basically lived for two years too long. Can't imagine 5 years of that tbh.
Christmas isn’t really joyful anymore because Mom could die at any time. The worst part of it is that all of us recognize that she’s suffering and so are we, but the government won’t allow any other outcome.
I feel "lucky" because it only took my dad two years to die from serious symptoms starting to the end, but that's two years too long. He was a university professor and he ended up doing 50-piece jigsaw puzzles. We should allow people to end their life with dignity.
I have been coughing to the point that I throw up. Merry Christmas.
Uh oh! Santa's coming UP the chimney!!!
I won't saying ruined but put a damper on.
The gf worked today (yay overtime) and was off at 7pm. I figure ill put the turkey roll im the slow cooker around 4:30ish then start the potatoes around 6. The turkey roll was already thawed so 2 hours should have been lots. By 8 pm the temperature setting is still only 110F. Finally I touch the side and realize its room temp. The ceramic pot is barely warm to the touch. The slow cooker died.
We transferred the meat to a tray and put in the oven. Done in half an hour. Late dinner but still good.
I don't usually bother with boxing day sales, but maybe tomorrow I will. This time I want one with a delayed start timer.
Covid with a side order of severe pancreatitis.
Almost checked out permanently just in time for Christmas.
I'm glad you didn't! Feel better.
Thanks. These nurses are lovely at least.
Pancreatitis was the worst pain I've ever experienced, I had my gall bladder out about 6 years ago and been fantastic since.
Agreed, I've had two major surgeries and neither came anywhere close to that level of pain afterwards. At least they gave me so much pain medication I kinda lost two days in a haze. It just happened to be Christmas evening and day that I missed completely, lol.
My existence. I'd rather not celebrate Christmas, although preferably any other holiday as well. But I especially hate Christmas. I'd rather just keep going on as usual.
My mom's a hoarder, so first thing is finding some space that will be enough for a Christmas tree in all that trash. That 2 decades old tree that will soon have no more plastic to shed really fits into that atmosphere. Then remove trash from table to put food there.
My parents will then pretend to be a moderately happy family for the next 2-3 days before returning to "normal". (They can't get a divorce "because God forbids it")
There's also the aspect of mandatory gifts. I don't know what you want, you don't know what I want. We could both save money (and generate less waste) by leaving that out. I don't want anything. It's by far worse to deal with unnecessary gifts than simply nothing.
Decorations. Why? It's everywhere. Blinking lights, glitter, chains and whatnot. Just another thing to deal with, another thing to spend money on, more waste produced.
Music. It's like 3 songs on repeat the whole Christmas. Everywhere I go.
TV shows. Suddenly it's all Christmas-themed. All showing unrealistically happy families.There's a bunch of other reasons, but it's hard to list those. I'd just rather not be conscious during these times, just skipping it.
At least I have a dog.I'd just rather keep going to school. I wouldn't have to be home at least. And almost all of my teachers are nice. School lunch is also generally good. Oh, and I can take train/bus rides. Those can be quite refreshing. I can be there for hours. If the school ends sooner, I can extend my commute. So far the best one I can take extends it from just 45 minutes to much nicer 6 hours. It includes 2 city bus rides, 1 intercity bus ride, 1 train ride and some time for a walk in a city further away.
It seems like you're going through a rough time, but that you're dealing with it in a healthy way and set to find true value in life. You will be out on your own soon enough, and you'll do great. Time goes by very fast at least in retrospect.
It seems your parents have their set of pretty deep issues, but it's at least cute that they are making the effort.
Hold on there!
Sounds like you don't hate Christmas, but instead the absolute fakery surrounded by piles of garbage that Christmas with your parents is. I hope you're able to find new ways to spend time in the middle of winter doing the things you find enjoyable, with people who you find to be authentic, without mandatory gifts.
There were a lot of people I didn't buy anything for this year because finances are extra tight. I liked that. Only bought for people that I know will enjoy and use what I got them, even though it's cheap.
That train ride does sound nice. Hold on, life is a great balancing act
My girlfriend lost her job and failed one of her nursing classes, possibly also failing out of the program altogether (all in the same week) and is just being really nonchalant about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure she won't be able to make rent and she'll expect that I'll help out. It's more complicated than just dumping her, there's a child involved, so I'm just like, "I sure as shit hope she's getting serious after the holidays."
Damn dude!(dudette?) That's heavy, In my experience 'failing out' of program or course is never a surprise. Maybe next year can be focused around better communication with professors & life partners. Some earnest human interaction goes a long way when grades decline.
Had to call the police because some kids were vandalizing a subway station. While that was going on there was a dude on a bench quietly doing what I hope was stroking his pet banana in his pants. Yay society.
Christians. They should never have been allowed to get involved. Have a Cool Yule y'all ;-)
I'm Jewish and never really cared for Christmas much because I always felt like an outsider- until I spent one in the UK, where it's pretty much entirely secular and just about having fun. Such a different experience. I'd probably like Christmas in America if it was more like that.
As a Scandinavian, I'm genuinely super happy to hear that! As far as I'm concerned the Christians are very welcome to celebrate whatever they'd like, but they have no right to monopolize the festivities. It's winter solstice goddamn it, it's been celebrated since the beginning of time and belongs to everyone!
Christmas was good but things costing more now had me stressing all month. It's harder to budget now than it used to be.
Covid
Same. Tested positive the 23rd and was supposed to be hosting both days. Still isolated and my kids couldn't go see family. Sucks.
Same man. We couldn't see family because we're responsible. They get it but it sucks, people traveled from thousands of miles and we can't see them.
They get it, but these days we could've used a win.
Christmas with my family we had a hard discussion about what kind of end of life care my grandparents need and how to get that setup. Then during Christmas with my wife's family my brother in law who's 40 and now responsible for 3 kids between himself and his ex-wife/girlfriend drank until he passed out on the floor of the garage. His oldest child was clearly disturbed by seeing him that way, but most of my wife's family defended it because "when you're surrounded by family is the best time to drink like that because you know you're safe!"
On the upside, my family was surprisingly well-behaved for once, and never chewed out my kids for being too noisy even when they were visibly struggling as they played with the new musical toys
My cat got a urinary blockage on Friday, luckily got to bring him home tonight for Christmas, but it definitely made it stressful
Well... you asked...
I'm not a fan of Christmas anyway. However-
I have not eaten solid food since August (I live on Ensure and Gatorade) and dry heaved every morning. The latter is in the past because, after months of trying to figure out what is causing this, I had my gallbladder out last Thursday and the heaving has stopped. But I still can't eat and almost any food smell really disgusts me.
I mean the presents were nice, but between the surgery pain, the itching from where they shaved my entire stomach, the lack of eating, the not wanting to smell any Christmas food, and the general lack of energy... it wasn't a good Christmas.
Please no pity party.
Dude, I have been there. Still no idea what was wrong.
My dad spent, I believe, 3-4 years where every single meal he would gagging on the food and end up throwing up. Initially, they thought it was from the severe and chronic throat infection he had and because of our health care system it took them that many years to get his tonsils removed and at least rectify the infection issue. That didn't solve the problem though, and eventually it turned out there was damage to a nerve in his throat that was causing it and he needed another surgery to fix that.
Watched him go through hell all those years, so I definitely feel for you and hope you get this resolved!
Wow. Yeah, thankfully I don't think I need throat surgery. Sorry about your dad.
I like cooking, so I went all out trying to cook a nice chicken dinner for me and my wife. I made stock the day before, brined a chicken, made basically everything from scratch, etc. In my haste to get everything ready, I cooked the chicken upside down. 🤦♂️
Alongside this, I have IBS, but am relatively lucky in that I can usually see the signs of when my stomach will start acting up. I've been planning a boxing day walk, and I'm so bloated my stomach looks bigger than my (30 weeks pregnant) wife's. It's gonna be a fun day...
Really sorry about the IBS. That always sucks. Re the chicken- what happens when you cook it upside-down? Isn't meat meat? Sorry, I'm totally ignorant on this.
Nah man, it becomes ɯǝɐʇ if you cook it upside down. Still pretty tasty but it's just not the same...
I've only ever heard of it being a plus. It's supposed to make the breast meat juicier.
I also do not know, but perhaps the aesthetic of the meal was thrown off which would suck after all that prep work. Bet it tasted fire tho
I cook turkey and chicken upside down. It makes the white meat much better. If you need to see the finished bird like it looks in advertisements, take it out with 15 minutes left, flip it over and pop it under the broiler.
my catboy porn addiction and autism
My disabled brother said every horrible thing possible to my brother in law and got sent home and basically kicked out for life. I knew better than to go to Ohio. Nothing good happens there. I had a pleasant violence free dinner and did not have to relive my childhood trauma this year. My uncle didn't even drop a n-bomb at dinner this year.
Nothing! I’ve successfully ignored Xmas my entire adult life
May I suggest having a Christmas with your friends, whatever way you like it?
This year I spent Christmas with one friend, and we just did whatever made us happy. We watched a few movies, and smoked some weed. She decorated the tree, I cooked my favorite meal. No gifts or anything, no yelling, just a good time. Probably the best Christmas I had in years.
Spend your time with the people you love and cherish. Christmas doesn't necessarily need to be about family or gifts.
Downvotes are from people who like to be unhappy. I absolutely agree with your sentiment!
Best "holiday"s are the ones just chilling with friends, even if it is remote. Play some video games, go out for a walk, or maybe cook something you haven't made in a while.
I more or less stopped doing gifts for people. Might get the kiddos something kind of useful or educational. I would rather do an activity than spend money on useless crap.
Ditto! No tree, no lights, no presents, no big dinners or parties. Just a few days off, which my husband and I spent with our two cats.
I had my holiday time off canceled for the second year in a row, but I can't even do any work because the customer that threw their problems at us while they're on vacation didn't provide enough specifications.
During my standup yesterday we literally determined I don't have any work to do. Thanks boss.
I was writing my resignation in my head all weekend instead of enjoying my holiday.
If you are in support isn't throwing problems at you the entire purpose of the role? You make it sound like they are doing something wrong.
If they cancel someone's vacation to provide support but can't provide sufficient detail to define the work, they're definitely doing something wrong
Oh hey boss, yeah I've got those new tps report sheets right here
It's the customer's responsibility to define the nature of the issue. People in support aren't magic if you provide no details and then become non-available then that's a customer problem.
A rectal prolapse, a vaginal prolapse, and a blocked goat
I think we need to know more about this, especially the goat.
And a Partridge in a pear tree.
Yes, this warrants a standalone post!
Death ruined christmas. Pretty much made it a somber week.
Our condolences Altima.
Aunt (?) And cousin. Apparently Aunt has being drinking since the 23 by the 24 at night she was drunk out of her mind; insulted and scolded my cousin and his girlfriend in front of everyone in the family dinner at grandma's because the girlfriend was wearing a croptop. I frankly though it would've being about the fact that she is 14 and he is 20. ( But apparently not. I personally left when they arrived. I got told about the fight later) Everybody left or kept on arguing after that. Hopefully your holiday's dinners are better .
14 and 20? WTF!?!? That's way too young for a partner 20 years of age.
Yup. When I mention it , I was screamed at and told "I should mind my own business" , "He is an adult he knows what he is doing" and "who am I do judge other people" I am not proud of THAT situation. My family is fucked but we are ALL welcome at Christmas dinner, I go for the free meal and to hug my grandma and leave right after. Apparently the girlfriend's family is very close to my cousin's mother , I don't know them . Is all messed up (¯―¯٥)
Yeah that is a straight up pedophile wtf
You can't ruin a Christmas party if you don't have one!
But I will say that my entire neighborhood felt like a war zone because my neighbors felt the need to use fireworks all night that can only be described as bombs. One literally shook my walls and set off car alarms. I can't believe they're not regulated!
Edit: Apparently they are illegal but the law isn't being properly enforced. Shucks.
You sure they weren't trying to shoot down Santa's sleigh?
Do you live in Jabalya by any chance?
No, but you wouldn't have known the difference that night lol
Stress and burnout killing my ability to sleep. I was barely functional despite being in bed for nearly 12 hours. I can't even remember what I got my family or what they got me :(
Other than that, it went reasonably well.
It's not "ruined" but my 3 week old daughter has been particularly cranky today, she refuses to go to sleep despite multiple feeding sessions, diaper changes, and attempts at burping. I'm already tired because I took most of last night's shifts, so I'm glad we're not leaving the house. It's a bit of a bummer because I usually love everything about Christmas (the music, the lights, the food, the presents) and we are pretty much missing all of that this year. I can't wait to make up for it in future years though!
I have an 11 year old boy and this Christmas we had the talk about the reality of Santa Claus. He'd suspected for years. The last 7 Christmas seasons or so were filled with excitedly tearing into gifts with glee which, admittedly has been a joy and privilege to watch and be part of.
This year I talked with him about how the concept of Santa is just a way adults can give gifts without any expectations in return, because the real joy is watching others experience that glee. So I worked with him in early December to carefully watch the people around him for things that might bring them joy to receive. On Christmas morning he was so excited to see others open his gifts!
Now I'm cognizant that there may be fewer years ahead of us than behind us with him still in the house.
Your Christmas seasons will never quite be the same again, but mostly in good ways.
I'm cognizant that there may be fewer years ahead of us than behind us with him still in the house.
I'm feeling that more and more. I love that my guys are getting more independent, and we're having deeper conversations. But I know our time is limited. It's bittersweet.
The first few months are so hard, you're doing great! You are sacrificing this Christmas, but for the next few years you'll get all your joy and all hers. I got to see my 13 month old open presents for the first time today, and it was worth all those sleepless nights.
(Also note she was way more interested in the boxes and wrapping paper than the gifts...) 😅
SO & myself tested positive for COVID. Kids did not. Kids went to family Christmas, while we are quarantined in our bedroom for 5 days. Pretty shitty overall.
No one. I spent it in Buenos Aires with my partner. Best Christmas in a long time
Broke my wrist a couple days before Christmas. Right at the most painful point today. Just looking at it makes it pulse and hurt. Can't get to a specialist till maybe tomorrow. Arrgh
Mother-in-law ended up getting COVID last week, so her birthday plans on Christmas Eve were cancelled, plus they couldn't come to see the kids today. Our hot water heater seems to have a failed thermocouple, so we have no (instant) hot water at the moment.
Nothing is "ruined," just annoying.
/c/technology.
Never tell anyone there what you want or use. You’ll get very little aside of absolutist ideology and abuse.
Seriously though, it’s like internet comments and takes never stopped being 2008 over there.
The NFL. Really? Two games on Christmas? Multiple games on Christmas Eve? Go fuck yourselves.
I mean you can just say NFL in general. Ruins a good chunk of the year hearing about it during work discussions.
No, I will never care about a sport, and especially not overpaid assholes who play it for more money in a couple minutes than I will ever make in years, or more in one game than I will ever see in one place ever.
If I had a genie I would change culture so sports got moved to the same category as politics and religion so you'd never hear about it if you weren't around scumbags.
My first bout with Covid. Thanks company holiday party!
Sister and Nephews had the flu (still do, it's really bad) so I ended up just staying home and having a video call with them. Sister took a COVID test strip and it's negative, so seems like it's just the flu but it still sucks for her.
So I'd say the flu ruined Christmas this year. At least I didn't get sick 🤞
I woke up at 5 in the morning with a stomach bug 🤢
I also have a stomach bug! Never really realised how much of my usual Christmas Day revolves around food 😥
I hope you recover from yours quickly. Food is the thing about Christmas I look forward to the most. This year I've just about managed to eat 5 plain crackers in the past 24 hours 😂
The same thing that ruined it every year of my life: Capitalism
My brother forwarded a passive aggressive text from a parent that we siblings have all distanced ourselves from. Didn't totally ruin things, but sure punched a hole in the happiness.
Edit, this was sent to the group chat so all of us siblings saw it.
Mom went into the hospital days two days we were supposed to come up. Spent much of the holidays around the smell of hospitals.
Nasty virus with secondary strep infection
You did with this post, fart boy.
I read your username as fart boy at first so that’s what I’m calling you.
Nothing ruined Christmas, it was great.
I guess that would make me Fart Tony.
Yeah, fart boy Tony
My sister in law pointed out that I’m running out of time to have a kid both because of my age and the fact that my mother has stage 4 cancer.
That conversation lead to my alcoholic partner going on a huge binge last night.
I hope your partner pulls through.
And the sister in law takes the cancer from yer mum.
I feel a bit bad for laughing at that last part, but it got me
I know I am late here but I have quite the Christmas story. For Christmas I spent the holidays with my Mom. Over the holidays one of my mom's neighbours tasked my mom with looking after her cat while she is in Sweden with her son for christmas. My older brother came down with two of his dogs which are loud and very big pit bulls. On Christmas day my Dad came over and got my mom and my sister a puppy (the dog my dad owned got pregnant and had puppies) so there was lots of loud animals around the house. For safety precautions the cat was temporarily moved back into my neighbours house over Christmas with me and my mom checking on him periodically over the next two days until my brother and his two dogs left.
Fucking Darlene. Did you try her sugar cookies? She clearly didn't mix the baking powder with the milk again.
There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once Darlene, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again.
A friend's brother died. It was literally out of nowhere. And said friend is stick home with Covid - which isn't what did him in, but still. Massive suckage.
Plus it didn't even feel like Christmas this year. Visited family, but...I dunno. It just wasn't, this year.
I feel that.
About a decade ago, my grandfather fell ill around Thanksgiving and they found he was full of cancer, had a few weeks left, and sent him home for hospice care.
I was unexpectedly laid off just before that, so, jobless, it became my job to pull the overnight shift there, tending to him, sleeping in 1.5h spells, and the next morning, being expected to stick around to keep company with relatives coming to visit my grandfather, playing host, etc. even though my dad and other family members were there.
I was basically living on coffee and grief.
That Christmas was an incredibly hollow 'celebration', and my grandfather passed in the early morning hours of new years eve.
What helped me was just forcing myself to go through the holiday motions in the following years. I'm not a super Christmas person anyway, but just going to the parties, smiling, listening to the music, etc. Fake it till you make it.
I still always think of my pap every Christmas/new years, and I'll still have a few moments where it makes me super sad... but I managed to avoid having the whole season become "sit alone and mope in useless grief for a few weeks", which is where my mind likely would have gone, had I not made the active conscious effort to avoid it.
I wish you and your loved ones all the best.
Being old and depressed
That bald guy who started a online bookstore. But not to bad overall, WFH.
I have enough self awareness these days to know that it's usually me, and also enough to know that I didn't this year. Getting better!
Same here, friendo, same here! Happy holidays!
That's fucking great! Keep it up!
Lost my grandmother a few days prior, got bumped out of my shitty job to a lower paying even shittier job, and have to pass on a good job opportunity bc it would mean a big move and my partner refuses to move with me. And shes going traveling for 1.5 months on vacation right away without me. We have a house together and have been together for almost 14 yrs.
Ouch. Why is she going without you?
She has a ton of overtime hours from her job. She hasn't had to use her banked vacation time in years. I only get 3 weeks and if I accumulate more they start trying to force you to use it. My family/friends live across the country and I just went to see them recently, so I don't have the vacation time to travel. It's not malicious on her part, she just loves to travel and I just can't go this trip. More jealous that I'm stuck not going, but I don't mind the alone time.
She doesn't want a third wheel
Snow storm. The stage was set for a good Christmas because my asshole brother wasn't going to be there, but the weather ruined it.
I had to work on Thanksgiving and Xmas, multiple states away from everyone I care about, out in the middle of nowhere. Again.
My mid 20s niece who lost an argument with my 2 year old great-nephew and spent the rest of Christmas shitty because people (me) kept making fun of her.
How's that ruined? That's epic!
Oh I enjoyed it, but she was being a bitch and it made her worse. I'm just glad my nephew called her it and not me lol he's a cute little cheeky red head, he's safe.
My old job. They canned me for not liking my personality and made up non measurable matrices to do so. I could sue, but I really don't care. I'll let their business model fail since it's just high school with pay. I was going to leave anyways because of a lack of a raise and my boss was the biggest gym bro with a drinking problem. But I could have at least hung out and kept getting paid. I had a down payment saved for a house and it's dwindling to find a job with the right fit. Because this world is going crazy in many ways.
*matrices
Gracias
Since he said his boss was a gym bro it's obvious he tried to red pill him. So he in fact referencing the Matrix Movies. So Matrixes.
my local electricity company just let half of our city without energy from 15h Christmas eve to 08 on Christmas morning. Here in Brazil the tradition is to eat at midnight and then exchange gifts. This year it was not possible for me, my family and my friends.
Work.
- at least two wars going on right now
- darkness
- I hate Christmas, so... Christmas.
i looked at my cc bill
The fact that we aren't allowed to celebrate it in my country. It's seen as unimportant. In fact, we don't ever have Christmas breaks. I saw school buses packed with students heading to class today (and yesterday too), some are even taking exams. Radio stations play absolutely no Christmas music. Nothing in the country is decorated for Christmas. Life goes on as usual as if Christmas doesn't exist.
This video by Gari Sullivan perfectly explains how life is for us. Yes, it's 2 years old already, but I doubt that it's that irrelevant.
I notice that some places never seem to take my birthday as seriously as in my house either.
It's a made up thing. make of it what you can.
hope you managed to find some of the sparkle you were looking for!
I guess that sorta makes sense.
I paid for my entire family to go to see the Grand Canyon for Christmas. 11 of us in total, rented a big house and a van and we were going to drive all together for fifteen hours. Fly down early to spend time with my mom and she gave me Covid. She has been sick for a couple weeks and didn’t take a test.
She is a nurse.
Mother-in-law's Adderall addiction and years-neglected mental health issues
Might shake things up enough for some meaningful change to finally happen tho, so 🤷♂️
Cheap Costco box wine and rum
Cardbordeaux?
I had a pretty good holiday, although, I found out that my little friend group at school are really conservative Christians and apparently they still support Trump.
LRTI surgery.
My oldest sister will probably be getting to that here in the next hour or so
Chinese restaurant didn't send rice.
My kids are working on it. We bought a vr headset... One headset. They have to take turns. We aren't rich and can't afford one for each of them. They're fighting each other and us over the turns. It's clearly established whose turn it is and how long turns are. They are still bitching about it. It's about to get returned.
so far so good
Same thing that ruins Christmas every year.
drunks, drug addicts, and uninvited guests with massive entitlement issues.
Covid
Well thats presumptuous
Have been working so I could take vacation time for end of year. Finally was here on the 19th. The next evening we took the kids to see Santa for pictures and to let them tell him what they wanted for Christmas.
Old guy sounded off. Weak voice and raspy. Ok well he’s old and a bit large, whatever. Only thing we had planned for the week going out was that. There and home which was good.
Next evening wife says she feels off and starts coughing a bit. Wake up to all of us having fevers. By the 22nd she started losing taste so we test and yup ol Saint Nick gave us an early COVID present to the whole family. I got it last so I’m still unable to taste.
Not sure I had get the Rona from a boomer store Santa on my 2023 Bingo card but there ya go.
Being sick AF. People came into work sick because of our asinine sick policy, and now they're better while I've been bed ridden for 3 days.
Euh, israel ?
What a powerful speech
My crippling depression and anxiety, same as every year. I drove hours to my father's, only to turn round 10 minutes away.
Flu ravaged my house this Christmas.
My MIL.
I wouldn't say that anything ruined Christmas for me this year but there was some unfortunate circumstances with some of my gifts.
For example, I asked for an original Xbox controller with a USB adapter. I got them and they work perfectly fine in Linux but they don't work at all in Windows, which potentially limits how much usage I can get out of them. Apparently, Windows 10 blocks the drivers required to use the adapter, which if I had known I probably would've just asked for a generic USB Xbox controller instead (if they exist).
Bad case of novovirus and the cooker broke down Christmas Eve.
The amount of people in the comments who caught covid almost made me think that i went back three years in the past
Well..
