Ho Ho Ho

I still have to buy something for my sister in law, and I have no idea what to get her because even though I've "known" her for almost 15 years, I don't really know her, and it makes me sad that we've lived in such similar orbits and yet are still basically strangers to one another, but even though it makes me sad, I have neither the energy nor the inclination to do anything to change it so, once again, I'll get her some crappy present and feel bad about it.

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My parents, who were no shows at my house for Thanksgiving, have followed through on plans to visit my brother and his family for Christmas, and I'm irritated that this irritates me, but it does.

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We exchanged Christmas gifts with our sometime babysitter today, and The Boy so didn't get the concept of giving gift to other people that he pitched a fit when she left with her present.  Christmas could be a disaster.

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Our plans for Christmas are mellow--maybe too mellow.  We'll open gifts at home Christmas morning, make blueberry pancakes, and then go to Christmas dinner with some of my husband's extended family.  It doesn't feel Christmas-y enough.  I'm toying with the idea of taking The Boy to the family Christmas Eve service at the church where he has pre-school merely for the spectacle of it, but that feels spiritually dishonest.

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Happy holidays to you and yours.  May your cups of eggnog never run dry.

Comments

[Kate]

I'd say go to the church service if you think it would add to his holiday spirit. By the time I was old enough to have stated an opinion about wanting to go to the midnight service at my stepmom's parents' church I was too attached to my own religious tradition and would have been squicked out. But really, it's probably a lot of nice singing and lights and stuff.

I never know what to get my sister. We have nothing in common, she's a lot younger (turning 25 next week, which is my whole issue), and her passions are things I cannot afford (horses--that's her business venture). I keep getting her gift certificates, to Sephora, to Zappos, etc. But I can't seem to figure out something more meaningful.

[spoiledonlychild]

I am a complete non-churchgoer, but for a few years went to church on Christmas eve just for another fun activity. It wasn't fun. It was crowded and long and dull (even more so for a 3 year old!) and felt truly and utterly empty. Not to mention all the dirty looks you get from the church members. I wish there were places that did a Christmas carol singalong, because that's what I was really looking for. Anyway, if you're doing it for the same reasons I did, I advise against.

[Betty M]

I'm not even Christian and we sometimes go to the children's Christmas service (something called a Christingle - involving oranges with candles in) in my parents' village.

Happy holidays - wit religious flavour or not as the case may be.