I’d looked forward to holidays with my family once we came back but...my parents are ridiculous about Covid and my sister currently has it. The sheer amount of time lost in relationships this year is boggling.
I still like the Holidays they are nothing like the family gatherings we had as kids but still comforting none the less.
If your parents are by themselves, they’ll probably be fucking all Christmas Day. Remember that when you’re opening your presents.
A few years ago when my girlfriend and I did our around-the-world year off, we were in London right before we went home for Christmas. It was beautifully decorated, we had been away from our families and friends for a year, and - even as someone who loves Christmas and has had nice family holidays his whole life - it was the most festive I've ever felt. I just couldn't wait to celebrate the holidays. Every year since, I seem to go back to that feeling around this time, which is way earlier than I ever used to think was reasonable. Spoiler
I know it’s a real thing, so you can’t tell me that’s not some sort of “Fuck you” the person did. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to fuck something up that hilariously, it looks like a kid’s Play-Doh art.
The best part is that it wasn’t a joke. Some elderly parishioner told the clergy she was going to clean it up a bit because the paint was flaking, and the next thing you know she turned Jesus into a cartoon monkey. It’s a scene straight out of the Mr. Bean movie. The only other art-related thing that was funnier was Banksy immediately shredding his own painting after it was auctioned off.
In this vein, we did the National mall on Christmas night and it was breathtaking. This was back in 2011 but still. Just. Gorgeous.
I'm not gonna lie, my exterior lights went up yesterday. I am currently drinking a peppermint mocha and eating a snowman cookie. I have been bit. I'm pretty happy about it.
My wife set up the Christmas tree, and put lights on it but no ornaments. She says she wants to get a turkey topper for it before thanksgiving.
Leavenworth, WA is gorgeous at Christmas. We visited a couple years ago and it was a great experience.
It's canceled this year, but the whole little place looks like this With Alps looking mountains as a backdrop. It's amazing.
We couldn’t get to Leavenworth while we were there. It was booked af but it’s a magical place for sure.
Yeah... been there... drove through it on an old Porsche Club drive we did in the PNW. It was like driving through an old German village. But that was in the summer... I can only imagine how it would look in the winter.
I'm not sure if it's because the wife's eldest moved out a few years ago and just her teenage soon is left (all he cares about is video games and hanging out with his GF) but the wife hasn't really been into Xmas lately. Last year I had to convince her to get a tree and year before that we didn't even do a tree. As noted on here numerous times, we both HATE the cold and around that time is when realization sinks in that it's just not a cold snap, it's going to be cold for months. It was still in the 80's last week here. It was glorious. Tomorrow it's 50's and rain. Fuck.
This year we're into doing the place up a bit for Christmas because it's a reasonably enjoyable alternative to focusing on being locked up because of the COVID. Been renovating various rooms in the house... furniture being reorganized... new art... some painting... major work in my home office is underway... just making being stuck in the house more enjoyable. That being said, we're at that "no presents for anyone" stage this year... other than a very few of the younger kids, who just had their presents shipped out last week. Thanksgiving dinner was a hard one on the family as we were all alone, but we persevered, and the huge spike in numbers showed how important it was and made us double down on doing the same for Christmas. We've all tried to not focus on what we're missing, and just focus on enjoying what we are going to do instead... which is stay the fuck away from people and yet communicate more via phone, facetime, etc.
The colder weather can put a damper on moods for sure. Personally I enjoy the change of seasons and the aesthetics but the lack of light really fucks me up. Decorating takes a lot of emotional energy. It isn't fun if you aren't excited about it and is a lot of work in general. Are you waiting on her to take the initiative? Maybe getting some boxes of decorations out and initiating a trip to pick out a tree or whatever would make it fun for her again. Y'all, I'm trying over here....