And so this is Christmas. As I write this, I’m hiding out in my room, trying to avoid the cleaning rampage that’s happening downstairs. According to Polish tradition, it’s bad luck to start Christmas with a dirty house – and so even the tinsel on the tree is being dusted. No joke.
This is your Open Christmas post on Mamamia, your safe refuge to come and chat about what’s happening in your life this weekend. Maybe you’ve already gotten stuck into the wine and Christmas crackers. Maybe you’re slowly being driven crazy by your nosy mother-in-law. Maybe you’re super excited to catch up with your entire extended family. Maybe you just feel like you need to go to sleep right now and wake up after Boxing Day, when it’s all done and dusted. Maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas and you’re really sick of hearing about it all the time. However you’re feeling – whether you need to vent, rant, or just have a chat – we’re here for you.
For me, Christmas is the same formula every year. I don’t have extended family in Australia (whether this is a blessing or a curse, I haven’t really decided) and my immediate family is very bad with change, so it’s always just the five of us – my parents, my brother, my grandmother and myself – doing the same thing.
Apart from going to church on Christmas Eve, we’re not really allowed to leave the house from lunchtime today until late on Boxing Day unless we have a really good reason, i.e. if someone is choking on their candy cane and needs to leave in an ambulance. This is mum’s way of making sure that we actually invest in some Quality Time as a family and it worked really well when my brother and I were kids, as we had dollhouses and Lego to distract us all day.
Now? We have a big dinner and open presents on Christmas Eve, so there’s really nothing for us to do on Christmas Day except sleep in and eat turkey. We usually watch a movie together (it’s always Some Like It Hot, the only one we can ever agree on) and play board games (Cranium, which always ends in a fight because nobody wants Dad on their team – while he’s a very intelligent man, charades is not his strong point).
Someone invariably throws a tantrum by 4pm due to being cooped up in the house for too long (hint: it’s usually me) but all is forgotten over champagne and chocolate cake in the evening. Then on Boxing Day, Dad and I usually smuggle ourselves out of the house to go to the beach and watch the boats doing the Sydney to Hobart sail past.
It’s pretty unexciting. And I’m really sick of Some Like It Hot. But honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re all such busy people, and as sad as it sounds, it’s rare for us to all be able to sit down at the dinner table at the same time. That’s why Christmas is so great for a proper catch-up with those who I love most.
Plus this time last year, my beloved grandmother was in the hospital and we were all very worried she wasn’t going to make it home in time for Christmas – the fact that we don’t have a thing to worry about this year will make it extra sweet.
So, today and tomorrow, log onto Mamamia and tell us whatever you feel like telling – what you’re eating, who you’re catching up with, what presents you’re giving or receiving, what odd family traditions you have, what movies you’re watching, what kind of a mood you’re in this Christmas… We’re listening.
And if you’re bored and trying to kill some time, here’s a great gallery of celebrities in their favourite Christmas outfits.
Top Comments
To be honest I wasn't looking forward to Christmas Day at all :-( We always have small gatherings with immediate family because relatives are overseas. We're not a close family so spending a number of hours together is very awkward and feels unnatural to us. My parents are divorced so my sister and I have lunch with one parent, then do it again for dinner with the other parent.
I am always envious of close families who genuinely enjoy spending time with each other. And this time of year always highlights that. But, I'm being positive and feeling grateful for what I have.
Thank you MM for this forum!
My heart goes out to you. Family division can be hard enough without these sorts of "celebrations" thrown in.
I can sympathise with all of you who are away from home - I'm in Europe with my husband & son (but not daughter :( ) for Christmas as hubby is working over here. Hoped for a white Christmas, but alas, not to be due to some unseasonally warm weather.
Worked in retail the last 3 years & came to realise that the "Season of Goodwill" should be renamed the "Season of Bad Manners" or something similar.
If we'd been home for Christmas there would have been an empty chair where my Darling Mum should have been sitting. However, not having my gorgeous girl with us has been really hard - I miss her Sooo much.
All in all I thought running away would change the way I feel about this time of year. Christmas here has been different without having to do all the preparation, decorations etc, but also not as much commercial crap. Just a simple meal in our hotel apartment on Christmas eve, with local specialties to try out the cuisine - Yummy! then a restaurant dinner Christmas night.
Have realised it might be time to come up with some new traditions of our own for the festive season. That can be my challenge for the year. (Oh, & to stay calm thru the celebrations).
stay calm and carry on