Post Christmas
Hi all
I hope you all had a great Christmas or, in the case where you're not celebrating that, a wonderful holiday. :-)
I had a relatively stress free day - as per usual, we had Christmas at my niece/nephew's place (they tend to alternate) and everyone brought food. My contribution was Tandoori chicken breasts (heavy on the yoghurt to allow for young kids' tastes) and a Wildberry Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory).
Those of you who've followed me for a while will know that I have issues with Christmas. It's great to get together with family but because I'm unmarried with no children, I generally end up spending hundreds of dollars buying presents for hordes of kids and getting very little in return. And yes, it's all about the giving, and I really do love seeing the kid's faces but... when you've spent 4-5 hundred dollars and get gifts in return that are a) worth little and b) show no sign that they've thought about what you want then it's hard to not be "Bah, hum bug" about it all.
At the suggestion of penne4m and others, this year I bought "family" gifts rather than buying a gift for every child. It worked well and I still managed to retain my 'crown' of 'the uncle who buys cool gifts' while spending only $250 instead of the $500 I spent last year. I researched via their grandmother what games each family had and what they were missing, so that worked well.
Still, it was fun watching the kids open presents & they're finally at the age (mostly 8-10) where they're not quite so feral. *g* Psychologically, it's fascinating to see how they're still at the age where they believe in Father Christmas but are (according to the parents) starting to have doubts.
I really seem to have zero parental instincts. I just don't understand how people can put up with young kids. I've watched my friends get married and have kids and, as far as I can see, it just destroys them, financially and socially. They become unable to have any sort of rational discussion that doesn't involve minute descriptions of what their children are up to. And, yes, I know... I'm a teacher! But I've never been able to effectively relate to students under the age of about 13/14. Years ago I asked my Head of Dept never to give me classes in Year 7 or 8 (age 11 or 12) and fortunately she took me seriously.
Anyway... for those of you who are celebrating; I hope you had a great time and best wishes for a wonderful year. Given what a shitty year 2016 has been in terms of killing off the best of show-biz, I'm hoping that it's going to be a huge improvement!
I hope you all had a great Christmas or, in the case where you're not celebrating that, a wonderful holiday. :-)
I had a relatively stress free day - as per usual, we had Christmas at my niece/nephew's place (they tend to alternate) and everyone brought food. My contribution was Tandoori chicken breasts (heavy on the yoghurt to allow for young kids' tastes) and a Wildberry Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory).
Those of you who've followed me for a while will know that I have issues with Christmas. It's great to get together with family but because I'm unmarried with no children, I generally end up spending hundreds of dollars buying presents for hordes of kids and getting very little in return. And yes, it's all about the giving, and I really do love seeing the kid's faces but... when you've spent 4-5 hundred dollars and get gifts in return that are a) worth little and b) show no sign that they've thought about what you want then it's hard to not be "Bah, hum bug" about it all.
At the suggestion of penne4m and others, this year I bought "family" gifts rather than buying a gift for every child. It worked well and I still managed to retain my 'crown' of 'the uncle who buys cool gifts' while spending only $250 instead of the $500 I spent last year. I researched via their grandmother what games each family had and what they were missing, so that worked well.
Still, it was fun watching the kids open presents & they're finally at the age (mostly 8-10) where they're not quite so feral. *g* Psychologically, it's fascinating to see how they're still at the age where they believe in Father Christmas but are (according to the parents) starting to have doubts.
I really seem to have zero parental instincts. I just don't understand how people can put up with young kids. I've watched my friends get married and have kids and, as far as I can see, it just destroys them, financially and socially. They become unable to have any sort of rational discussion that doesn't involve minute descriptions of what their children are up to. And, yes, I know... I'm a teacher! But I've never been able to effectively relate to students under the age of about 13/14. Years ago I asked my Head of Dept never to give me classes in Year 7 or 8 (age 11 or 12) and fortunately she took me seriously.
Anyway... for those of you who are celebrating; I hope you had a great time and best wishes for a wonderful year. Given what a shitty year 2016 has been in terms of killing off the best of show-biz, I'm hoping that it's going to be a huge improvement!