"Least require chocolate" or "Wonderland. In October"

[missy42]

In our family, we have an annual cousins Christmas party in the week or so before Christmas. The host family rotates so that no-one's left with the burden every year and this year, it's my parents. Our house is definitely larger than the condo we lived in for over two decades, but the communal areas are a little broken up and with 35 to 40 people

Comments

[soundofsunlight]

I also love detangling! And puzzles in general. I'm also usually happy to do stuff in exchange for food. I have simple desires; being given food makes me happy. *g*

An outdoor Christmas party sounds interesting. That's a pretty big family! Do you all live fairly close together or more spread out?

[missy42]

Me too! Aren't puzzles and detangling great?!

Yeah, the outdoor party is something of a challenge. Hence all the planning months in advance. We're hoping to have it a little earlier in the day than most years. We looked into renting a heater, but they're expensive. Compared to other parts of the country, we don't get that cold around the holidays, but it does get chilly at night and we are close to the coast, so can get some major winds off the Pacific. We're telling people to bring layers just in case

[soundofsunlight]

Yessss!

Yeah, I was thinking that; I know it doesn't get as cold where you are (I have some other friends around there too) but still cold enough that you'd need to dress warmly. Or at least I would, but I get cold very easily. It's getting cold here and I'm not liking it at all.

Mostly driving distance is good! Sometimes I wish I had more family. Mine was kind of small to start with, and by now it's only my mom and brother that are still alive and still around. Being able to get a big family together for Christmas sounds really nice. <3

[missy42]

I'm sorry it's starting to get so cold! It's been swinging back and forth the last couple weeks, here. The last week or so, it's been hot during the day, but then nights are cool. We actually got a little bit of rain last Monday, then again on Sunday and yesterday, which is really good!

My big family is great, but I think the important thing is that you have good relationships with your family. I've known people who don't have that and it's difficult for me to fathom. It makes me really sad for them.

♥

[soundofsunlight]

Hooray for rain! I heard about that from another friend farther north as well, and I'm very happy to hear it. I know how badly it's needed.

There was a period of time where things were pretty bad between me and my mom, but my view is that we're still family, so if there's a problem we should try to fix it, and we worked it out. Sometimes it really gets on my nerves, this attitude that if something's broken people just throw it away, and no one seems interested in trying to repair things any more. And you never really know what the other person is thinking until you talk to them; you might be surprised.

[missy42]

In the original post, I almost put in that we hope it doesn't rain on the day of the party, but I felt too bad about adding it because we do need the rain so much!

Sometimes it really gets on my nerves, this attitude that if something's broken people just throw it away, and no one seems interested in trying to repair things any more. And you never really know what the other person is thinking until you talk to them; you might be surprised.

Sometimes it can be hard to take the first steps, but I think you're right. And it's worth it. Glad you worked things out with your mom!

♥

[soundofsunlight]

Yeah, it was awkward, but worth it. I think we both needed some time to think things through individually, but once we did that, it was possible to talk about it and work it out. I think most things are fixable, as long as people are willing.

[missy42]

**love**

♥