@JustFi @joinin

I like Christmas, always have. I completely get that lots of people don't, and that's how it is and neither opinion is better or anybody else's business or requiring persuasion.

But I like Christmas more since we downshifted a bit and - whisper it quietly - since the kids got older and were more inclined to spend time in their rooms.

Yes, there'll be plenty of family interaction, but there'll also be a shit-ton of companionable isolation, where we do our own things, guilt-free. Every year I have a garden project, and even on Xmas day, I might go and do a couple of hours if the weather's kind. Dinner is the cheapest/easiest roast Aldi do, in a foil tray.

Meanwhile, all our friends are filling every second with forced (expensive) jollity, with people they feel compelled to be around because of genetics and who spawned who. I think we're less likely to see them all at Christmas than any other point in the year.

And that's just the best bit about it all.

@Badgardener @joinin @JustFi I’ve always enjoyed #Christmas myself. It brings out the little kid in me. This year’s #Christmas is quite different for my wife and I. A few weeks ago we completed a move that took us away from extended family, so this year it’s just the two of us. For many years we’ve talked about establishing our own #Christmas traditions, and now’s our chance. We’re talking about ordering #ChineseFood tomorrow. If we follow through, I hope and pray #Doordash is up and running. A merry Christmas to you all, no matter how you celebrate, or not, as the case may be.

@Thumper1964 @joinin @JustFi

Ha! That's pretty much exactly us 30 years ago. We'd just moved into a small town and as the newbie, I was put on call for Christmas. We had a brilliant Indian takeaway up the road, who were doing a Christmas special. It was a no-brainer.

Best bit was when we went to book and pay beforehand, and my wife presented her cheque guarantee card, they said "oh, we don't need that, you're a regular". That alone made her Xmas.