My Christmas

How much have I LOVED hearing about your Christmas - what you did and who you celebrated with!  Thanks for telling me - I read each of your responses with a huge smile on my face! I wasn't collecting the information for any purpose in particular, other than I love you lovely guys who read my blog, and I'm interested in what you did to celebrate Christmas.

(Nosy, in other words.)

My Christmas?  Due to the deliberate down-sizing of celebrations on both sides of the family and also the weather (my goodness I've never seen this amount of ongoing rain!) my Christmas was quiet and low-key.  That was nice.  I guess I'd better answer my own questions.

1.  Where did you spend Christmas 2010?
(a) At my place
(b) At a relative's place close by
(c) At a relative's place a long long long way away
(d) At a friend's place.
We started and ended our days at our own place - wonderful instead of sleeping on various people's floors like we used to do!  Christmas Lunch was at Crazy Sister's house 20 mins away and we had a quick morning tea at Mr de Elba's parents' house 20 minutes in the other direction.

2.  How many people did you spend Christmas with?
(a) just me - and I loved it!
(b) just me - and I was lonely
(c) a handful of people - and that's the way I like it
(d) a handful of people - and that was too few/too many
(e) a cast of thousands - and that's how I like my Christmas
(f) a cast of thousands - and could you please pass me a mild sedative and a drink?
Both days were spent with a handful of people - and that's the way we like it!

3. Overall, how would you describe your Christmas?
(a) relaxing and peaceful
(b) hectic and stressful
(c) dysfunctional
(d) celebratory
(e) spiky
(f) Other: __________
Mostly, it was relaxing and peaceful, but there were moments of dysfunction.  As Tracy P says, aren't we all a little dysfunctional anyway?  What would Christmas be without the odd opportunity to forgive?

4. What was your policy for gift-giving this Christmas?  You can choose more than one.
(a) I gave to lots of people
(b) I gave to a select few
(c) I spent more than I did last year
(d) I spent less than I did last year
(e) Y'know what?  I didn't give gifts.
Both sides of the family made a decision that parents would only give to their own children and didn't have to give to nieces and nephews and their own siblings and in-laws.  In previous years, I would have been a little sad about this.  But this year, I and my purse are secretly thankful.  Thankyou, family.  It worked well for me!

5. Did you receive gifts?
(a) Yes, and they were good
(b) Yes, and the money could have been saved, seriously.
(c) Yes, and by happy co-incidence, the giver was ME!
(d) No, and that's exactly what I wanted
(e) No, and I might go off and have a little cry right now.
Yes - I loved my gifts!  Some of them were given by me (speech therapy resource) others were given by Mr de Elba (bathroom scales because I asked for them, assuring him that although it seemed like it, it wouldn't be an un-PC gift if I asked for them!) and many from Buzz (mostly A4 pieces of paper with drawings, wrapped in other A4 pieces pf paper, and comprehensively sticky-taped up, but also some of Buzz's school work prepared by his school teacher which I will treasure for ever!) and some very useful and thoughtful things from my parents and Mr de Elba's parents.

6. For anyone celebrating Christmas in "bad" weather: please detail gifts that were given or received that cannot be used until the weather gets better.
Well dear little Buzz got a remote-controlled car that he has been asking for.  Inside driving was okay, but he yearned to give it a spin outside!

7.  Please also detail any physical injuries or property damage incurred during the Inside Use of what were rightfully Outside Toys.
Toes were rolled over and legs were bumped into, but the tears were all crocodile tears.

8.  Did you get a Christmas Day sleep?
(a) Yes, I did thankyou very much, and it was wonderful
(b) No, and your tone makes me want to poke you in the eye with a table fork.
Yes, I did sleep but instead of setting my alarm for 20 minutes, I slept for 3 hours.  I woke up feeling like the walking dead.  I chose to be thankful for the sleep though.

9.  Christmas Day 2011:
(a) Bring it on, I am looking forward to it already!
(b) It can wait a full 12 months thankyou.
(c) Run Away!

Well, I do love Christmas, and am tempted to say, 'Bring it on!"  But there's something about the intervening 12 months that makes it more special when it does come.  I am happy to wait, but I may just choose to play a lot of Christmas music between now and next Christmas.

Thanks  for your responses!  I loved reading what you wrote!