Bah and humbug (Season's Greetings!)

I've never really liked Christmas. It always just seemed to be far too much money, stress and hassle for an indulgent day.

I don't mind indulgent days, by the way. Treating yourself to some nice food or drink is one of life's pleasures, but to add to the stress by making it a big deal just never resonated with me.

It changed a little when I got to my late teens and was drinking. Heading out around that period to catch up with friends was pleasurable, though I still hated all the other bits. It changed a little again when a lot of my friends went off to uni. They'd come home at Christmas and one or two nights out were the only chance to catch up with them.

The only time I've been in a relationship over the Xmas period was when I was with FA2. However, at the behest of her domineering mother, she left the country over Xmas.

When my sister had kids, it changed again. Christmas kinda became fun. That's starting to wear off now though.

It's the lead up to Christmas. The present buying, worrying about what to get people, worrying that they won't like what they get. Thankfully, finances have rarely been an issue, but it's the other aspects that get to me.

The week between Christmas and the start of the new year are my favourite - the stress is dealt with and, family obligations over, I can focus on seeing friends. That's less common now with everyone being grown up with family of their own, so we don't have massive nights out with a dozen of us. Instead, we congregate in smaller numbers, but the nights are no less pleasurable for it.