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Festive/Holiday Spirit

littlekiwi

littlekiwi

I charge by the hour for anything before noon
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
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With all the Document December hoopla happening this weekend

Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December? I do, mostly when the Christmas goodies hit the stores. I love a few new ornaments, digital goodies.
When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood? I start my December album on the 1st of December until the 25th, some times the 31st depending on what we do if there are a lot of fun festivities and photos taken. I wait on Rosie to set up the tree but this year she is overseas and with our travel plans I don't think I will put a tree up this year.
Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit? Not that I can think of. A challenge is being in summer, the pumpkin spice lattes need to give way to iced coffees etc and it doesn't land the same.
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
I do eventually but more so for the family time than the actual festive activities

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
Celebrating is the 25th or nearest day to it that all the family can be there. As far as getting in the spirit....it literally happens maybe two, three, five days ahead of the big day if I'm lucky.I don't do any Santa parades, Christmas Carol events, late night last minute Christmas shopping at the mall. I'd actually say the last time I had true festive spirit or celebrations was in 2018 cause one year there was family health issues, a couple of years my grandma was in and out of respite care waiting for full time care on top of the pandemic, and then the last few years distance has separated us. This year though there are plans in place for Christmas to actually happen - the first without my grandmother so new traditions and memories will need to be made while carrying on existing family traditions too.

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
Not as such but I guess planned family time - this is the first year in many that 3/4 of us are in the same city albeit across the city so we can all celebrate together and the fourth person is traveling up as well. Family time/connection has become so much more valuable the past 9 1/2 months
 
StefanieS said:
Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit? Not that I can think of. A challenge is being in summer, the pumpkin spice lattes need to give way to iced coffees etc and it doesn't land the same.
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Agree, Christmas in summer just doesn't have the same feel
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December? It comes and goes ever since my divorce and the kids moving away. It's been a mixed bag since my sister died on Christmas Eve the year my youngest was born. Now, it's gotten a little more tamped down since my dad passed on the 14th two years ago. Not to mention, my kids' other grandfather shot himself on the 22nd three years ago. I love what we're celebrating, but that often gets drowned out by the sense of obligation to make it "more." There were way too many years I overspent to make everyone feel better or keep up with the Joneses or whyever I did all that!

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood? It depends. I'm kind of in the mood now since getting to participate in the DYD activities planning. Having a simple plan to photograph something specific every day in December is giving me something to look forward to. I'm not ready for trying to figure out when/if I'll get to see my kids. It's always a lot, and last year my oldest didn't get to come home due to a new job. I suspect he won't be able to get time off again this year, since he works retail.

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit? Putting up a tree will do it, but I don't get to do that at home anymore, so will enjoy putting up the cute table top one at work. I will probably do that on the 28th because everyone else will be out of the office. It will be a nice surprise when they come back after the Thanksgiving holiday.
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December? Not really.

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood? I don't really celebrate since I have no immediate family to celebrate with. I do spend Christmas day (and Thanksgiving) with a cousin and his family. Just a nice meal and watching their grandkids open their presents.

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit? Depends. Some years, nothing will get me into the spirit. Other years, it might be listening to music or decorating.

December is the month I get SAD. My mother passed away on December 26th, so the holiday has never been the same since 1996. The last normal family Christmas I had was in 1995. In 1996 Mom spent Christmas Day in a coma like state in the hospital, not knowing anything that was going on. Dad and his brother spent time at the hospital while my aunt & I got some things ready for a cookout with my parents' friends at the trailer park they stayed in during the winter in Florida. Even before her death, December was a hard month for our family. 3 of my 4 grandparents died between Thanksgiving and Christmas (1971, 1993 and 1995). Nine years ago, the SAD was really bad as that was the first year I had neither parent (Dad had passed away in June). I try to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about the people I'm missing in my life. So I scrap, do jigsaw puzzles or read. That gets me through the month. While most people get SAD in January, I'm fine come January 1st.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December? Not really.

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood? I don't really celebrate since I have no immediate family to celebrate with. I do spend Christmas day (and Thanksgiving) with a cousin and his family. Just a nice meal and watching their grandkids open their presents.

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit? Depends. Some years, nothing will get me into the spirit. Other years, it might be listening to music or decorating.

December is the month I get SAD. My mother passed away on December 26th, so the holiday has never been the same since 1996. The last normal family Christmas I had was in 1995. In 1996 Mom spent Christmas Day in a coma like state in the hospital, not knowing anything that was going on. Dad and his brother spent time at the hospital while my aunt & I got some things ready for a cookout with my parents' friends at the trailer park they stayed in during the winter in Florida. Even before her death, December was a hard month for our family. 3 of my 4 grandparents died between Thanksgiving and Christmas (1971, 1993 and 1995). Nine years ago, the SAD was really bad as that was the first year I had neither parent (Dad had passed away in June). I try to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about the people I'm missing in my life. So I scrap, do jigsaw puzzles or read. That gets me through the month. While most people get SAD in January, I'm fine come January 1st.
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I, too, like looking forward to January...especially since MOC will be back!!!
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
I am trying to. I was explaining to a friend a few years back that "moms make the magic" and taking that role has helped me like the season better. Plus doing things for the scrapbook breaks me out of my funk. My household does both Hanukkah (me) and Christmas (my husband) so I get to do a lot of merry-making. I also love peppermint-flavored things so I start ordering them as they appear at restaurants. It's 80F outside so it's iced peppermint everything though.

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
Part of it depends on when Hanukkah falls. I'm just grateful it's not going to overlap with Thanksgiving again. :giggle We tend to put up our tree the end of November/beginning of December (now that we have one) and put the menorahs out close to the first night of Hanukkah. This year, I'm getting a bit of a head start on prep because I want less stress this year. No more last-minute candle shopping, please!

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
The little joys that I embrace are peppermint treats, the drive-thru Christmas lights (especially if I can talk my family into doing both displays), matching Hanukkah pajamas, and watching Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. I love making Hanukkah cookies with my family too. And my aunt got me light-up Hanukkah Minnie ears at Disney a few years back that I need to remember to wear this year.
 
I do enjoy Christmas and get into the spirit after Thanksgiving, usually when we go get our tree with the whole family. That kinda kicks off the season for me.
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
Yes! I love this time of year! My holiday spirit actually kicks in right after Halloween (If I'm being honest, I could really just skip Halloween)!

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
I put on the Christmas tunes and start decorating right after I put the Halloween decorations away on November 1! My son loves to decorate the outside, so I will help him put up the lights. Inside, I always start with the tree! The house is always a mess for a while with all the containers with the Christmas decorations and I always like to do a deep clean of the house as I'm going. It's like a refresh for me to make the house festive.

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
Listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, and decorating!
 
littlekiwi said:
With all the Document December hoopla happening this weekend

Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
Click to expand...
Like some others, it find the holiday spirit comes and goes. I love idea of pretty lights, festive parties, making yummy special treats and giving meaningful gifts but I don't love the "obligation" -- that usually falls on women -- to make Christmas perfect for everyone else. Now that my kids are both adults, I've been trying to simplify (like not sending cards to everyone on earth anymore) while still keeping the stuff that feels meaningful and a little magical.

I'm old school and don't get into the mood until after Thanksgiving. We usually start decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving.

The weather is summery here which takes a little getting used to but I do love seeing the lights, getting special holiday coffees and treats, doing a little Christmas shopping out and about, and listening to Christmas music. We almost always travel to visit family also and I have to finish most of the prep before that so when we get to our destination, I can mostly just relax and enjoy.
 
Do you have any festive/holiday spirit when it comes to December?
Yes but nothing over the top

When do you start celebrating &/or get into the mood?
I like to put up Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving so end of November at the earliest

Is there anything special that gets you into the festive or holiday spirit?
I love some specific Christmas songs
 
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