Happy Holidays!

[Rachael]

In Sweden it was the 24th, too. So not all the world does it on the 25th.

[Reactor]

It's only less than a month now, and it shall be Christmas! Dang I can't wait!
We're already preparing for the most wonderful time of the year. I'll need to cut some mistletoe, buy a new set of lightbulbs, and of course, an advent calendar!
I wonder what I'll get for Christmas this year. I want a pony! :$
Eruanna, you seem to know a lot about the Scandinavian habits. Might I ask, how come?

[Rachael]

I spent my entire Fall 2015 there.

[Reactor]

Is that so? It's too bad you weren't in in Norway, I could use your knowledge big-time!

[Rachael]

Funny thing - if I hadn't needed to go back home to the States, the plan was to go between Sweden and Norway.

[Hellsmith1]

I always wondering about something how do you celebrate Christmas?

[Rachael]

I celebrate it by being nice to people. I am too poor for gifts and I never get or give any (even though occasionally people do give me some - I always try and be thankful for that). I also sometimes have family that comes over, though lately they've been spending the night and that annoys me.

[Caligari87]

Christmas Eve with my grandparents and extended family, dinner and singing carols, reading Luke 2.

Christmas Day with my wife opening presents at 4am because she never got real Christmases growing up and it makes her act like an excited kid.

[wildweasel]

Lately, I only get gifts when online friends are nice enough to get me things off my Steam wishlist. And that's okay with me, actually...I don't like people to feel like they're required to get me stuff. Most of the time, all I really want is for those people important to me to just be there. (Not that I don't mind the occasional acknowledgement that I'm not screwing things up completely. =P)

[Rachael]

I feel guilty getting gifts from people when there's nothing I can buy them in return. So I agree - just the presence of my friends is the greatest gift they can give me.

[Caligari87]

My problem with gifts is twofold:

• I'm a horrible gift-giver. I want to give things, but I can never think of a decent gift unless someone says "here's the things I want, pick any." You're most likely to get a giftcard, and most of the people I know look down on that like "you really couldn't think of anything else for me?"
• I hate asking for gifts, because most of the things I want to buy are either "stupid" (cheap digital music or games, which few people in my circles think constitute a "real" gift) or too expensive (because I like high quality things and hate settling for a cheap imitation).

So generally I don't expect anything from anyone, and no one should expect anything from me. Which is kind of sad.

[Reactor]

I feel guilty getting gifts from people when there's nothing I can buy them in return. So I agree - just the presence of my friends is the greatest gift they can give me.

Usually, it's not the present itself which counts, but the thought. I am very grateful even for small things - let it be a box of cigarettes, chocolate, a bowl of tiramisu, an enemy model, a composed MIDI - and I like to return these small favors in my own ways. Most of the expensive stuff I desire could not even be bought by my parents or anyone else, simply because they have no contacts to obtain said merchandise from or have no experience in these stuff, so they can not understand why is it so paramount for me to have. It is much safer and better to obtain these stuff for meself.

[Wiw]

Happy holidays? Huh! No chance of that now! Not after my annus horribilis, and you bringing Hitler back to power... I see no hope for the future!

[Shadelight]

Seriously? That kind of post doesn't belong in this thread.

[Wiw]

Sorry.