Ask Lemmy

Deep down I'm still an edgy militant atheist, and really want nothing to do with religious celebrations.

The only things I really want are things I'm not realistically going to be gifted. No one's going to buy and install a new heater/windows/deck for me for Christmas, or pay down my credit card, etc. I have too much junk already, I have all the clothes I need, I don't really need more snacks in the house, and I'm pretty much set up with everything I need/want for my hobbies. I don't need gifts. Inevitably I'm going to get a bunch of junk I don't need or want, and I'm gonna take it straight home and throw it out or donate it or otherwise I'm going to spend the next eternity shuffling around my house because I don't have anywhere to put it.

I'm probably a bit autistic or maybe just a bit dead inside, so even on the rare occasion I get a gift I'm really excited about I don't really have much of a reaction to it, which I feel is disappointing to the people giving it to me.

I really hate decorating and then having to take it all down a month or so later, having to haul all this crap down from the attic and then back up again is a real drag. It's part of the reason I get a real tree, it's easier to just strap it back onto my roof and haul it to my friend's house to burn in their fire pit (which is very cathartic) than to try to wrestle it back up the ladder. My wife likes it, so I suffer through it, I just wish she'd do more of the work.

I don't want to spend money. I have things I want to save for and dropping a couple hundred bucks on presents isn't helping that. I don't mind getting people gifts if it's something I think they really need or wound like, but thats usually not why I'm buying them stuff for Christmas, I'm getting them stuff because I feel obligated to get them something.

Family gatherings suck. As far as families go mine isn't too bad, I'd even say I kind of like most of them, but getting all of them in the room together and having to spend most of the day with them is too much. There's too many people, it's too loud, and while they're generally all good people, I don't really have enough in common with most of them to make it worth the aggravation, they're best enjoyed in small doses. My wife's family is smaller and quieter, which would be great, except they want the gathering to go on all day, my wife is bringing stuff over to make breakfast and it sounds like they plan to keep things going until at least dinner, so thats probably gonna be a 12+ hour ordeal when you figure in the time it takes to go over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house. Also, most of our family just aren't great cooks, and even if they were there are some picky eaters in the family, so family meals are pretty lackluster. I think my wife's family's dinner plans are a stouffers lasagna. Luckily I have to work this year so I have a good excuse not to go.

Christmas music can be good, but not the stuff that's been piped into every single fucking store I've had to go to for the last month, and I'm sick of it.

This is mostly just a me-problem, but I have way too much shit going on this time of year. My anniversary is in November, then thanksgiving which we usually do with my father in law who's about an hour away, my wife's birthday, my mom's birthday, christmas even which is usually with my family, usually about 45 minutes away depending on who's hosting, Christmas day is usually with my mother in law about an hour away, and then after that I usually host a new years eve party and between work and holiday obligations it's kind of crazy trying to get my house ready for that.

I work in 911 dispatch, we always get some really crazy/sad calls around this time of year. I deal with it just fine personally, but it doesn't exactly put me in a holly jolly mood.

I don't know, I made it this far and just kind of wanted to leave it on a nice round number I guess... Maybe I find tinsel distracting?