Christmas . . . again

[Cammy]

It seems I just got through the stress and hassle of Christmas, and here it is again just around the corner. This is becoming like a monster with a bottomless pit that keeps needing to be fed. it's not that I hate Christmas, per se, but we have mixed feelings about it and haven't bothered much about it for many decades - quite happily ignored it all that time. Now that I'm married,  my husband, even though he has this huge tr--ma background surrounding this holiday, is really UP on the whole Christmas thing, probably because as an adult he was able to make new memories with his own child. 
      I just find the whole thing too stressful.  This whole thing about buying stuff is what gets me the most. I buy stuff for him all year round, so I don't see why I have to wrack my brain every December to come up with something to top all the other stuff I've gotten. I buy for his daughter and son-in-law, and do so happily as they like useful things that they really need. But my husband has everything and getting something for him is expensive. I just don't want to do this. We promise each other a low minimum limit, but we bust through it each year. This is the reason I dumped Christmas in the first place. I think this year I am going to suggest that we pool our resources and give to a favourite charity, or maybe adopt a child through the Christian children's fund. Now that, I can get onboard with. Knowing that I am giving someone things that they really need, like food, schooling, medical care, and a small toy... now that would put the joy of the season on my face. We live in a society that is so driven by material acquisition, and the commercials at Christmas time just drive us to consume even more - the whole thing feels like I am being manipulated to celebrate this holiday the way the merchants in this world want me to celebrate it. I opted out for decades because of this, but now I have the happiness and expectations of another human being to consider; a human being I love very much and don't want to disappoint.
       I'm not really looking for answers to this problem because I have to figure it out for myself. But I'm wondering if there aren't others out there who are fed up with this endless cycle of buying stuff just because it's the holidays. I don't like buying out of obligation - I like getting people gifts whenever the mood strikes me or the need for something is there for them. Grrrrrrr - maybe even a little bit of Bah Humbug.