Christmas Escapes

Packerjohn

Packerjohn
Location
Canada
I have tried to escape Christmas madness but it seems to follow me. We spent one winter in Mexico & I go so sick of all the stores playing that darn "Feliz Livieda" (pardon spelling). Another Christmas we spent in Lamu, Kenya which is about as Moslem as you might want it. Believe it or not the hotel put up a Christmas tree, played Christmas music & had a special Christmas meal. Please tell me where I could go on this planet & escape all the mad Christmas hype. Thanks.
 

Anyone wanting to go to Afghanistan or North Korea hasn't travel a lot. Maybe staying at home is good. It saves a ton of money since travel has now become BIG business. I think the secret is to keep away from any mall & throw those Christmas flyers in the recycle bin where they belong. When you retire who really needs all that junk anyway? Let the younger generation stockpile it in their rented storage garages. LOL
 
I live in a small village where nothing happens. There's a tree in the village square that is decorated with lights at Christmas, but that's it. There's usually a party / drinking session in the village hall for Hogmanay, but even that is relatively low key.

The major cities are a bit different. We usually visit the Christmas markets somewhere in December. Our favourite is Hamburg (Germany), but we enjoy the peace and quiet at home for Yuletide.
 
This is off topic, but since it mentions Christmas, I thought I would mention the following. I was speaking with the manager of one of our 2 Walmartā€™s here and he told me that if I knew of anyone that was considering on buying a smart TV, to hold off until after Thanksgiving. He said their warehouses are full and he was told by his district manager that they will have some great deals come this Christmas. So, I was in the other Walmart yesterday and guess what? They had a flash sale on 65ā€ TVs for $379.00. Even if I didnā€™t need one (and I donā€™t), I would have bought one. BTW, the brand was a name Iā€™m not familiar with.
 
Had to look this up. For the rest of us, it's Scottish for New Year's Eve.

I like Christmas. A lot.

Other than music repetition, what's not to like? Stores and homes are decorated and festive, shops turn profitable for the year, most people are in pretty good moods, there are parties to throw and attend, a reason to wish strangers and friends Happy Holidays (instead of "have a nice day"), and we try to find a special something to bestow on the special somebodies in our lives. Kids get a few weeks break from school, adults a few days off from work.

We do this while celebrating the birth of someone who taught us (as have many others) to be kind to one another. One needn't be a Christian to love and embrace that message - it uplifts us all.

What's not to like?
 
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Had to look this up. It's Scottish for New Year's Eve to the rest of us.

I like Christmas. A lot.

Other than music repetition, what's not to like? Stores and homes are decorated and festive, shops turn profitable for the year, most people are in pretty good moods, there are parties to throw and attend, a reason to wish strangers and friends Happy Holidays (instead of "have a nice day"), and we try to find a special something to bestow on the special somebodies in our lives. Kids get a few weeks break from school, adults a few days off from work.

We do this while celebrating the birth of someone who taught us (as have many others) to be kind to one another. One needn't be a Christian to love and embrace that message - it uplifts us all.

What's not to like?
Well, after my mom died, I wanted to "run away" for a few years. She had lived with us for 26 years and we had baked hundreds of dozens of cookies together to hand out at Christmas. It just hurt too much to be home. Too many fond memories. Neither she nor I nor my hub liked fighting the crowds every time you "had" to go anywhere near a mall or shopping center. That's a given, but other than that, we loved the "giving part" of the holidays.
 
I don't know but I've just been staying in my apt. and haven't been bombarded...yet. I made the mistake yesterday though of watching a Hallmark Christmas movie--ugh...had to turn it off, they all seem to be the same. Good luck with finding an escape!
You can't blame Christmas for Hallmark's endless parade of sappy, formulaic movies.
 
One needn't be a Christian to love and embrace that message - it uplifts us all.

What's not to like?

I'm glad you made that point because the time round the 25th Dec. was celebrated long before the advent of the 'Christian era'. The earliest record of Christmas being celebrated on 25th Dec was in AD 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Christians were late comers to the party, but all are welcome.
 
November and December are my favorite times of the annual trip around the Sun. I love walking in my woods in the cold air and during the long evenings I love reading a good book by the fire while enjoying one of my treasured briar pipes.

Since I have no television, I automatically avoid the cacophony of seasonal advertising and schmaltzy or otherwise ridiculous video presentations: (Ernest just will have to save Christmas without me again this year). I am selective in the Christmas music to which I listen. I do relish Christmas programs on old time radio (to my mind the availability of OTR programs on the internet somewhat excuses the crap also found there) so while that may not really be an escape from the season, it is an escape from the 21st Century which is good enough for me.

I am not religious nor am I anti-religious. Some years I decide to attend a Christmas Eve service (usually at one of the major old-line churches; full of pageantry and tradition and Bach :giggle:).

I have always liked Fred's speech in Christmas Carol: "There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew; "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas-time, when it has come round--apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that--as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open
their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"............... Now the folks from the Marketing or Finance departments may not be included in this enumeration but as i said, I am selective. After all were Scrooge alive today, he would probably own Amazon and a whole slew of broadcast media.
 
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Guess I am lucky because I cut the cable TV some 16 years ago so I miss most of the horrible Christmas commercials of BUY, BUY, BUY & BUY some more. I am not against the spirit of Christmas, I am not against little kids having fun, I am not against Christians celebrating the birth of Christ & I am not against Christmas decorations. I am against constant commercials telling us to use our credit cards. I buy very little, if anything, so therefore on January 21 when all those credit card bills come in & everyone is sad, miserable & grumpy, I am all smiles. Each to their own, I guess.
 
All the holidays make me sad. All my family is gone. My two Grand kids are the only bright spot. We see them on the holidays which does take my mind off the sadness and emptiness I feel.
When I'm back home I look forward to the week after New Years. That's when I start what I call "my vacation". I start my many projects, my sewing machine becomes a permanent fixture on the dining room table, craft paint all over the place, new recipes to try, garden to plan out. The hubby retreats to the TV set and hopes I don't call him to help me rearrange the furniture.
 
Think I posted on another thread that we do a low keyed Christmas. I love the midnight mass and attend when I feel like it. The kids come over and we have a big gumbo dinner. Sometimes I make it and sometimes we pick up from Abe's Cajun CafƩ. I do stockings and they do one for me. I enjoy the stockings as much as I enjoy their company. They are so busy that I am thankful that it is the one day that CVS gives their pharmacists the day off.
 
Christmas can be a good part of the year if we just ignore the commercial advertising. I think if we just use common sense & find joy in our lives & our hobbies things will work out. We can all have a Merry Christmas without 2 months of HO, HO, HO!
 
Well, after my mom died, I wanted to "run away" for a few years. She had lived with us for 26 years and we had baked hundreds of dozens of cookies together to hand out at Christmas. It just hurt too much to be home. Too many fond memories. Neither she nor I nor my hub liked fighting the crowds every time you "had" to go anywhere near a mall or shopping center. That's a given, but other than that, we loved the "giving part" of the holidays.
Wow, I'm quoting myself here...never did that before...lol. The kitchen has been remodeled since then but here are a few pics to give you an idea - every flat surface had cookies on it:
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