are you a Christmas "Lover" or "Hater"

[MIKA27]

I'm not an Easter kind of guy, it's a Monopoloy if you ask me and people have forgotten what it really stands for.

But as for Christmas, my family and I love the whole meaning behind 'Family' and being together and that includes the extended family.

A normal Christmas for me is heading over to my wife's side of the family (They are Chilean) on December 24th for a BBQ dinner where we eat and drink heaps, the same as most do on XMAS day, we wait till midnight and gifts are exchanged (For the Children), unwrapped and more drinking takes place.

We head home early Christmas morning at around 3am, kids are put to bed and my wife and I, most often both intoxicated, play Santa and place gifts under the tree. No sooner we head off to bed, we are woken by two children at around 7am, we all head downstairs, sit around the tree and enjoy watching our kids eyes filled with joy. We all unwrap gifts, take photos, video and have a nice cooked breakfast together.

Whilst most people forget the meaning of Christmas, my wife and I try and keep in their minds the meaning and weather one is catholic or not, believe or do not believe, we do educate them about it's significance. Most kids these days think Christmas is all about gifts.

As for the remainder of Christmas day, we throw on a spread, BBQ of all sorts starting with seafood, crayfish, yabbies followed by Roast Turkey and a load of cold cuts, hams etc. Tell you the truth, by Christmas day, I can barely eat from the night before but who can say no to Crayfish on the Barbie?? Oh... and of course, some nice cigars and drinks!!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas by the way!!

[Chris7]

I don't mind Christmas at all. BBQ and beers with friends or family doesn't get much better. However I do not like going to the city/Chermside around that time, having worked mostly in retail I know what Christmas time can be like. This year will be great though as it is the first Christmas that neither my fiance or myself have to work so we will actually be able to spend a decent amount of time off together and to top it off, by the time Christmas rolls around she will be my wife and not fiance!

Also for an interesting array of gifts/generally awesome things try www.thisiswhyimbroke.com.

[thering]

Christmas time for me has recently meant one thing; travel. I look forward to it and plan and save all year. Before I leave there is usually family get together's that involve cold cocktails on beautiful warm days. What's not to love?

[Fuzz AI]

I don't mind the carols in the supermarket but do feel for the employees who end up humming them until Feb.

Thank you!! For 12 years I had to endure the torture of Xmas carols at the office, while on hold on my phone, and whenever I had to be in stores. Used to begin in the first week of December, now they're bloody doing it first week November! Drove me completely batty. That and getting bloody hot cross buns in the first week of January!

[meatball41]

love christmas!

this site wont be much help for kids but has cool stuff http://shop.theawesomer.com

their main site has link to other cool stuff http://theawesomer.com

[marper331]

love christmas eve and christmas. the food traditions are great...seafood extravaganza on christmas eve and a christmas dinner that lasts for hours and hours....nothing like good home cooked italian food. Lots of wine and a few cigars with family and friends...its my favorite time of the year.

[Stevieboy]

I love Xmas and NY and I usually manage to get the days off in between making it a nice long break

Family, cigars, the food, booze... I love it

Plus, every Xmas for the last 5-6 years, I dust off BioShock for its annual play!

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

[canadianbeaver]

How could anyone not love Christmas? I like the chocolate treats and stuff like that.

[stogieluver]

Love it, but my wife loves it even more.

45 plastic storage containers, all the size of a cooler, came down out of the attic last weekend and the house is already decorated.

Yes, I said 45, that's a 4 followed by a 5, storage boxes. They come down out of the attic, the boxes are emptied, all the nic naks around the house go into the empty boxes, the boxes go back in the attic, and the house gets decorated.

[Ghabanos]

Fav time of year. Family. Off work. Work days are slower. So festive. Great memories.

Our tree is already up and decorated. Boys are young so to them what's not to love. Good food and toys and play all day.

[Rushman]

Don't hate it. But with no kiddies of my own I don't love it.

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.390017,-81.404446

[ag794516]

Love Christmas! ! Time to get a little silence in your surrounding and family. Hope you all have a good one!

[Tino]

How could anyone not love Christmas? I like the chocolate treats and stuff like that.

[nikosdoc]

Family, friends, love, home cooked food, a good laugh,a good whisky, a good cigar or two.......for almost a week!!!

What is not to like???

[Rogers72]

Love It! It's still the one time of year I actually make a point to slow down and try to make as special as I can for myself and my family. With two young kids and another on the way, it seems to keep getting more special every year. I also enjoy it because, as I slow down, I tend to spend more time remembering those loved ones who are no longer here to celebrate with me. There's nothing like sitting on the porch alone, late at night, with some really great Christmas music playing, a nice drink, and a cigar, reminiscing.

[ramon_cojones]

Guys can we help ayala here?

Pres check out www.kaufmann-mercantile.com, loads of interesting and well made gift ideas. I'm not a fan of buying people junk but things they can actually use and are made to last. Very friendly people and great service.

You can find something for everyone on there.

[ptrthgr8]

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, 100% love Christmas! When I was a kid I went mental for the four weeks before Christmas. Mom baking a massive amount of Christmas cookies; the house always smelling like fresh baked treats! Yum! All the new toys... all the possibilities! I love the lights and decorations all over town, I love the music and classic movies and TV shows. Griswalds! The Grinch! General Patton as Mr. Scrooge! You'll shoot yer eye out! Bing Crosby! Too much fun! Presents! Candy canes! The whiff of mint chocolate lattes in the air. Growing up in Seattle, the downtown area and Center House were always filled with all sorts of fun things to see and do. The big ol' Christmas train set that was set up in the big window at Fredrick & Nelson's with the handprint switch (touch your hand on the pad and the train goes. Remove your hand and it stops.)

I'm not an overly religious person, so the Christian reason for the season doesn't really do anything for me. But I still love seeing all the manger scenes in peoples' yards - if for no other reason than I know it gets a lot of haters all sorts of twisted up.

Now that I'm older and living in a much smaller town, my reasons for loving Christmas time are still pretty much the same. I don't like eggnog as much as I once did, but I still I love the lights, decorations, cookies, the chill in the air, hockey everywhere, family time, etc. I couldn't care less about presents and new toys anymore since I pretty much buy my new toys whenever I want them - don't need to wait for Santa to bring me my new loot any more. But living here in North Dakota I can honestly say my most favorite thing about Christmas time is how everyone you run into seems genuinely happier. Full of the Christmas spirit and all that. You would get that in Seattle, but mostly from people you know. Around here you see it with complete strangers. I think it's par for the course in an area that's generally friendlier and nicer than most places any time of the year, but it seems to really get amped up around Christmas. And I like that a lot.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[Orion21]

I always liked Christmas before, but since my children were born I LOVE Christmas. There is nothing like seeing joy in the faces of your children when they are enjoying being around all of their family, opening gifts or helping to decorate.

[thebigk]

I am in the same boat as Orion would add waking up the kids and telling them that Santa has came to our house but then Christmas has not always been good The weekend after Thanksgiving in 2011 are son was sick only to find out he had a heart problem so three days after Christmas we were at the children's hospital of Minnesota awaiting are son heart surgery .Everything is good now but the worst Christmas of my life

[MattW]

I'm a Christmas lover! All about the food, drink and people!!

[bugman78629]

LOVE IT..........

[drjammer]

Don't hate it. But with no kiddies of my own I don't love it.

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I am here: http://maps.google.c...0017,-81.404446

I feel the same way!

[srsMichael]

Love Christmas! Great food, great family time, movies on the couch, sitting next to the fire, etc. How could you not like this time of year?

[dan5974]

I have to work on Christmas,so it's pretty much a regular day.I don't worry about presents now that I'm older.Like ptrthgr8 says,I buy my gifts whenever I can throughout the year.Every yeah the wifey asks me what I want,and I always tell her"Nothing".If I told her what I actually want,she'd think I was crazy anyway,being as I'm just an overage kid.She'll just say"You don't need that".I do think it's a special time of the year though.I enjoy long rides just to look at the lights on peoples houses.I absolutely hate how every year the Christmas displays in stores arriver earlier and earlier,and how it has become so commercialized.

[TiminBC]

I both hate it and love it. I love that family other comes together to share this time of year. I hate the commercialism it has become.