Christmas and the family bullshit

[Gippo]

So the family hands out a list of names I have to buy presents for. I get assigned 4 names because there are 4 people in my little family. Everyone gets 1 person from the larger extended family.

End result is everyone gets 1 present from the assigned person.

I fucken hate this for the following reasons:

1) Its a cop out. It saves you from thinking about individual wants.
2) Saves money. This too is a cop out. You dont need to spend big if you take the time.
3) Saves time. Yup cop out because if you cant make time for family then what?

My contribution is that everyone should buy for everyone and make it fun.

Of course I'm copping flak over it because I should be grateful we are merely getting together at Xmas time and that presents are for kids.

Wheres the fun in that? Not only do I not get a chance to enjoy shopping for everyone, but I get 1 measley present from a huge family.

So where do/would you sit? Any better ideas?

[shan]

We do this system and i love it
Yet, cop out
FUCK CHRISTMAS

[J.J]

I just get no one, nothing.. Works perfectly

My theory, no one will buy me what I really want, ie Mitsubishi EVO, WRX, HP4 BMW. And I have enough socks and jocks.. polishing kits and toiletries.

[kapyong]

When's Christmas?

[filbert]

Bah humbug!

[Phildo]

When's Christmas?

It's the time when accommodation in Bali is easier to get.

Especially away from Kuta. Everything's empty. Bloody fantastic.

[Ryven]

I'm not seeing the issue here. Your family get along, and though your disposable income may be greater than others, the money saving issue is likely so that those in the family who aren't living as comfortably don't feel embarrassed by having to buy expensive gifts for everyone, instead they have the opportunity to focus on something that might be meaningful for one person that would otherwise be out of their budget. Recipient should get something they like/want as opposed to a dozen items they're never going to use, giver can feel good about knowing they've got something they will want, not just an arbitrary gift to cross the person off. For some people, any joy from getting a fantastic gift is going to be detracted by knowing they bought one that was less than fantastic.

Either way, I'll probably go for a nice long ride on Christmas so I can enjoy the open road without having to talk to my family, before the drunks wake up before I even think about going through the ordeal that would be dinner with my family. The friends I have know me well enough to realise that if I'd wanted something, I'd have bought it for myself and I'd honestly rather they spend the cash on something nice for themselves rather than awkwardly buy me something they know I probably won't have much use for. Probably why a lot of my friends end up inviting me to dinner this year, the pleasure of the company of people you actually want to spend time around is worth a lot more to me, and is a lot more enjoyable than thanking someone for something that is likely to live in a drawer.

[chew]

We only buy for under 18's and my nephew who's birthday is the 25th.

We all get together and drink champagne, have a feed and go back to our lives happier for the experience.

It is all a bit of a joke I think, who celebrates the real Christmas?

An excuse to have a bludge and a few days off while a lot of business' and the country grind to a halt for two weeks.

Takes a good couple of weeks for all the "Christians" to get going again.

Too much lost production.

Everyone should be able to have four paid days off per year for religious reasons and see what happens to Christmas.

[Ryven]

We only buy for under 18's and my nephew who's birthday is the 25th.

We all get together and drink champagne, have a feed and go back to our lives happier for the experience.

It is all a bit of a joke I think, who celebrates the real Christmas?

An excuse to have a bludge and a few days off while a lot of business' and the country grind to a halt for two weeks.

Takes a good couple of weeks for all the "Christians" to get going again.

Too much lost production.

Everyone should be able to have four paid days off per year for religious reasons and see what happens to Christmas.

So when do I get my four days off paid per year?

Christmas isn't a religious celebration anymore, for a long time it's been more about allocated time to spend with the family or just take a few extra days off. Having a lot of businesses grind to a halt isn't entirely bad if it means particularly small business owners actually get an opportunity to take a break without fear of it causing their business to collapse as a result.

[Para045]

I just get no one, nothing.. Works perfectly

My theory, no one will buy me what I really want, ie Mitsubishi EVO, WRX, HP4 BMW. And I have enough socks and jocks.. polishing kits and toiletries.

I like this and personally don't believe in getting presents for anyone over 14 (or spending heaps either) but unfortunately the missus has other ideas

When's Christmas?

From memory the day I'm working

[ReCon]

Be glad you have family and are not celebrating Christmas on a pile of timber somewhere in the Philippines...

[Falcore]

I didn't realised they believed in god, just satan

[Fozzy]

I buy for my immediate family. Mum, Dad, Sister etc

Fuck all the hangers on they can get fucked. I dont like them

[andymac]

Fuck buying 18 presents for my extended family. Plus I don't want 18 mostly useless things in return. We do 'secret Santa' to $50 value for the adults to limit what people have to buy.

[Huggy]

Seems a lot of families are going down the secret santa path. That's all we do now.

Christmas day is more about the food than the presents for us these days. Bulk prawns FTW