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The real vs the fantasy christmas

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  • 16-11-2015 7:04pm
    #1
    trixychic
    Registered Users Posts: 1,138 ✭✭✭


    I was watching the television and it just struck me this year that the ads and movies always portray these amazing Christmas days with perfect food, perfect dcorations, everyone happy and lots of room at the table.

    I don't think we ever had a Christmas that went that smoothly. Between family drama or debates, kids runnin around screaming, the too many cooks in the kitchen scenario and then everyone being squeezed into the table of just never went as smoothly as what's portrayed...

    Our Christmas was still always great fun and a very family driven affair. But I do wonder if the host's ever feel pressured to try recreate the scenes that we are on tv.


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    #2
    Glitzgirl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Glitzgirl


    trixychic wrote: »
    I was watching the television and it just struck me this year that the ads and movies always portray these amazing Christmas days with perfect food, perfect dcorations, everyone happy and lots of room at the table.

    I don't think we ever had a Christmas that went that smoothly. Between family drama or debates, kids runnin around screaming, the too many cooks in the kitchen scenario and then everyone being squeezed into the table of just never went as smoothly as what's portrayed...

    Our Christmas was still always great fun and a very family driven affair. But I do wonder if the host's ever feel pressured to try recreate the scenes that we are on tv.

    Oh definitely I put myself under immense pressure every year. I want my kids to have the family experience like I didn't growing up and I try to give them lasting memories and traditions and a sense of family for them to eventually carry on. Now to be fair my eldest son has some emotional difficulties and SPD and ADHD so he can require a bit of work on a bad day, but at the weekend just gone we went to see santa and no matter what I did,we all dressed in festive jumpers, got sweets to watch santas parade escort him in, took loads of pics and tried to encourage him to dance with the costumed characters , he was just having an off day and I found myself thinking the day is ruined, I only wanted everyone to have a nice time and he was crying so much during it. I have to remind myself that kids will look back on things with rose tinted glasses and today low and behold he is all talk about the great day he had with santa !


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    #3
    Into The Blue
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,358 ✭✭✭Into The Blue


    This year's Supervalu add pretty summed up all my Christmases!!!!!

    This is my first year not to be "in the home place" for Christmas, as we've 2 kids who need their own family Christmas memories..


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    #4
    Glitzgirl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Glitzgirl


    Into The Blue wrote: »
    This year's Supervalu add pretty summed up all my Christmases!!!!!

    This is my first year not to be "in the home place" for Christmas, as we've 2 kids who need their own family Christmas memories..

    It is a great add isn't it. I love everything about it from the mince pies being knocked over to the granny asking how do you work this. All totally believable scenarios in my house anyway ! :)


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    #5
    iguana
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 12,909 Mod ✭✭✭✭iguana


    Glitzgirl wrote: »
    Oh definitely I put myself under immense pressure every year. I want my kids to have the family experience like I didn't growing up and I try to give them lasting memories and traditions and a sense of family for them to eventually carry on. Now to be fair my eldest son has some emotional difficulties and SPD and ADHD so he can require a bit of work on a bad day, but at the weekend just gone we went to see santa and no matter what I did,we all dressed in festive jumpers, got sweets to watch santas parade escort him in, took loads of pics and tried to encourage him to dance with the costumed characters , he was just having an off day and I found myself thinking the day is ruined, I only wanted everyone to have a nice time and he was crying so much during it. I have to remind myself that kids will look back on things with rose tinted glasses and today low and behold he is all talk about the great day he had with santa !

    Isn't that the truth. We took S to Disney on Ice yesterday and he mostly hated it. He feels very vulnerable with the cast on and the noise just sent him over the edge and he was mostly just scared and unhappy. Apart from during his very favourite parts, Cars and the singing parts of Frozen, we spend the whole 2.5 hours walking around the stalls away from the show. But within a few hours of leaving he was telling us how great it was!!!


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    #6
    trixychic
    Registered Users Posts: 1,138 ✭✭✭trixychic


    Into The Blue wrote: »
    This year's Supervalu add pretty summed up all my Christmases!!!!!

    This is my first year not to be "in the home place" for Christmas, as we've 2 kids who need their own family Christmas memories..


    I was gonna say that was one of the fatasy scenes. I would love a Christmas like that. Ours is never as extravagent. And we ALWAYS end up travelling.

    Both me and fiance are eldest in our families. Both sets of parents split up. So Xmas day is split every yr between too many. But I love the idea of having family around for the day.


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    #7
    Into The Blue
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,358 ✭✭✭Into The Blue


    trixychic wrote: »
    Both me and fiance are eldest in our families. Both sets of parents split up. So Xmas day is split every yr between too many. But I love the idea of having family around for the day.

    Start your own traditions.

    Christmas eve, polar express/national lampoons Christmas vacation/Scrooged while drinking hot ports.

    Christmas day; dinner in your own home, followed by tea with whom ever you like to invite.

    Stephens day, do the traveling.


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    #8
    trixychic
    Registered Users Posts: 1,138 ✭✭✭trixychic


    Into The Blue wrote: »
    Start your own traditions.

    Christmas eve, polar express/national lampoons Christmas vacation/Scrooged while drinking hot ports.

    Christmas day; dinner in your own home, followed by tea with whom ever you like to invite.

    Stephens day, do the traveling.

    What is "national lampoons"??? Would love to start own traditions. Maybe next yr. What's your traditions???


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    #9
    Into The Blue
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,358 ✭✭✭Into The Blue


    trixychic wrote: »
    What is "national lampoons"???

    National Lampoons Christmas Vacation... Only the second best Christmas film of all time!!!!!!!!


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    #10
    Rebshe88
    Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭Rebshe88


    This year I'm not planning on leaving the house at all! There's plenty of time to visit relatives and I hated being gone from my toys all day. I will be 30 weeks pregnant and with another 2 at home I'm sure i wouldn't have the energy for galavanting all over the place. Sure some might be annoyed but I've decided to put our own little family first.


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    #11
    Glitzgirl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Glitzgirl


    Rebshe88 wrote: »
    This year I'm not planning on leaving the house at all! There's plenty of time to visit relatives and I hated being gone from my toys all day. I will be 30 weeks pregnant and with another 2 at home I'm sure i wouldn't have the energy for galavanting all over the place. Sure some might be annoyed but I've decided to put our own little family first.

    Its a hard decision to make and their is a lot of pressure on people to travel and spend time with families without much consideration to kids been hauled around from place to place. We made the same decision about 4 years ago after I seen my 3 year old open his presents then cry after we told him he cant play with them we had to go to the in laws. Broke my heart he was devestated. :(

    Now we spend Christmas day at home and visit all relatives the day before Christmas eve at the latest or in the new year. Much more chilled and suits our family fine :)


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    #12
    Into The Blue
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,358 ✭✭✭Into The Blue


    trixychic wrote: »
    What is "national lampoons"??? Would love to start own traditions. Maybe next yr. What's your traditions???
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBTTipJX-h4


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    #13
    screamer
    Registered Users Posts: 6,131 ✭✭✭screamer


    I think that once you have your nearest and dearest around you its perfect. It's only when someone passes away during the year that you realise at Christmas all you'd need for Christmas to be perfect was if they were still there to share it with you. We always travel out to visit Christmas evening as generally bored it's nice to change the scenery and go to another house and the roads are quiet compared to the mania of Stephens day.


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    #14
    iguana
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 12,909 Mod ✭✭✭✭iguana


    I had a miscarriage in 2008 and from then until my son was born I didn't especially enjoy Christmas. It was always a reminder of the life as a mother that I wasn't living. I know that it's often a very tough time for people who are struggling with infertility too as Christmas is so child focussed and a reminder of each year that has gone by.


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    #15
    Toto Wolfcastle
    Registered Users Posts: 25,005 ✭✭✭✭Toto Wolfcastle


    We can't have children. Well, I'm sure a miracle could happen, but an awful lot of money and treatment didn't produce any results! (I'm only 30 though so you never know!) This will be our second Christmas since we finished all that treatment and I just can't wait. Obviously at times it's tough watching other people getting excited about what they're going to do with their children at Christmas, but you can't live life like that. Tbh I feel sorry for people who feel like Christmas is nothing without children, because I feel that our Christmas is ideal. (Many different types of Christmas can be the ideal Christmas. It's very subjective!) Christmas is exactly what you make it, and if you think it's going to be like what you see on TV then you'll probably be disappointed. But if you anticipate having a lovely time with the people you love and lovely food and a nice sit down (I love a nice sit down!) then you have a very good chance of having a lovely Christmas.


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