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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be thankful Christmas is over for another year....

564 replies

Oakenbeach · 25/12/2019 13:00

Presents opened by 6am.... Dinner eaten and decorations RIPPED down and back in the loft. Roll on New Year.

OP posts:
Oliversmumsarmy · 27/12/2019 11:07

At least I was laser focussed on making memories in those 7 hours... which is a lot more than those who spend the day doing nothing very much

Whatever memories you do make will be obliterated by your rush to get everything done

Is ripping down the Christmas decorations part of the memories

The problem you have is you have planned for so long and in so much detail and you begin Christmas too early.

The most you are supposed to put your tree up is 12 days before Christmas and up to 12 days after is when you take it down.

Planning from May and putting your tree up mid November is ridiculous.

You are making something which should last from tree up (Start to organise Christmas) to tree down (end of Christmas) which is 24 days at the most into a 7 month planning and list making fest and tree up mid November

No wonder you are sick of Christmas

Also what is with the 3 different types of potatoes and umpteen veg.

Why make life hard on yourself.

We got up around 10am then got coffees and juices and opened presents (no one writes thank you cards as we are all in the room)

Then played one of the board games Ds had got for his Christmas present, watched a bit of tv

Then somewhere between 2-3pm started on the meal

We usually do broccoli carrots and sprouts and roast potatoes. Then what everyone is eating.

Dp this year had beef, Ds had a Linda McCartney vegan pie which was cooked but he didn’t make it for Christmas lunch as he was in bed ill.

Dd had a vegan quorn fish thing and I had a
quorn roast

All in the oven or prepared in 20 minutes

Sat down at around 4pm

Nice lunch with just the 3 of us then mince pies and vegan ice cream for pudding.

Lots of bottles of Schloer and orange juice and a bar of vegan chocolate

All stress free.

I think you are stressing and planning too much about making memories that the only memories you are making are of stress and lists.

The memories your children make are those that happen spontaneously

Mine (now adult) remember an impromptu day out at a Steam train fete based on Thomas the tank engine
Laughing in the car when we went to collect Dp from Royal Ascot and seeing the drunk people rolling on the road and really done up women walking in their husbands shoes whilst the husband was walking in his socks.

Going to Legoland and getting chips for the car journey back.

And many more.

All were things we did on the spur of the moment.

No researching, no planning

What will your children remember when they are adult.

Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 11:11

Nope. I just go with the flow; we don't really 'do' NYE as such. If I'm awake at midnight it's coincidence rather than planned!

What a pity. Memories not made and the greatest event of the year missed all due to a lack of planning and application.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 11:13

No wonder you are sick of Christmas

I’m not sick of it... All boxes had been ticked, that’s all.

Anyway, just 97 hours til New Year!

OP posts:
chomalungma · 27/12/2019 11:13

Memories not made and the greatest event of the year missed all due to a lack of planning and application

It's just a time change....Grin

Oliversmumsarmy · 27/12/2019 11:19

Memories not made and the greatest event of the year missed all due to a lack of planning and application

I thought that was the Next Boxing Day sales

MotherofDinosaurs · 27/12/2019 11:23

If someone’s doing some ahead of you, it tends to mean they’re ahead of you, better organised and planned, and therefore more effective and productive. I don’t get how people seem to drift around and be so unfocused.

This sounds so broken OP. Life is such a gift. The ability to celebrate chrustmas/yule/mithras whatever with a few days of being gathered in cosy with your loved ones, enjoying each others company. You seem very focused on other people being 'ahead' of you. In what way? Materialistically? If someone else buys something they don't really need beforee you in the sales they've somehow won? This is such an unhealthy mindset. Would you consider having a bit of counselling so you can relax a bit and enjoy your life instead of making it a weird sort of race of meaningless keeping up with stuff that doesn't really matter? It sounds so exhausting.

Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 11:28

Anyway, just 97 hours til New Year!

Whoops... Re-checked my schedule and it’s actually 93 hours 32 mins away!

OP posts:
PhilCornwall1 · 27/12/2019 11:31

Presents opened by 6am.... Dinner eaten and decorations RIPPED down and back in the loft. Roll on New Year.

Randoms on the internet really couldn't give a shit what you do.

Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 11:34

Randoms on the internet really couldn't give a shit what you do.

Odd thing to write on a 500+ post thread!

OP posts:
chomalungma · 27/12/2019 11:36

Odd thing to write on a 500+ post thread

So what's today's schedule look like?

Motoko · 27/12/2019 11:38

This really needs to go in Classics!

God no. This is far too depressing a thread for Classics.

PhilCornwall1 · 27/12/2019 11:40

Odd thing to write on a 500+ post thread!

Not as odd as you.

Willow2017 · 27/12/2019 11:42

What a pity. Memories not made and the greatest event of the year missed all due to a lack of planning and application.
It's not the greatest event of the year for goodness sake!
These days it's just an excuse to get pissed and set off fireworks.

Memories happen all the time.
Spontaneous events can produce wonderful memories that last a lifetime. You don't need to plan life to the smallest detail, how boring is that?

How fecking rude and self important are you to.think that just because people don't have a minute by minute life plan fir every day of the year we are disorganised and just muddling along. Some things need planning others don't it's really that simple.
It must be exhausting always planning for tomorrow and not having the head space to enjoy today.

ThatsMySantaHisBeardIsSoFluffy · 27/12/2019 12:08

What a pity. Memories not made and the greatest event of the year missed all due to a lack of planning and application.

Why would I plan to do / join in something I don't give a shit about? And certainly won't remember in years to come (it's not significant enough for me to retain the memory of it).

And my kids' birthdays are the main significant events. Plus ensuring they enjoy Christmas. Anything else we do is a pleasant add-on and may or may not lead to 'memories'. (Bearing in mind I can remember inconsequential stuff from 30 years' ago and sometimes not last week, my brain clearly has different ideas about retaining memories than I do. It's involuntary rather than an active decision!)

You trying to take digs at me is pointless as I think your way is sad and pathetic. You may think you have one up on me, but I'm 'meh' about what you think are achievements!

Especially as this simply cannot be real. You tried and failed to be funny, so now you're desperately dragging it out in case somebody, anybody, laughs with - rather than at - you.

And no, Classics is for funny stuff, not this contrived shit.

ilovesooty · 27/12/2019 12:39

I think this thread is funny actually. Both yhe people getting aerated at the OP and the OP's refusal to adapt her thinking.
Imagine : "it's 10.20. We now have 20 minutes children to make memories in Debenham's café. Chop chop" Grin

Elbeagle · 27/12/2019 13:07

It’s amusing me too. The OP trying harder and harder to annoy people, and people getting more and more annoyed.
It’s all bollocks of course, but amusing bollocks nonetheless.

ThatsMySantaHisBeardIsSoFluffy · 27/12/2019 13:42

Well, she has now gone from telling us what she does to actively being rude to people, so the annoyance levels will rise.

She isn't funny or amusing, however. Just very odd indeed!

Ginfordinner · 27/12/2019 14:11

Of course it's bollocks. No-one really lives like this.

This thread reminds of the Winnie the Pooh story where rabbit organises a party:

pooh.fandom.com/wiki/Party_Poohper

Just scroll down for the synopsis.

PrettyPurpleFeather · 27/12/2019 15:12

You remind me of someone who I used to know when I was a kid. She had 2 massive mental breakdowns and her children are now estranged from her. Her kids didn't have a very nice childhood because of her extreme competitive personality.

Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 15:42

Two minutes early for my MN time!

I haven’t always got Christmas done by 1pm!.... Three years ago I had a cold in the run up and we hadn’t done the roasting chestnuts on an open fire bit or finished decorating our gingerbread houses so we finished by about 4pm.

OP posts:
chomalungma · 27/12/2019 15:54

Go on then...

Looking back at this Christmas, what memory will you treasure most?

I hope you have a little book of memories. Those are really useful to keep. With time stamps in. Cross referenced. Or tagged for easy recall

Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 16:02

Memories happen all the time. Spontaneous events can produce wonderful memories that last a lifetime. You don't need to plan life to the smallest detail, how boring is that?

So your life is one big, long stretch of aimless, unplanned nothingness that is occasionally punctuated by a lucky spark that makes a happy memory.... Well, imagine how much better your life would be if every day was planned to be packed full of those sparks, content in the knowledge others (or perhaps only a very few) hadn’t bettered your experience.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 16:05

Looking back at this Christmas, what memory will you treasure most?

I’m always looking forward to the next thing, so don’t have much time for memories... But I have made them, and that’s what counts.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oakenbeach · 27/12/2019 16:13

And anyway, if I can’t remember, DP videos all it. With 330 VHS tapes, 280 DVDs and 22TB in the cloud, it’s all there in the digital memory bank!

OP posts:
chomalungma · 27/12/2019 16:16

m always looking forward to the next thing, so don’t have much time for memories

Come on, you missed a chance there Grin

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