I love Christmas bit it also makes me cry...

[Primadonnagirl]

...anyone else feels the same?! Parents worked hard to make Christmas so special for me so I have very many lovely memories but for complicated reasons it's no longer the same. So I find myself both loving it and dreading it cos I mourn for Christmases past....anyone else feel the same and if so how do you handle it?!

I know what you mean, I had a fab childhood but am a single mum so feel it's not the same for them as the Christmasses I had, although I try my best xx

Oh hugs! I know how you feel - I posted something here a few days ago about how this time of year makes me nostalgic for happy childhood days, and I miss my parents dreadfully. Lots of lovely people replied to say that they felt the same, and that helped. And a few suggested that by creating the same happy memories for our children - and it isn't just about presents, it is about feelings and comfort - a bit of our happier times lives on in them.

Sorry -not much help, other than to say that you are not alone

I know exactly what you mean. Due to circumstances our Christmases are so different to my childhood ones. We used to have 16 immediate family for Christmas when I was a child, this year it will be me, my mum and my daughter. Whilst it will be gorgeous it isn't the type of Christmas I thought I'd be having at this stage of my life.

But then I think that sounds very pathetic and self indulgent - I have my health, enough money to buy DD decent pressies etc!

I feel the same but in different ways. My childhood christmases were cold and miserable so I work extra, extra hard to ensure my own DC's are special and magical. And when I say extra hard I mean it... I lose a lot of sleep between the last week of November and last week of December. Worried that this parcel won't arrive or has gone missing, that they won't dispatch the item quick enough, that my baking will go to pot, that it won't be 'special enough'... Lots of different stupid and very petty things tbh. I put an enormous pressure on myself to get it right so my DC have amazing memories of childhood Christmases that they look back on fondly.

And yes, it does make me reflect on my childhood Christmases and on how I don't really have much of a family outside of of DH and DC too. Im looking forward to next Christmas a bit more than this one tbh because we're going away to Paris for the entire Christmas period so I'll have absolutely no stress (well not much ).