A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Christmas alone

Posted: Dec 12, 2010

Is there anyone else who's spending Christmas alone? This is the first time for me, and I'm having a tough time dealing with it.

;

some suggestions - another loner

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm almost always alone on Christmas and Thanksgiving as well. I've gotten used to it but I still don't like it. Try to plan some things you enjoy doing alone. Rent a good movie a day or two in advance, bake some brownies (even if you do eat them all yourself), work on a hobby project, read a good book. Whatever you enjoy.

My dad will be along this year and it breaks my heart... - Kendra

[ In Reply To ..]
He was alone for last Christmas, as well. He said that he is going to make this his second year spending Christmas in San Simeon, taking pictures. He loves to take nature pictures and the elephant seals are there right now. I guess that it helps him cope with being alone. I sure wish that I could be there, but he was just here for Thanksgiving.

I would be devastated to be alone on Christmas! I feel so lucky that my husband should be back by then. I hope that you find something. If you live anywhere near Mississippi, feel free to come on by. I think that we are going to have a fair amount of single sailors, so the more the merrier!

I spent Xmas alone all the time - Here's what I do

[ In Reply To ..]
First, I get in my mind that it's just another day of the year. It was hard at first because I was so used to the family gatherings, etc, but after joining the service and moving away more than 35 years ago I'm used to it, even though I'd give anything to be with family. I don't like anything to remind me it's xmas because I'd be sad I'm not with family, so I go about the day like it's just a normal Friday or Saturday.

On Christmas I offer to work. I don't decorate my house, I don't listen to Xmas music and I don't watch xmas movies. I also make a special meal, but not a traditional xmas (ham or turkey). This year I might make pot roast or chicken and dumplings, and I'll make a yummy gooey chocolate desert.

I try to treat it as just another day of the week. When I'm not working I work on hobbies. I do quilting and cross stitch and I make collages on the computer with pics (although that might bring up memories.

I like the idea of spending the day out taking pictures.

I hope you will have a good day no matter what you do.

Not to offend, but - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
treating Christmas as just another day, if you are a Christian, isn't right. I wouldn't presume to know your religion, but I have to think you are of a religion that recognizes the birth of Christ or otherwise Christmas wouldn't be a holiday to you at all.

I hope that at some point during this special day, you at least take a few moments to acknowledge what took place on this day so many years ago. I realize it may sadden you to do so, but I think it saddens God more for you not to acknowledge it at all.

I think that God might understand... - Kendra

[ In Reply To ..]
After all, he did give us his son to absolve our sins. I doubt that he has a problem with someone trying to keep him/herself from being sad. I know that I sure would understand something like that from my children and God is certainly more understanding than I am. Just my thoughts on the deal. I don't think that the poster is trying to forget Christmas altogether, just trying not to think of being lonely on that day. I think that God can understand that.

There are some Christians who think it is - Pagan and do not

[ In Reply To ..]
believe in putting up trees and celebrating. I happen to enjoy celebrating Christmas, but you can celebrate Christ's birth and love him and not spend thousands on presents, put up a tree, cook a special meal, listen to music. A lot of these things to me have taken away what is so special about what Christmas represents.

As always, God knows our true heart. Remember, December 25 is not the actual date that Christ was born. I don't even think we know the actual date. It is a date set aside to celebrate his birth, and we really should be doing that daily.

If someone decides not to celebrate generally - sm - ECMT

[ In Reply To ..]
it is for a good reason. Whether it be not religious, or a different faith, superstition (maybe bad things always happen to them at Christmas) or bad memories be it ex-husband, death/suicide of close family members, horribly dysfunctional family, etc, it is no one's business why they do or not not celebrate. It is a personal decision and everyone should be allowed to do as they wish (celebrate or not) without being censured for it.

Not to offend - Here's what I do

[ In Reply To ..]
I am not a Christian now (even though I believe in Christ, just not all the other stuff), but I was raised and brought up as Christian, and it IS okay to treat Christmas as just another day. I recognize the birth of Christ. I also know that Christ wasn't actually born on Christmas Day. It is a day that was chosen to celebrate his birthday. But you do not have to celebrate Christmas in the usual way to recognize his birth. There is midnight mass and other things that go on. I just don't happen to want to do the things that make it feel like Christmas like I had growing up. It's too painful to do the celebration knowing I can't be with my family. Evan after 35 years I have never gotten used to it. 3 times in 35 years I have been able to get back. The other times I have not for different reasons. Also, I know that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol.

Acknowledging Christs birthday does not mean you have to celebrate Christmas in the "usual" manner. Recognize his birth then go on the day like its' a normal regular day. I also believe that Christ knows what we face each day of our lives and he will forgive if you don't do the "normal" traditions. I don't think Christ would want someone to be depressed and suicidal just so they could celebrate his birthday with a big tadoo with the pagan xmas tree, presents and a lavish meal. That is not what Xmas is about.

have you considered - cll

[ In Reply To ..]
volunteering at a shelter or soup kitchen that day? You would be doing something good for others, which I think many people forget that Christmas is about giving to others (not meaning you but just in general) and you would also not be alone that day. If not that, then maybe volunteering at a hospital. There are many sick people in the hospital at Christmas time and especially it must be hard for the children. I am sure there is somewhere you could go where you would be appreciated and help you feel better about not being with family that day. Wish you a very merry Christmas and holiday season!

Not OP but this is a GREAT idea. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I so agree with you and I am always alone... - lka

[ In Reply To ..]
It's all a state of mind. There was a time I felt lonely and sad, but not anymore. It's not about me and it's not about the rat-rate of everyone running around putting themselves into debt by trying to please others with exorbitant gifts either. It's so much more than that. It's about giving and sharing, but that doesn't have to be money or spending time with a dysfunctional family, like so many of us have had. Who wants that? Not me. I like to give from the heart and if I can brighten someone elses day by giving a gift of money or a present, that makes me feel good because I know it would brighten their day. It's taken me many years to get to such a place, but I think with just life experience and living comes a little bit of gratitude for what one has and not what they don't have. Hope everyone find that peace and calm and joy of this season!!

Like this. - aclu

[ In Reply To ..]
I feel the same way. It's gotten out of hand and it makes me cringe hearing the commercials to buy this or that so someone "will love you." Total turn off. I do not buy gifts so someone will "love me." I buy gifts because I "love someone". Do not like the commercialized pressure and will not succumb to it.

This is my 2nd Christmas alone - Kittymama

[ In Reply To ..]
My mom died almost 2 years ago and this is my 2nd Christmas alone. Last year I just ignored the whole thing, pretended it didn't happen, as I did the Thanksgiving dinner for myself and just made myself more sad. Distant very dysfunctional family is not an option.

This year seems a little easier, Thanksgiving sure was. I enjoyed it and did things to please myself, read a good book, cooked a nice meal and was okay. Hopefully the same at Christmas. I haven't decorated, not yet able to deal with the memories. I realized I spent so much time trying to please her and make everything like "happy family" and now that's gone.

I know how hard it is at the time and people say time heals, but when you're hurting, you can't see it. But it is true. I'm am still trying to get my faith back, left the church, feeling like I want to go back, feeling like something is missing. Good luck! It will get easier. Its a process.

I do it every year! It's actually kind of nice. - XMas x 1 - s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
Fun solitary things I've done on Christmas Day and/or Christmas Eve:

- A mountain bike ride on a dirt road through a redwood forest.

- A mountain bike ride on the bluffs overlooking the beach north of Santa Cruz.

- Skiing at a small, family-run ski area.

- Taking a leisurely, scenic drive. (No traffic!) :)

- One year I parked near Levis Plaza in San Francisco, and climbed about a jillion steps up a stairway (taking lots of rest-breaks) to Coit Tower. I had never been there before. It was a sunny, cold day, and the view was breathtaking.

- One of the best Christmas Eve parties I ever attended was a "Bah, Humbug" party put on by a friend who was freshly dumped by her boyfriend. I was, too, and so were most of the rest of us. We all got drunk, watched Chick-Flicks, and ate lots of chocolate. No gifts. We laughed 'til we cried. It was the BEST!

- In bad weather, I sometimes watch a movie video/DVD I've been meaning to watch forever, but never got around to. Or else I read a book... another rarely-pursued pleasure. Or else I download a bunch of crossword puzzles off the Internet and have myself a little crossword-a-thon.

- Sometimes I'll call a friend or relative I've been wanting to talk to for ages. (Depends on the person, though, and their business-level on Christmas.)

- I'll start writing my thank-you notes for any gifts received, favors done for me, etc.

- I look for anything on TV with figure-skating.

- I like to inline skate, and find that Christmas & New Year's Day are great days to have a fabulous asphalt playground, such as your local college or university, or parking structure, bike path, or shopping mall all to yourself. Ditto for bike-riding.

- If you've been thinking about coloring your hair, or highlighting it, what better day to do it? Same with giving yourself a manicure/pedicure.

- It's a great day to bake cookies, a cake, or a pie.

- Most cities have temporary ice-rinks during the holidays. If you ice skate (or want to give it a try, that's a fun thing to do.

- When I had a dog, that was a great day to take her on an extra-special, long dog walk at a nearly-empty regional park, or at the beach.

- If you really prefer company, call around and see if any friends or acquaintences would like to get away from the house for a few hours, and take a nice walk or hike somewhere nearby. My siblings and I used to do this every Christmas. My parents would be bustling around in the kitchen, fussing with the turkey. My grandparents usally came to dinner. So the five of us would get in the car and take a great walk somewhere. One year we walked on the boardwalk in the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area. We had lunch on the Santa Monica Pier. Afterwards, a huge, black rain cloud came in from the ocean, caught up with us, and soaked us. It was cold and wet, but still a fun adventure. Another year, when I was grown and lived in N. Calif., my boyfriend and his dog came with me to my parents, and we all managed to scrounge up a bike to ride, and went for a bike-adventure on a dirt road up in to the mountains behind JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) in Pasadena. We splashed through streams, crossed bridges, some of us fell off our bikes into the water and got soaked, the dog got muddy, etc. We had lunch at picnic grounds, then came back. My sister's husband filmed it on video, put it to music, and gave the video as a gift the following year. What a great memory.

- This year, a bunch of my friends are going to go inline skating along the San Francisco waterfront at night on Christmas Eve. That's something I haven't done before, so I think I'll give it a try. Then I'll spend Christmas day inside, where it's warm, watching old movies on TV.

I hope you come up with the perfect plan to celebrate Christmas in your own special way.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

What a wonderful post! - Kittymama

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you so much! You have inspired me to stop feeling sorry for myself and actually look forward to my time off. I have been meaning to give my house a really good cleaning and decluttering and think I will do this then get to the movies as a reward. May you have a wonderful Christmas!

Similar Messages:

Dec 03, 2009
After the presents are opened and the meal is finished, what do you actually DO? I really don't like it when everyone just sits and there and watches TV but that is what happens when eventually everyone gets bored. Does anyone have any interesting traditions? ...

Dec 30, 2009
Hope all of you wonderful ladies had a good Christmas!!! My fabulous husband got me for tickets to see Bon Jovi in July. I have been waiting over 20 years to see them live and can hardly wait. What did you get for Christmas that you loved??? ...

Dec 12, 2011
Or your Hanukkah table or however you choose to celebrate the season? I'm not here to split hairs on what we call it. I just thought it would be interesting to share some of our favorite foods of the season....maybe a recipe or two. Texas Pecan Cake (courtesy of my mom) makes a regular appearance on our table. We don't like fruitcake in our house, but this is the Texas version, chock full of pecans and raisins. Peanut Butter Balls, also known as Buckeyes, are ...

Dec 09, 2009
We put an angel. When I was growing up it was always a star.What do you put on top? ...

Dec 14, 2009
When you buy cards - what kind do you typically go for ?? Do you get..... Religious, Santa, Funny, Primitive, Etc??What do you say? Do you just sign your name, or do you add a line too?We send about 50-60 cards. Due to the amount we send, we're always having to buy new for the next time anyway. LOL Though I will say, the best time to buy is at the end of the year THIS year. Not next Christmas season, buy them when they're on Clearance for 75% off! ...

Dec 08, 2011
I say there are two kinds of people in this world, those who like fruitcake and those who don't; my son tells me I am wrong, there are three kinds of people in this world, those who are good at math and those who are not. I like fruitcake, I admit it, I'm not ashamed to say so -- so last night I bought a little itty-bitty $3.99 fruitcake to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with a cup of herbal tea and a small slice after I finish work. My son, on the other hand, says "Ug ...

Dec 24, 2009
I know I am better off than many....but this is my first Christmas since my divorce. My family lives in Florida. One family member lives near but is very sick and can't come tomorrow. My children have been gone all day to the celebrations that I have done with my ex-husband's family for the last 20 Christmases. I need to put on some Christmas music and finish wrapping my children's gifts I guess. I just feel so sad today :( ...

Dec 03, 2011
Hey Everyone! I have a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl. Anyone with that age group have any ideas for Christmas for them, or what are you getting your children of that age group? Also, how many presents do you get our children? ...

Dec 02, 2011
Need advice. We have friends with a 10 YO and an 8 YO. This may sound silly - but I feel that our friendship has evolved to that of us going to visit them, us sending gifts for holidays, us emailing and calling them. We always get lovely thank you notes, but they live two hours away and they haven't been to our house in about five years and we haven't been to theirs in 2 years (husband refuses to go over there until they come here)! . Am I beating an old re ...

Oct 24, 2011
We go to my daughter' house for Christmas every other year, and they come here every other year. I have 2 grandchildren. My daughters' mother-in-law comes to my daughter's house every other year, and goes to other family the next year when they come to my house. This mother-in-law does not come to my house because she "does not feel comfortable" here. No other reason given. My daughter tells me it is because she is very competitive and has o ...

Dec 23, 2013
This will make you believe in Santa! ...

Dec 25, 2013
This is one of those awwww stories. Stray cat takes day-old puppy. There is a little video clip too. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/noland-lurlene-apl_n_4493924.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular ...

Dec 25, 2013
I just wanted to share this with everyone as I think it is so awesome. My church had a Christmas Eve service last night. We sang carols, the old ones. Now my church is small and our choir during the year has at best 20 members. A lot of people came in for the holidays to spend with their families and some of them joined our choir for the service which raised it up to about 30 members, more or less. Well the main hymn, anthem or whatever was the Halleuia (?) chorus from Handel's messiah ...

Dec 25, 2014
...

Dec 24, 2015
With Christmas Eve fast upon us, I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends on this board and out there in cyberspace! I wish you and yours a Merry and Happy Christmas. May 2016 be the year the world moves toward peace! ...

Oct 19, 2009
At my husband's family get together last weekend, I realized that my husband's family is just too huge to keep buying individual Christmas presents (15 adults and 5 kids, not counting his dad and my parents) plus our 3 kids so I've decided to get nice containers like a hatbox and fill it with baked goods, spiced pecans and jar mixes for each family. So my questions are: What jar mixes do you like to give/receive? What baked goods do you like to give/receive? TIA ...

Dec 17, 2011
My husband lost his job in June and was out of work until October when he started working as a relief driver for a company delivering bread then in November was laid off. We have had a very hard year and now that Christmas is here he is still out of work and still no word from unemployment, so we are living on my salary just scraping by. Each of the boys are getting one gift but we are not buying anything for each other. I am making him a '12 Days of Christmas Coupon Book& ...

Dec 04, 2009
The world is full of smart ***!!! LOL :) I tried to paste just the picture to this post but I don't know how!!! ...

Dec 15, 2009
These are great. The second link is TSO, and I really love them, especially this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7pH-GU_5gA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLmAPW39uE ...

Dec 16, 2009
Every year since my 2000 wedding have spent Christmas Day with hubs family (have daughter by another marriage, grown and out of the home). My SIL (hubby's brother's wife) and I have exchanged the dinners since the other participants really too old (70s and 80s) to host everyone, quite an ordeal to arrange for say about 15 people. I hosted dinner in 2007 and asked last year by SIL to host again and she would do this year. Have heard nothing about dinner until yesterday (10 days prior to ...

Dec 18, 2009
We have been warned that we will be getting 1 foot of snow here in southwest Virginia this weekend. I wouldn't mind except we always lose our power. They also said to expect snow on Christmas Eve next week. Yippeee! I have not had a white Christmas in a long time!!! ...

Dec 02, 2011
I have to admit I can't stand the "Christmas Shoes" song. I have a high tolerance for schmalz, but that's over the top for me. I change the radio station when that comes on. I'm sorta on the fence about "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". It's kind of cute, but it has the disadvantage of sticking in my head and I end up singing it the rest of the day! Anyone else? ...

Dec 01, 2011
I'm finally getting into the Christmas mood. I have Harry Connick, Jr's "When My Heart Finds Christmas" playing and I LOVE it. My favorites are It Must've Been Ol' Santa Claus and Ave Maria. He has such a beautiful voice and is such a great performer. ...

Nov 27, 2011
Oldest son - check Youngest son - check Daughter-in-law-to-be - check Brother - just have to order it....he is so hard to buy for. Mom - not quite sure yet but I think I know, so that's settled....almost....lol All i have yet to get is stocking stuffers, and I've already picked up several of those. I missed last Christmas (and Thanksgiving, and my birthday, and almost New Year's Day) due to being in the hospital, so I'm getting excited about this Christmas.&n ...

Nov 22, 2011
a great site for good x-mas recipes is sugarduchess.com...lachelle is awesome and i went to the store today and bought everything for about 10 recipes today...you should see her eiffel tower cake...amazing...very inexpensive ingredients too...gonna make her banana almond cake and almond cherry cookies tomorrow (love almonds), but ya gotta see that eiffel tower cake...happy holidays!!! ...

Nov 08, 2011
This is beyond the pale in its audicity -- and political STUPIDITY. With everyone out of work and/or broke, now only ~46 days before Christnmas, Obama imposes a 15-cent-per-tree tax for sellers of over 500 trees to pay. OF COURSE, LIKE ALL SUCH TAXES, this will be passed on to the CONSUMERS, resulting in HIGHER PRICES. What an unbelievably STUPID move poitically -- this one will go down in the history books. Everyone is already calling him "Grinch." ...

Dec 09, 2012
Just thought I'd share a little funny that I heard from another MT. :-) ...

Dec 21, 2012
I know the whole, "better to give than receive" and "Children should know the real meaning of Christmas" etc., I was just wondering with the prices of items today how much does a personal typically spend on their children for Christmas? My husband always complains and says I spend too much on ours and I tried to cut back this year, but still ended up spending around $1500 on two children, ages 9 and 12 and really it looks like they are having a very small Christmas. I am not complain ...

Dec 25, 2012
I just finished having myself a little crying jag after getting some very bad financial news when I looked at my mail. It's important to try to hang onto some hope, but this last revelation feels devastating. Only God can fix this. Merry Christmas and God bless all of you. ...

Oct 23, 2015
The song's running through my head early this year. ...