The one thing I hate about Christmas

[quinnox]

Don't get me wrong, I adore all the Christmas stuff in general, like the ambiance, the music, the decorating, and so on, but the one thing I really don't like is how everything is closed. Grocery stores, lots of restaurants, hell, just about everything is closed early on Christmas eve and then closed all of Christmas day.

[marybourg]

1. You should move to NYC.

[quinnox]

3. no thanks!

Ok you got stuff that is open all the time but no way would I want to live in a city that big and with so many people.

[marybourg]

13. O.K.

[femmocrat]

2. Are you serious?

[quinnox]

5. yep

Look, I agree its kind of a petty complaint but there it is all the same.

[Wounded Bear]

4. I think that's why they call it a 'holiday'

[Tx4obama]

6. The one thing I dislike about Christmas: washing up all the dishes/silverware, and pots & pans :(

[mrmpa]

19. I'm on my 3rd and last load in the dishwasher...........

plus there were pots & pans I had to do by hand. We had 22 people over to my 2 bedroom condo. 13 were family. 5 were neighbors. 1 was a friend and 3 were friends of nieces & nephews.

However, it was well worth it. We had a great time.

[ReRe]

44. Did anyone...

...volunteer to help out? When I have so much to clean up, I START with the pots and pans. Then it's all down hill from there. Happy New Year.

[mrmpa]

45. Oh yes indeed, someone did...........

my sister-in-law, married to my oldest brother. She was fantastic helping me with getting the food prepared, the first load of dishes and second load cleared of garbage and set in sink to be loaded later.

The adult nephews were more interested in drinking some moonshine I have and smoking cigars with their uncles on the porch. The nieces, all adults were in their own private worlds. I'm not complaining, that's just how they are.

My oldest brother and his wife informed me that I have to halve a talk with their 28 year old son. Specifically about a relationship that just folded and threw him for a loop. Yes, his 56 year old. never married, hasn't had a date for over 20 years, will give him a talking to about this failed relationship. lol

I guess Christmas is about relationships, uncles bonding with nephews, sisters in law helping out & nieces I forgot, weren't totally in their own private world, they were talking & bonding with their Grandma. And sisters helping out with nephews.

[ReRe]

47. Sounds like ...

... a great Christmas, mrmpa. You are blessed. Sometimes Christmas get-togethers don't turn out so well. Hope someone took lots of photos. Sounds like an unforgettable event, but in 20 yrs the photos will help so much to tell the story to the descendants. Happy New Year!

[RedCappedBandit]

7. I hate it because it's like a big kick in the nuts to single peoples

[quinnox]

10. why? I don't think so, and I'm single

single people have families too, and can spend Christmas with them. Aunts, Uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, etc.

[RedCappedBandit]

20. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. :)

Just a bit of meaningless humour from a lonely single person on Christmas I suppose. Not meant to be taken literally, of course.

[Nye Bevan]

11. I loved Christmas when I was single.

I loved it when I was married before we had kids.

I love it now, being married with kids.

And I'm pretty sure I'll love it when my kids are grown.

[RedCappedBandit]

21. There is much to love about it.

Don't mind me. bad joke.

[Nye Bevan]

8. I think that's something the people who work in those places *like* about Christmas (nt)

[El Supremo]

9. Come on! People have to have one day off.

Scrooge.

[quinnox]

12. true, but

its just my one complaint about the holiday. I want to go to the store but all I have to choose from is a damn 7-11.

[riderinthestorm]

14. Those poor retail schlubs deserve the day off. Period.

They deserve the day off to spend with their family, friends, or sitting drunk with their pets.

Holidays are good for the poor working folk who have to stand on their feet all damn day. They need that time to decompress and relax however they can.

I would never be peeved about that.

[ReRe]

15. You have no complaint...

...Christmas Day comes only once a year. Next year, stock up on everything you think you will need until everything opens back up on Dec 26th. Also, you need to work on your empathy department. Hope you're not going hungry or smokeless. My advice: (If you don't have neighbors below,) do some serious calisthenics*, take a shower, put your jammies on and hit the hay. Snuggle up in your sleeping place and before you know it, it will be the day after Christmas Day. You won 't even need an alarm clock. The din of the capitalist machine will awaken you.

(* If you do have neighbors downstairs, just skip the calisthenics.)

[quinnox]

17. smokeless? wtf, I don't even smoke, and never have

anyway, yea yea, I know I shoulda stocked up in advance, I still am complaining. It is what it is.

[ReRe]

42. Well, son...

...I can't see thru this computer....I didn't know that you don't smoke. Your desperation just made me think that you might be having nicotine withdrawal. Thank goodness New Year's isn't like Christmas when everything closes down. Only thing good about Christmas is that it is one year away in about an hour. You will be one year older. After all, you are what you are. Happy New Year.

[quinnox]

43. happy new year

to you.

[msongs]

16. tens of millions who don't do xmas still want to live their lives ya know, like

not have to sit at home for a day just because the christians are having a holiday.

for 2/3 of the world's people december 25 is just another day

[pangaia]

33. I'll bet it's more than 2/3 :>)

[GoCubsGo]

53. That's how I feel about it, too.

I prefer to take my time off on my own terms, not on the beliefs of some religion I don't even practice. I'm even crankier about it, because up until about 5 or 6 years ago, my county was subjected to these idiotic "Blue Laws", where you couldn't buy alcohol on Sundays, and most businesses were not allowed to open until after 1:00 in the afternoon. The only things open were grocery and drug stores, and gas stations. Our Walmarts have grocery stores. They would have to block off the non-grocery part of the store until 1:00 on Sundays. One could only shop in the grocery section. I kid you not.

I once heard some asshole "Christian" lecturing the clerk at the grocery store seafood counter about how she was "not going to get to heaven this way", for working on a Sunday. This jerk was completely oblivious to the fact that the store would not be open on Sundays if customers like him were not coming there on that day.

[targetpractice]

18. This is one of the most narcissistic Christmas sentiments I've read...

To paraphrase.. "I 'hate' that the people who normally serve me have taken time off for themselves to celebrate a holiday."

'Hate' was your choice of words. Plan ahead.. It's not all about you.

[quinnox]

22. I acknowledged it was a petty complaint

and yet I made it, it is what it is.

[Cali_Democrat]

23. A bunch of places are still open here in the LA area

Just went to the store to get some cloves for my garlic mashed potatoes.

[quinnox]

24. sounds good

sounds real good, in fact.

[JI7]

25. what do you wish was open ?

[quinnox]

26. just one damn grocery store

like Albertson's or Safeway. All I got to choose from is a 7-11. But I did find out there is a Jack-in-the-Box open, and will head there later on, so I am partially mollified now.

[Poll_Blind]

29. Silly question, but what're you going to get?

Can you tell my family is out of the house right now and I'm bored, LOL?

My girlfriend loves Jack in the Box, but I don't think I've ever eaten there. She's a freak for the tacos, which is odd because she's a Latina and usually doesn't want any part of any kind of Mexican fast food- though her two boys love it. I think it's her durty food, like her once-a-year Costco hot dog or her once-a-year Nachos with Chili and Cheeze from 7-11.

PB

[quinnox]

31. lol, I'm not sure, but I was thinking about the sirloin burger

it sounds pretty good, with red onions and cheese, and its a good size. It will fill me up for sure. I had the big Christmas breakfast thing but am starting to get pretty hungry again.

[JI7]

40. why don't you plan ahead, it's only 1 day , i think McDonalds is open

[quinnox]

41. true, I shoulda stocked up

I guess I screwed up.

[Poll_Blind]

27. I don't get the heat you're getting: Many seem happy to read some darker...

...reason behind your complaint. Anyway, yeah, I hear ya. I love exotic (or at least non-American) food so what I do every once in a while is head over to restaurant which might be open on Christmas Day. Christmas Ham and mashed potatoes are great, but nothing beats filling one's nostrils with the heady fragrance of Chicken Tikka Masala and fresh-made onion nan on Christmas Day! Or Chinese, which I'm also fond of.

From my recollections, where I grew up (south of New Orleans in the 70's) many stores were closed every Sunday. That was a drag, IMO.

My family is often completely taken care of and all zooming off on their own tracks by 3pm on Christmas Day. If the weather is nice enough I like to shuttle out to the University of Oregon and walk around campus- which is a giant arboretum. And most amazing because there is hardly anyone else out and about. A friend and I will make the journey and, if we can survive the weather that day, it's an incredible place to walk and talk.

Maybe there are some similar options where you are?

PB

[quinnox]

28. thanks, yea, its weird sometimes

how some will react to something relatively innocuous like my complaint. It's like they want to blow it up and make it as the most evil thing ever or something and get a stake burning ready. I don't get that. Anyway, I found out a local fast food place is still open and so will go there later on, so its all good.

[targetpractice]

55. I'm sorry, Quinnox...

I was projecting my seasonally-distorted emotions regarding someone else in my life upon you. I'm happy you found someplace open for a meal. I hope I you'll accept my sincere apology and "Seasons Greetings".

[targetpractice]

32. I did, and I'm sorry for that.

I'm hypersensitive to narcissism in my life (from loved ones and their influence on me)... Plus, I also have a knee-jerk reaction to whenever someone says they "hate" someone or something. It's an unnecessarily over-the-top way of expressing something that is just an annoyance.

I live in NYC and I went out tonight and was thwarted by places that closed at 5PM... I was bothered, but really could only blame myself.

[Poll_Blind]

34. It's true when we read posts on DU, unless we're really familiar with the...

...poster, we often add quite a bit of inflection to the posts, ourselves. Meh, it's the internets.

PB

[targetpractice]

56. Thanks for the wisdom...

After I posted my mini-rant... I looked at the OP's post count, and thought, certainly, they can't be what I've imagined.

[Honeycombe8]

30. That's a good thing. It's not necessary for EVERYTHING to be open 24/7, 365 days a year.

Besides, there are lots of places open here in TX. Movies, for instance. Apparently people go to movies on Christmas? Les Mis opened today.

[liberal_at_heart]

35. It's not necessarily them being closed that bothers me its the mad rush before hand

I mean who doesn't forget something and have to go back to the store just hours before they close? I know I always forget something especially when it comes to groceries. I have to go just hours before they close and make sure we have enough for breakfast, lunch, and dinner knowing they will be closed for a day and a half. I did a pretty good job of keeping my cool and staying calm this year though. I didn't get mad and I tried not to get in anyone else's way. I think it is a good thing our country is becoming more diverse. Maybe in the coming years we will have enough diversity that people who don't celebrate Christmas won't mind working that day. I bet it would make Christmas a less chaotic and more enjoyable holiday for those who do celebrate it if some places were open longer. There wouldn't be as much of a chaotic rush.

[quinnox]

37. yea, the mad rush gets to me too

I don't even want to be near crowds like that, but sometimes you have to.

[frazzled]

36. You need to learn the ancient wisdom of the Jewish people

Find a Chinese restaurant on Christmas: there's always one open. Have some nice eggrolls; you won't be kvetching much longer.

[quinnox]

38. I hear ya

I appreciate the "kvetching" word too.

[shintao]

39. I always count the blessing

I really feel bad when people have to work those days or weekends, and tell them I feel that way. Some countrys close down on saturday & sunday.

[liberal_at_heart]

46. thank goodness Wal-greens is open right now

My husband has glaucoma and eye inflammation issues. His eye is blood shot right now. It's very irritated and causing him to have a headache. I'm going down to Wal greens to get some eye drops. Hopefully this will work. If not we will definitely need to go see the eye doctor tomorrow to see if his inflammation is up again.

[SheilaT]

48. Do you have a job? Is it one that gives you holidays off?

Have you ever worked on holidays? Do you understand how unpleasant that can be?

Could you possibly plan ahead so that for twenty-four hours you simply don't need to go to a store? And while you're at it, can you give some thought to the people who really do have to work on the holidays, like the police officers and fire fighters and nurses and doctors and all the many airline employees?

I have most of my working life held jobs where I work weekends and holidays. I recognize that there's a degree of choice involved, but I can get a little irritated at people who don't understand that it is real human beings who have had to give up the holiday so that sick people can be treated, or someone can get gas.

I worked all day on Christmas Day. From 9am to 8pm. I'm not the only one who worked that day. If you think things should be open, then take a job where you are working on Christmas. Okay? And don't complain that some people want the day off.

[bedazzled]

52. i work retail too - worst time of the year. it's nice to be able to get off of your feet for a day

even though i was on my feet to cook most of yesterday...

working from thanksgiving to new year's your feet are so sore, you're practically
crippled. i'm not allowed vacation until after new years', but i'm lucky
i scheduled some time off next week, so i will be able to recover. woe to the
person who can't.

everyone should do a year or so in retail. there would be more empathy...

[SheilaT]

54. Everyone should do a year or so in retail.

How true that is.

When I was an airline employee it was always obvious what passengers had never had a real job dealing with the public -- not something like being a doctor or a lawyer, but working some kind of a counter or cash register where they had no control over who walked up to them and demanded service, and no control over the quality of the food or the weather that was delaying the flights or the merchandise being sold.

Those who'd ever worked in any one of those jobs were always nice to us, no matter how bad things were, and often said things like, "How do you stay sane?"

[Resonance_Chamber]

49. I hate the phoneyness of the entire season

so I really don't participate beyond sending extra money to the food bank and sending come cash to toys for tots.

Celebrate how you want, just don't annoy the neighbors.

[Fumesucker]

50. Not to pile on

But I believe that would be classed as a first world problem.

[ibegurpard]

51. plan ahead for one day out of the year