lets talk.... Christmas

When I think of Christmas, I think of Donner und Blitzen!

We usually just eat a meal together and open presents. Sometimes there will be a game where everyone brings a present around a similar price, and then people have to pick out the gifts at random, and people can "steal" presents from you lol I think each person can swap one present from someone else, something like that. I ended up with a clock one year. But we only do that if more of my boyfriend's family gets together, otherwise we just celebrate with his mom and sister, etc.

i love Christmas, my OH not so much. i know hes getting there, atm we have a 3 foot tree, tiny, pointless. he hates them, so he said the other day 'tree will be up in a few months' so i replied 'its only 3ft you cant complain its not like it gets in the way' he then said 'yeah but M is older now, he will love a tree'
so thats one step closer to him being excited for xmas.
before we had M we would literally get up open the few presents we had at home and we would be straight out. with M it hasnt changed much.
we get up and M opens presents and has breakfast and we get ready to go out.
first stop; OH grans, we usually get there while his uncle and famiyl are there, we stay a couple hours, open presents, usually eat cake or some sort of food watered down with some sort of alcohol!!
next stop (after nipping home) OHs oldest sisters, we always see his niece and nephew on christmas day, he likes to play with their toys, his nephew is 10 so its always nerf guns, so they spend the next couple hours shooting each other and OHs sister, then she shouts and they both get done haha!
from here we usually go to my mum and dads, we have been there a few years for dinner, so we usually stay here the longest, last year though my mum was working christmas day morning, she then cooked for 8 other people (not including mum dad sissy me OH and M) we didnt plan on staying for dinner, i have no idea what we was going to do because i dont think we had anything in haha!! anyway last year we both got blathered (first time i was drunk since M) so my sissy came back home with up to help with M. i was capable, but it wouldnt be the besst idea.
this year i hope to do a dinner at home, but im debating whether or not to. my house is tiny, i only have a small living room kitchen so would be horrible to cook a big dinner. OH sister is due to have her baby on xmas eve (not like it really affects us) and we have never gone to his grans for dinner yet, but because he likes to smoke, and his gran doesnt know nor would she like it. meh.. now im debating what to do...

i love big christmas trees, and there really is no better tree than this one...

i just wish my OH would let me have it!!! my house isnt big enough anyway, i only have a teeny living room/kitchen, so the tree i have is a good size, but it looks poop, i will sacrafice the room just to have a bigger tree for M to look at

My family is Jewish, and when I was a little girl I was told Santa Claus brought presents only to gentile kids... I could stay up late on Xmas eve to watch for him I wanted to. LOML grew up sort of atheist/christian. He like a tree and presents, but is happy enough to pass on the rest. My family is in another city, and I don't know if they never forgave me for marrying outside the faith or for moving to another city, but either way, we never get invited to Channukah or much else, so I let LOML have a tree. And of course presents. But I get him to make Latkes, and we get bagels and cream cheese...

Although our family has Christian/Judeo roots, I am unaware
of any family or external issues.
We are definitely not practitioners though so that may be the reason.

One of my dad's best friends from college is a Rabbi though, and he is
almost part of our family.

I cannot remember a single issue regarding us,
but friends of mine said they experienced some discrimination.

Our family is completely non secular.

We would never.

I love the holidays.

I get to see lots of friends.

Santa has no religious ties! Santa is Santa.

we are currently trying to think of ways not to lie to M.
as ive said before my OH is not christmassy at all!! He hates the thought of lying to M that santa is real, so i said fine we will meet half way, if he ever asks if santa is real, we wont lie and say yes but we also wont just say 'no hes not hes made up its all s**t' so we are trying to think of how to do it for when the time comes.
whats your opinions on this. do you think we should just 'lie' to him - i know its not a lie as such but thats the way my OH sees it, and he just doesnt like the idea of it..
any advice on a way we could do it without taking the imagination and magic away from christmas.. i really wanted to do the whole 'leaving a key for santa' leaving treats and a beer for santa etc. but sacrifices have to be made in relationships so we will meet half way with it

I don't think there is much risk of supporting Santa.
I mean far more people support a God which to me carries some serious pitfalls.

Santa is a non threatening fantasy.

Hs/she is of our dreams B.

Dreams and fantasies are a very important part of our creativity.

I would encourage your SO to rethink this.

Remember, Santa represents a sort of love and caring, initiated in Germany
during very depressing times so beautiful children could have hope.

Christmas allows us to put to rest our differences if only for awhile.

It is important to M. 

Christmas may not be just for children.

It is a universal outreach.

Heather has a fair point, Callie.

When your son tells your OH what his teddy told him, he is not going to turn round and say "Your teddy is just a bit of stuffed cloth and cannot speak!"

It is good for children to practice their imagination, and santa helps them along the way.

There cannot be a child who has not speculated as to how santa gets all round the world, or how he knows where to drop off each present.

It's magic, of course!

Weight and xmas, what a mix?

I am planning to set myself a target of putting on no more than 2 pounds this xmas. I have put on 8 in the past. pffffft

LOLOLOL...How about my mother visiting for a week and criticizing me about this, that and the other??