Any DU'ers spending Xmas alone this year?

[HipChick]

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Now that I no longer have to deal with gifts, dinners and other...

family etc stuff, Christmas is an amazingly relaxing and enjoyable time.

And very quiet. Peaceful.

[ailsagirl]

16. Hear, hear!!

Naturally, I enjoyed it as a kid but times (and circumstances) have changed.

[TexasTowelie]

2. Probably.

My brother has not decided whether he is heading out that day yet. He was busy at the hospital throughout the night while on call duty and has another 12 hour shift tomorrow. The top things off he picked up a psych patient that escaped who was walking on the highway and there was a bomb threat at a nearby clinic.

[nomorenomore08]

43. A *bomb threat*? WTF?

[NV Whino]

3. Yes

My preferred method of celebrating almost any holiday.

[BlueJazz]

4. Going to have a Christmas afternoon dinner with some friends and that's about it.

[steve2470]

5. xmas day, yes nt

[orleans]

6. my daughter & her boyfriend are coming for dinner tomorrow night

and i'm going to their apartment for christmas dinner

but this is the first year *of my life* i will be going to sleep xmas eve, waking up on xmas morning, and going to sleep xmas night all alone in the house.

"not a creature was stirring"
i don't even have any pets anymore.

and i think that is depressing as hell

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. I'm sorry, my dear orleans...

[orleans]

8. thanks, peggy. but (shrug) whatcha gonna do, right?

times change, people die, kids move out, etc.

it's just gonna be a first for me. ugh.

[riderinthestorm]

10. You could go rescue a pet tomorrow! There's still time.

Merry Christmas Orleans!

[orleans]

36. my daughter already did

they came in with presents--she said she forgot something in the car, went out and came back in with a little, white dog. for me. SURPRISE! she got her from a pet rescue! she's about two years old and no one knows her real name. i'm trying to figure out what to call her. she's absolutely beautiful.

[mopinko]

40. aawwwww. perfect.

same thing here. firsts.
60 yo, and my first xmas morning w no one here to make me get up. just me and the chickens.

great gift for you. without my dogs i dont think i would have made it through this year without mine.

[KMOD]

18. Maybe there will be grandchildren in your future?

And with that, new rituals.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Yup. In a hotel room! n/t

[HipChick]

12. I'm on a 24hr flight

to Australia...intend to get very drunk and sleep..a lot

[A HERETIC I AM]

15. 24 hours TO Australia?

Where the hell are you flying from? Stockholm?

LOL....have fun when you get there.

[mackerel]

52. It's about 17 hr flight from L.A. So I'd guess anywhere in the states would be longer.

[A HERETIC I AM]

55. 17 hours from LA? Huh...they've gotten a lot slower since the 90's.

So....no, not really!

I've flown LA -> Sydney 4 or 5 times and the non-stops going down are typically just under 14 hours;

https://flightaware.com/live/flight_event_history.rvt?ident=QFA12

The returns are right around or just over 13 hours;

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA11/history

The only way it takes 17 hours is if the flight stops in Papeete', Tahiti, or elsewhere * but the A380's and 747-400's they use on those flights don't need to stop unless they have an issue.

*One of the Syd -> LAX flights I took diverted to Honolulu because LA was fogged in and they needed extra fuel in case of a long diversion. That added about 3 hours. I have flown to Sydney on a 747 "Combi" that had a scheduled fuel stop in Tahiti.

[mackerel]

56. Dunno what to tell ya. Takes me about 17 hours. Then I have to go to Canberra after. Ugh!

I'm out of it for a whole day.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Christmas day, probably.

Will spend Christmas Eve with a few relatives but probably will just hang out with the cats on the 25th. That's fine with me. I'm too old to care much about holidays any more.

[rurallib]

13. not alone, but just us two probably

We were going to one of the kids for Christmas, but a trip to the ER for Mrs. Lib last week put a kibosh on that.

If we can get out we have an invitation to a friend's house. Depends on how she feels Thursday.

Bummer - we will probably spend some time skyping. But we will really miss the usual rounds and family this year.

[a la izquierda]

14. Sort of.

It sucks.

[denbot]

17. I am the road, and will spend Christmas in my truck.

At least I'll be headed home for New Years

[orleans]

19. drive safe n/t

[lovemydog]

20. That's cool that you'll be home for New Year's.

Safe travels.

[easychoice]

21. I have no one left.Sooo

I go wash pots and pans and peel spuds for those that are less fortunate at a Mission downtown where the ragged people go..
I recommend this to anyone who is 'Alone" and needing to feel helpful.It rounds off the edges.

[hollysmom]

53. Sweet. I used to dinner for 20 on Christmas eve and then dinner with family on Christmas,but

this year, just me and my dog.

going out with my niece tomorrow but persona non grata with her mother and happy with that. But have an exhausting month of Charity work before and usually volunteer Christmas eve myself.

[easychoice]

54. well, bless you for your help.

I have never had a bad day volunteering.

[Archae]

22. Christmas day, yes.

I'll be with most of my family tomorrow, but Christmas day is for the in-laws.
Since I have no in-laws, I'll be here with Charlotte and Lucky.

I'll be all right, I'm used to it.

When I was a kid, my Mom, Dad, sisters and I would drive about an hour to my Grandma's place.
She had a big basement, that was full of my Mom's relatives.

[yuiyoshida]

23. Yes. But...

I will be on line with friends. My family doesn't really celebrate Christmas... were Buddhists but they will be out of town, and I am house sitting.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

25. Are there any Buddhist holidays or traditions I should be teaching my students?

I've introduced Hindu and Muslim customs when I've had students from those faiths. I have a student this year who is half Buddhist and half Christian. I asked his father about this. He said there were no Buddhist holidays and the only tradition I should teach is to be kind. I liked that a lot, but I also like to try and balance out the Christmas avalanche.

[yuiyoshida]

26. in the religious section of DU

In the religious section of DU there is a Buddhist section. You can find videos there about Buddhism. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1249

I am Shinto~Buddhist. (Jodo Shinshu). Japan celebrates "Kurisumasu" a bit more differently. Its treated as a romantic holiday like Valentines Day, than a religious holiday. Less than 1% of the population is actually Christian. There are far more holidays in relation to Shinto than in Buddhism. But a person who is Buddhist, is not necessarily Japanese. There are many sects to Buddhism. You might have to find out the particular sect to your student.

[pinboy3niner]

27. I once had a long conversation with the head monk at a Buddhist temple in Vietnam

The next day he came to the house where I was staying to souvenir me a painted mirror on which he said my personal gods were depicted. I wish I'd written down what he told me about them, because i don't remember those details now.

I'm not a believer, and skeptics might say his gift was only to get the generous donation to the temple that I gave him in return. But I respected his beliefs and appreciated his gift and the wonderful story he told me about it.

His present hangs proudly in my home.

[nomorenomore08]

44. That is awesome. What a beautiful piece of art.

[mopinko]

39. buddha's birthday is a big party here.

there is a big temple that i drive by often, vietnamese, mostly, and they put on quite a party. in october, iirc.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

24. Yup. I turned down many invitations not wanting to intrude on a family day.

I've gotten used to it. If it weren't for everyone asking me about my plans, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

[jmowreader]

28. I'm spending Christmas with my platesetter this year

The guy who usually works Thursday has a girlfriend who has a child, so I am working for him.

[bobGandolf]

29. Alone...with my wife

First time in 35 +- years. Just the two of us on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

[incentralillinois]

30. Part of it, yes

So I was divorced last year, and for Christmas last year, my two girls woke up at my place and then went to their mothers that afternoon. I went to a friends house for dinner. But this year is different. I am home alone on Christmas Eve--that is a first. I am going to bed in an empty apartment, and waking up by myself. I get the girls at 11, but this so different as I have never been alone on Christmas Eve night or woken up alone on Christmas morning. Very depressing.

[Skittles]

32. welcome to DU, incentralillinois

be thankful you have family and learn to enjoy your own company

[orleans]

50. how did everything go with you?

i thought i would be alone. my daughter got me a little dog!

[Skittles]

31. working for someone who drove to Lousiana to spend Christmas with her family

[Joe Shlabotnik]

33. yes and no.

Tomorrow I will force myself to be surrounded by some family for a 2-3 hours. But essentially I am alone. Like every year for the past number of years I'd prefer to lock myself in a remote cabin for the whole month of December.

It can all be very tiring, and feel it as forced, contrived and superficial to one who is lonely in their heart, but must interact with others who don't know/don't (shouldn't even) care.

[lovemydog]

35. I hear you.

Happy holidays to you. I enjoy communicating on the net after times like you describe.

[lovemydog]

34. I am and I'm delighted.

Spent the last few days with my sister, dad, and friends. Looking forward to being a lazy goofball by myself, which is truer to my personality. Happy holidays HipChick.

[irisblue]

37. me and my dog

we're going to take cookies to Miss Eunice and Brownies to Princess Peanuts kids. Then we're gonna try my new walker for a walk.
There is a good reason my bio family is 200 miles away.

[mopinko]

38. pretty much.

32 years of marriage ended in feb. grown kids dragged in.
dad has the money and dad is the fun one.

will see one kid for a couple hours, another, who knows. 3 others mia.

[Populist_Prole]

41. Check-ola

But I have to work 2nd shift today, so I'll be surrounded by others in the same boat.

[blackcrow]

42. me and my brother

Thank God for my brother.

When we were kids there were 25-30 relatives at holiday dinners.

[ChosenUnWisely]

45. Yup just like every year but it is just another day to me

I am not into holidays and all that so I just don't participate.

I just continue to live my own life on my terms.

[MizzM]

46. Yes indeedy

I believe this is the first time I have ever been alone at Christmas, that is, if you consider house sitting for five dogs, a hedgehog, and a tank of fish being "alone."

[bikebloke]

47. Yep

And I love it. The only thing close to christmassy I did was watch the Christmas anti-war movie Joyeux Noël.

[Still Blue in PDX]

48. I spent some alone time in my office hiding from my kids and their kids.

It was lovely.

I just can't handle a house full of people, even if they are my family and I love them.

[IrishEyes]

49. Yes, it was great.

I had to work on 12/24 and 12/26 so I couldn't go home. I called all my family members in the morning. The rest of the day I ate a lot and watched silly movies. I didn't change out of my pajamas all day.

[orleans]

51. ah...my pajama day was the day after xmas! i love it!

i'm planning on more pajama days in the near future--but not saturday (tomorrow) b/c i have to go out.

can't wear pajamas in public. i'm not a kid anymore (at least as far as appearances go)