How are you going to be spending the upcoming holidays?

[Bcat]

Mr. BC and I were talking the other night and decided we are going to do a big Christmas/Winter Solstice celebration even though it's only going to be the two of us this year due to Covid.  We'll probably share a drink via Zoom with friends and family.  We decided to put up a fake tree (I usually like to get a potted one), decorate the house with lights, exchange a few gifts, spend time with our animals (who will also get gifts    and a special meal), drink some peppermint tea, and have a nice feast.  I think we'll probably make a nice meal for Thanksgiving and decorate the house then.  I don't think I'm really going to do much for Halloween this year.  For New Years, we'll probably watch the ball drop on tv (if they have that), have some champagne, and hope for better days ahead in the new year.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We're going to be touring animal sanctuaries within 500 miles of here. We're scouting for a few tigers for some friends.

[brewerb]

I don't know yet, it's only October 1st.

Does not help that my plan to BBQ Joe Montana's grandchild failed.

[Minimalist]

Xmas is for jesus freak assholes.

I may have a drink to celebrate the end of 2020..... depending on the results of the election.

[Bcat]

Xmas is for jesus freak assholes.

I may have a drink to celebrate the end of 2020..... depending on the results of the election.

Many of the Xmas traditions are pagan, it's only about Jesus if you celebrate Jesus.

[Bcat]

I don't know yet, it's only October 1st.

Yeah, we decided to plan early so we have something to look forward to in this crap-filled world   

[Minimalist]

They HATE it when you remind them of that.

[TonyAnkle]

Locked down by the looks of it.

[no one]

Same way I spent every day, wallowing in self doubt and misery.

[Szuchow]

I don't plan any celebrations.

[Unsapien]

For Thanksgiving I don't know it'll just be my wife & I and our kids.

Usually for it's an argument (not really too serious) between my older son who thinks that you can only have turkey on thanksgiving (like it was a law or something) my wife who always wants roast pork because turkey was never a thing in the Philippines where she grew up & me who's tired of always having either turkey or roast pork on thanksgiving and would be happy with almost anything else.

Only one who doesn't seem to care is my youngest son who is just happy to have mashed potatoes and gravy, and we all agree on that, plus a cooked vegetable which nobody cares what that is.

Christmas this year we're doing something different, we're not having a christmas tree this year, we've had the same fake tree for over 20 years, but last year we had to get rid of it, it had finally lost too many "needles" to not notice it and it was getting sad. We were going to get a new one this year but now 2020 changed all that.

I got a hot pepper plant this past spring, a Trinidad scorpion, and my wife has fallen in love with it it seems and so where normally I have to fight her in the fall to bring some of my plants in to keep over winter, this one she insisted on bringing in, but it's so big (and apparently it can grow to like 5 feet or so) there's little room for anything else...



She said that since it has little red and green "balls" on it already all we need to do is throw some tinsel on it and rap some lights on it!

I said if she can do that, then I can pick the meal, it might be Chinese take out or pizza I don't know yet. Could be rat-au-van by the time we get to christmas the way things are going so far this year.

[Bcat]

I don't plan any celebrations.

I'm surprised by this, you always seem so festive 

[Bcat]

For Thanksgiving I don't know it'll just be my wife & I and our kids.

Usually for it's an argument (not really too serious) between my older son who thinks that you can only have turkey on thanksgiving (like it was a law or something) my wife who always wants roast pork because turkey was never a thing in the Philippines where she grew up & me who's tired of always having either turkey or roast pork on thanksgiving and would be happy with almost anything else.

Only one who doesn't seem to care is my youngest son who is just happy to have mashed potatoes and gravy, and we all agree on that, plus a cooked vegetable which nobody cares what that is.

Christmas this year we're doing something different, we're not having a christmas tree this year, we've had the same fake tree for over 20 years, but last year we had to get rid of it, it had finally lost too many "needles" to not notice it and it was getting sad. We were going to get a new one this year but now 2020 changed all that.

I got a hot pepper plant this past spring, a Trinidad scorpion, and my wife has fallen in love with it it seems and so where normally I have to fight her in the fall to bring some of my plants in to keep over winter, this one she insisted on bringing in, but it's so big (and apparently it can grow to like 5 feet or so) there's little room for anything else...



She said that since it has little red and green "balls" on it already all we need to do is throw some tinsel on it and rap some lights on it!

I said if she can do that, then I can pick the meal, it might be Chinese take out or pizza I don't know yet. Could be rat-au-van by the time we get to christmas the way things are going so far this year.

That is a huge plant! But very pretty! I can see why she likes it 

[c172]

I'm frankly not huge on holidays. They tend to be stressful. Thanksgiving will be at the house of family friends (who I do like). Normal spread of turkey, potatoes two ways, green beans (maybe casseroled), pumpkin pie, shoo fly pie, and whatever else. Very long social occasion, and hard on my digestive system, which is already bad due to spina bifida, so TG is sometimes a bit panicky.

Christmas is becoming harder and harder. Nothing much I want for gifts, and others are hard to buy for. Plus, even though I am a materialist to a degree, I know it's bad. And again, it's social, which I wear out on pretty quickly.

New Years Day is always fun even if I don't go out (but more fun if I do). Never really been sure how to celebrate, but the news is fun to watch on that day.

Also, parades. I love a parade. From hometown parades for "Friday Night Lights" situations, to Macy's. Though I prefer the Rose Parade. Macy's has seemingly departed from being strictly a parade to having things that (at least appear to be) on stages. My favorite things in a parade are the marching bands and floats.

[Kim]

Just do little things for my mom, brother, a few other relatives, & maybe a couple friends. People keep giving me bottles of wine so, I'll need a particular cousin's help with that. I'll probably not really do anything for myself until New Year's Eve. I have a stack of books to work through, til then.

[c172]

To add to the above, gridiron football tends to be extra fun during the holidays, though I don't concern myself with it otherwise. It's just a tradition. Also, I still like Mannheim Steamroller's old Xmas albums from the 80's. and I like to make fruitcake.

[Bcat]

Oops wrong thread

[Bcat]

To add to the above, gridiron football tends to be extra fun during the holidays, though I don't concern myself with it otherwise. It's just a tradition. Also, I still like Mannheim Steamroller's old Xmas albums from the 80's. and I like to make fruitcake.

How do you make your fruitcake?

[Little Lunch]

I'm going to my brother's house for x-mas this year.
My whole family will be there for once which is good.
My brother's missus is Canadian so we'll be having a x-mas lunch similar to what you people eat. :-)

[c172]

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/589830882433076588/

This is the link to the recipe I always base it off of, but I eliminate nuts, and I tend to just use candied citron and cherries. Also, normally I use rum, but I have used Crown Royal, Absolut Mandrin, or Guinness. And I'm very heavy handed with it. They all worked well, but the Guinness made it smell very bready, which was offputting.

[Dānu]

I don't know yet. My brother-in-law is very hesitant about in-person gatherings due to Covid-19. It may be a socially distant year. We celebrated birthdays in August outside. That won't work for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[Thumpalumpacus]

No plans yet. It's been a tough year for our family. My agreement with my boss is that I cover his absence for either TG or Christmas, and he covers my time off for the other, so I'll be working one of them, in all likelihood. The other, and NYD, will probably be with family, either here or up in D/FW. I'm not picky, I just like hanging out with fam.

Foodwise, I reckon I'll smoke a roast for the holiday I have off. I might allow myself a snifter of brandy for NYE, either to celebrate or forget, not sure which just yet.

I need to look at the calendar and see how my days off fall this year. I rarely request any extra time off for this.

[julep]

We'll figure it out.  Around now I always think I'm going to want lots of decorations and etc.; by mid November I'm second-guessing.  

We're doing more at-home 50s style stuff, games, cooking, limited screens at the moment.  

I'm saving the fruitcakes (which I actually happen to love) to throw at the Proud Boy hordes, should they come a-maraudin'.

[mordant]

Our big family holiday has always been Thanksgiving because the it was divided up in the long ago with my wife's ex that he has the kids for Christmas, and that has carried over into their adult lives.

But it's all on its ear this year, primarily because of the pandemic (no one is flying, much less down to Florida to see Dad) but secondarily by my stepdaughter being an asshat and cold-shouldering her mother again. So I think it is just going to be my wife and stepson and I for both holidays. My stepson will doubtless do most or all of the cooking for both; he loves cooking as a hobby and he's very good at it.

In the alternative my stepdaughter might break the ice and won't be turned away, but that will make for a tense visit as you never know when she's going to go off the deep end.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm saving the fruitcakes (which I actually happen to love) to throw at the Proud Boy hordes, should they come a-maraudin'.

Grant would approve.