In the spirit of Christmas- Still 5 years old or have you grown out of PRESENTS?!

[ladypinkington]

Okay- so I would like to know how many Pan's are here and how many Pirates are here when it comes to presents.

Pan's
When it comes to Christmas- are you still like a 5 year old and anxious and excited so much to the point you can't stand it? Is it hard to wait to open gifts? Is it hard to wait to give other's their gifts? Do you sneak peaks at your gifts under the tree just in case you should die the next day and need the closure? Do you find that you can't stop looking and checking out your presents under the tree and ask the gift giver tons of questions trying to Columbo information out of them? Do you wake up people early in the morning still and ravage through the wrapping and make the gasping for joy noises? Do you get excited to receive any kind of crappola that's wrapped because you just love presents period! Is present giving and receiving a HUGE warm fuzzy to you?

Pirates
Or is Christmas just another day and a pain in the ass occassion because of all the work involved? Do you not get excited and in fact could care less? Do you see it more as a waste of money or at least financial/time burden? Is there not hardly anything that you would be excited to get? OR are you simply indifferent to it and or enjoy only vicariously through other people or children. Is it a holiday just for the kiddies to you? Do you like Christmas and look forward to it but maintain an adult composure? Does quality matter more then quantity?


I personally have a huge YES!!!! to every single thing in the first paragraph,lol.
But what about you guys?

[niffer]

I only like it because it is something I've grown up with. I don't get super excited about it any more, but I still like being together with people that are close to me, setting up decorations, and stuffing myself. I'm a pirate, but I'm just cruisin'..

[Mempy]

I don't fit either definition exactly. I think the thing I like most about Christmas is the spirit - the warmth, the lights, the idea of sitting inside beside a whispering fire while it's snowing outside, the fun and innocence, etc. The kindness of gift-giving also plays a part, but I don't appreciate how commerical Christmas has become. They started showing Christmas commercials before Thanksgiving was even here.

If I were to see your two options as points on a continuum, with Pan being 10 and Pirate being 0 (where did you get those terms? lol) - I'm probably an 8.

Nice idea for a thread. I love the soft warm feelings of love Christmas brings.

On the other hand, I can see why some people consider it the loneliest time of the year. If I were one of the only people who didn't have family or friends to share Christmas with, or if I were depressed, or if I just weren't feeling the love, it would be a pretty lonely time.

[Natrushka]

Gifts aren't a big thing for me at Christmas - receiving them at any rate. I am notoriously hard to buy for; I want something I go get it w/o telling anyone. Buying gifts for others, is very different. I've been accumulating "perfect gifts" for months now. It makes me giddy thinking about it.

I do love the smells, the sights, the sounds and the time with family. I've been baking for 5 weeks, our tree is up (and praise the gods the cats have left it alone this year for the most part), it's been snowing here like a SOB, and there are only 6 1/2 more work days this year.

[spirilis]

Presents don't excite me anymore, as my sister put it, "you're hard to shop for... everything you want you buy yourself!!"

I look forward to the time off work and the parties, social interaction (mainly with my group of friends). I'm still always the passive observer type but it just gives me more fodder to observe

[Oberon]

Hey Spirilis... are you really in Hanover?

I used to date a girl from McSherrystown.

[prplchknz]

I hate presents and christmas shopping. I'm lucky though my mom still does my christmas shopping for me, so all I really have to worry about is for her and friends. Of course my mom has a gift closet and starts buying in January for everyone. I tend to stay out of the gift receive and giving part with most friends, too much pressure. The only thing I really want is a digital camera and I've wanted one for like 5 or 6 years now. I don't expect to get one.

Also if possible I'd rather give people a gift, because I was shopping and saw something and thought of them, instead of being obligated to.

[raincrow007]

Neither Pan, nor Pirate.

Instead, Xmas ninja.

I find joy only in the act of giving something handmade to someone anonymously for the holidays.

[Randomnity]

I like the christmas lights and decorations, and the food. I hate being forced (not literally of course, but by guilt) to spend the day with my real family instead of the people I chose as my family. I hate worrying about how much to spend on gifts, wondering who to buy for, and shopping for someone who doesn't want anything. And I hate receiving gifts, when I have to pretend to love something I don't need, that's only going to clutter up my house. It's so rare that I actually get a practical gift.

I would like christmas if it was less commercial...if all gifts were handmade or inexpensive...and if it wasn't quite so family oriented.

But I'd happily do away with the whole thing. So I guess that makes me a pirate.

[Athenian200]

Originally Posted by ladypinkington

I personally have a huge YES!!!! to every single thing in the first paragraph,lol.
But what about you guys?

I seem to be more of a Pirate. In fact, I've given up decorating for Christmas, and we do such a poor job of choosing gifts for each other that most of the people in my family all pretty much give/receive gift cards and cash inside of holiday cards. Only a few of them still bother with actual presents. Although I really do look forward to getting/sending the cards/cash... does that count?

(As a sidenote, it would seem that this is evidence that there aren't too many SJ's in my family...)