So what is everyone doing for Chr... New Years?

[Mrbloodworth]

Once again, becouse my brother has children, and i do not, ill be making an early trip to his house (Early, because his children can use phones).



Also, please Fill this out and repost it here,........ for humanity.

[Yegolev]

Christmas started back in September.  Maybe August.  I will be finishing it up around January 1.  The list of tasks is long.  It might involve more squash casserole.

[Mrbloodworth]

Christmas started back in September.  Maybe August.  I will be finishing it up around January 1.  The list of tasks is long.  It might involve more squash casserole.

As far as shopping goes, i'm done =) I start just after Halloween.

[Yegolev]

We started buying shit last spring, but there's always something.  We wrapped the presents for the cousins this past weekend and my boy says we need to get a present for Audrey, his friend at school.  So we did.  I ordered something for my wife and I'm hoping it arrives before mid-January.  Putting up lights outside has driven my wife to sailor-talk since the strands are all being sketchy; some sets have been purged and I'm considering those new LED sets.  Inflatable snowmen, tethered three ways and dominating the yard.  Tree is up and decorated... do real trees drink this much water?!

Also my PS3 broke so one thing I won't be doing is playing Uncharted.

[Rasix]

Trying to buy the 360 version of the Guitar Hero 3 bundle is turning out to be more difficult than buying a Wii.  EBGames has seemed to have gone as far as removing the bundle from their website.  "No, we don't have any in.  No, we don't know when we will.  No, you can't preorder it." FACK.

I hate this short supply fucking bullshit.  Why does the one year I buy something video game related for my brother it turns out to be this year's version of the Furby.  I'm not a soccer mom, I don't have my Tuesday-Thursday available for camping GameStops from 12-3pm. 

[Nebu]

Skiing with my daughter.  Being 2h from Winter Park and Steamboat = win.

[Murgos]

En dos semanas yo trabajando a Espana.   

[Signe]

We don't usually do Xmas at home but since I now have kitties and I don't want them to feel left out, I'll be decorating... NO ... just some greens on the mantle, basically.  Some rusty primitive ornaments and stocking holders, that sort of stuff.  Only the living room, though.  Pressies and stockings for mah babies.

Other than that... I'll be making pizzelles next week, which is mostly what I'll be giving the kin-folk.  Only my dad and nephews get anything else, and not much.  Christmas Eve I'll be making Voodoolily's Sexy Pear Focaccia to bring to my sister's open house on Xmas day.  I'll stay long enough not to piss anyone off, maybe 3 or 4 hours, then dash home to lay about, slobbily, for the rest of the day.   

[MrHat]

Travelling to Beirut to see family.

[Sutro]

Finishing PhD apps and hard prayer.

[Johny Cee]

Christmas looks to be boring.  Typical crazy extended family meal,  get to see who's on the wagon and who's off the wagon (the crazy Catholic Irish-American side of my family....)  We usually accumulate lots of strays, too, like the Jewish friend of the family from NYC.  There's usually a big competition to see who has my sister-in-law buying for them,  since her father has box seats for Montreal Canadien games and that ends up being your gift.

Much rigging of the "random" family gift giving goes on.

It's always interesting to see what my de facto gift to receive is.  A couple years ago,  everyone knew I wear scarves in the winter (goes with the suit and overcoat), so got 2 or 3 that Christmas.  Can't be worse than that,  though I haven't had a bad tie year yet....

New Years looks good.  Going to rent a condo in Lake Placid with my brother, his wife, and some friends of ours and do the big dinner with wine and catching up after.

[Johny Cee]

Finishing PhD apps and hard prayer.

I went to a wedding this summer where the bride finished her PhD dissertation (biochem, I think) a couple weeks before the wedding,  so was working on it all through the wedding planning.

I felt real badly for the groom.

Good luck!

[Samwise]

Christmas Eve: driving up to Sacramento with my mom and (half)siblings to my maternal grandparents' place.  I think at least half of her siblings will be there, but the ones who are married with kids periodically split off to spend a Christmas with their spouses' families, so it's hard to say how crazy it'll be this year.  When the entire family is there it's 2 grandparents, 8 aunts and uncles (half of those by marriage), and 8 cousins.  Fear.

Christmas Day: driving into San Francisco to my paternal grandmother's place.  All that side of the family minus one will be there, which totals 4 people.

Guess which side of my family is the Catholic one!   

I've got almost all my Christmas shopping done already (including presents for all those damned cousins), which is maybe a new record for me.   

[Bunk]

Christmas may be a a little odd for me this year, as it will likey be a very small family gathering that gets preceded by an enourmous family gathering happening next week for my Great Grandmother's funeral. At 106, you have a lot of people to see you off.

I'll be visiting family on Vancouver Island for a few days around Christmas, and spending the rest of the time off bumming around. Might finish painting the apartment.

My shopping so far consists of buying one book for my dad. I'm a bad shopper.

[IainC]

Vegas baby!

I predict epic amounts of wastedness.

[Sky]

Trying to buy the 360 version of the Guitar Hero 3 bundle is turning out to be more difficult than buying a Wii. 

You should get the PC version  

We're doing the same old traditional stuff. Xmas party with friends saturday, family xmas sunday. Fiancee does the whole catholic mass thing with her mom on xmas eve, I usually sit around the house wrapping presents (I like to be the presents ninja). Then xmas we go to my mom's place in the country for a nice cozy little xmas morning with snow and kitties and whatnot. I've become a big mushball, apparently.

Best xmas-related thing I've seen this year....two houses down someone hung their xmas tree from the ceiling. Inverted tree ftmfw.

[SnakeCharmer]

That's not a bad idea (inverted tree)!  We're debating on what to do with ours since our little boy (who's one) will most likely be making the tree and ornaments his own personal playground.

[Signe]

For some reason, those upside down trees have become popular.  I hates them. 



You can buy them at Sears for $400 or something silly.

[MrHat]

Looks like something you can crucify peeps on.

[rattran]

I don't do much for xmas. It's been the season in the past where people I love die.

I do get an 8ft tree every year, and set it up in the living room. Zip tie on a few bright red plastic ornaments and some sleighbells, then watch the cats climb it. There's a small pool going each year for how many days until Oscar (27lb part wildcat) makes it to the top and brings it all crashing down. Last year was 10 days, but I've got him down for 6 this year.

Not the most exciting time of year.

[Signe]

I don't do much for xmas. It's been the season in the past where people I love die.

I do get an 8ft tree every year, and set it up in the living room. Zip tie on a few bright red plastic ornaments and some sleighbells, then watch the cats climb it. There's a small pool going each year for how many days until Oscar (27lb part wildcat) makes it to the top and brings it all crashing down. Last year was 10 days, but I've got him down for 6 this year.

Not the most exciting time of year.

Reading this, I'm suddenly inspired to buy a small tree and decorate it with shiny Christmas cat toys and treats.  It might be fun!

[Nerf]

I don't do much for xmas. It's been the season in the past where people I love die.

I do get an 8ft tree every year, and set it up in the living room. Zip tie on a few bright red plastic ornaments and some sleighbells, then watch the cats climb it. There's a small pool going each year for how many days until Oscar (27lb part wildcat) makes it to the top and brings it all crashing down. Last year was 10 days, but I've got him down for 6 this year.

Not the most exciting time of year.

Reading this, I'm suddenly inspired to buy a small tree the biggest fucking tree I can find and decorate it with shiny Christmas cat toys and treats.  It might be fun!

Fixed it for ya!

[NowhereMan]

Doing some essay writing and researching over the festive period. As well as trying to get PhD apps done too, I'm sure it will be fun and am looking forward to an Oxford rejection letter come the spring.

[Paelos]

Going to Reynold's Plantation to visit the immediate family, then back to ATL for the maternal grandparents on Christmas Eve, then over to Birmingham on Christmas Day for the absolutel fal-der-all that is my Dad's family (Two Grandparents, One Aunt, Two Cousins, their Two Wives, and their collected Three Kids under the age of 6, not to mention the four of us). I think it's around 14 people in a 2000 sq. ft. house, and they don't serve any booze. I love my grandparents but that Christmas trip is NOT the highlight of my year.

[WayAbvPar]

Vegas baby!

I predict epic amounts of wastedness.

One of these years I am going to follow suit. It is getting harder and harder to schedule shit with my families (in laws and the like); might be nice to just blow out of town and hit Vegas on the MEGA-CHEAP.

[Signe]

Is Vegas cheap over Xmas?

[Riggswolfe]

My girlfriend will be spending it with my family and I. We're getting weird about Christmas. We get more and more lazy each year. Now we pretty much give each other gift cards and just call it a day. We'll have a dinner with ham, and call relatives that are out of state. That's about it.

[Rasix]

Christmas Eve: In-laws. Open presents.
Christmas day + day after: Parents. Open presents. My sister is hosting the Christmas day festivities since their children are getting a Wii and her McMansion has a lot of floor space for everyone that will be attending.

It just works out so perfectly.  Helps that my parents are only around 90 minutes away and my in-laws are about 10 minutes away.

Ohh yah, and from December 19th on, I'm on vacation for the rest of the year.  WOOT.

[CmdrSlack]

We do gifts with the kid in the morning, then drive to my mom and dad's house for gifts over there. We'll likely then go to the wife's family's house, then meet up with my parents at whomever-from-my-mom's-family-is-hosting-this-year's-Xmas-thing's-house. I will be asked to cook something and bring wine. The kid will get great loot, the Mrs. will get thoughtful gifts and I'll get gift cards.

Huzzah.

[WayAbvPar]

Is Vegas cheap over Xmas?

Incredibly. The town is virtually empty most of December, so the hotels bend over backwards to get people to stay. You can get hotel rooms on the strip for less than $50 a night with ease. That saves lots of money to spend on gambling and hookers!

Ohh yah, and from December 19th on, I'm on vacation for the rest of the year.  WOOT.

You are a rat bastard. I just burned most of my remaining vacation being out with the flu last week.

[schild]

Funny that you just said that. I just got an email from a few hotels in Vegas for $50 a night weekends over the next 3 weeks.

[WayAbvPar]

Heh, yeah, I got one for $46 a night from somewhere. If you go and gamble enough, it is probably a lot easier to get room comps this time of year too.

[FatuousTwat]

I'm doing my taxes, then jury duty.

[Abagadro]

Running all over town being infuriated and aggravated by my relatives and in-laws until I manage to get sufficiently drunk.

Oh, and why are all you fools applying to get a PhD? Just hit yourself in the head with a hammer instead. Same effect.

[lamaros]

Making bad jokes, sleeping in and whinging about the heat, most like.