Holiday Stuff - Share your stories here!

[Nicolas King]

Amazingly, nobody decided to post a topic on Christmas or something for the whole board. So, with the holiday season sneaking by us and a new year approaching I'm wondering how your holidays went.

If you celebrated Christmas: How was your Christmas? What gifts did you give that you were really excited to give, or received that you were quite pleased to receive?

If you're more into Hanukkah, I'm sorry we're so late, but: Chag Hanukkah Sameach! What did you do over the holiday - are there any hilarious traditions your family does? What was your best gift over the festival?

Otherwise, if you celebrate some other mid-winter festival (be it Kwanza or a Festivus or whatever) - how were your celebrations? High and low points for you?

 

[Morgan Le Fey]

I was considering posting something like this but wasnt sure what to say so waited for someone else to post it.
my christmas was really good. had the normal christmas routine, woke up early and did presents and then had a leisurely morning before heading down to the beach. the weather was hot (we were the hotest city for christmas) and the sea was clear and flat so we had a good time before we had to head back and go to my nanas for lunch of cold meat and party food and most importantly cupcakes (my ones had taken me four hours to make and decorate the day before). then it was a lazy afternoon, and dinner.
i got quite a lot of things, the best being the harry potter wizards collection which is awesome, I need to get some frames for the prints, some new clothes including enough wolf t-shirts to make Briar jealous and a new photoshop.

I gave my dad the dark night rises on blue ray and a remote controlled car controlled from I-phone/pad/pod, my mum a new purse, my sister a bag of things (taylor if you see this she liked the stamps i bought) and my nana the number one marigold hotel on DVD and some of her favorate chocolate

 

[Koboshi Aiko]

My holiday* was rather good. Apart from the odd commotion all was as it was expected to be. This year I recieved about sixteen books, which was unexpected but good. As it always is. Currently I have read five of those books, which my mother is rather unhappy about

Anyway, I bought Tenile some clothes which she persists to wear even still and my mum got a kettle because she is kind of weird and Tamara got a bunch of Thomas Trains. My dad got a Facebook card and I gave my dog a bone
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
​

 

[Raziel Kim]

My Christmas had been really good (well, except for this awkward encounter with this stranger at the mall) So.. before classes ended, we had this Christmas party and we exchanged gifts. I received an umbrella, I guess my classmate had thought that it's the best gift for me as I had broken quite a number of it over the year. I gave a book to a friend, and I'm really happy of the reaction that I got. She had been really surprise that I was able to find that book as it had been out of stock in all the book store that she had gone to.

Anyway, on the 25th, we had this party with the entire family, grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts, and uncles, we have met again after a year. It had been really fun. And I was able to earn a lot they don't know what to give me anymore so I received money instead ​

 

[Nicolas King]

I had a nice couple of days of holidays.
I gave my mum JKR's new book and two seasons of The Muppet Show - if she recommends the new book I may read it, got my brother Harry Potter Quidditch for Gamecube (super old game and a game we all loved playing together when we were younger - it was somewhat difficult to buy and more expensive to get than when it was first released but totes worth it) and my sister got a Sound of Music collector's edition with the stipulation that I never have to hear that movie again[note]The nazis are coming, let's sing about it![note].

I got a 1/2 pound Reese's cup in my stocking (which I plan to try to eat in one sitting - wish me well) and my grandparent's got me some cologne that smells exactly like my grandpa. Yessiree, now I have portable Grandpa smell anywhere I go. (Best. Gift. Ever.)

We did dinner at my grandma's this year and my great uncle was there (the only thing that man ever says is "I'm older, wiser, and better looking than you." - the.only.thing. >_<; ). Then we called my grandma's sisters out west to wish them a happy Christmas and they reconfirmed for me that they know nothing about me. My one great aunt asked me "so when do you go back?" ...go back where? "To school." ...I'm going to the university in my home town, I don't leave until September-ish.

>_<; Silly family.

But all in all I got some neat gifts, it was a relaxing time, and probably one of the better Christmasses in recent memory for me. (Normally somebody is fighting with somebody.) The low point was probably seeing Django Unchained on boxing day (mortifying movie).

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

I've been working so much! Department stores mean pre-Christmas rushes, post-Christmas sales, and my pub job means lots of Christmas parties to serve food at.

I worked on the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th.

Aside from that it's been good - and even with that, I had a little more money to splurge on Christmas presents with. My mum's sister and her family are up from Canberra at the moment, so we've been having lots of booze and nice meals. Christmas Day, there were 18 of us in my house - me and my family, my mums two sisters - one with her family, the other with her partner - my grandma and granddad, and my stepdad's sister and her family. All the food was amazing, of course, being Christmas. It was a bit weird at times because my granddad seemed quite unwell - he's 81 and he's not in the best condition, but he was really unwell Christmas day and we were a bit worried. He's better at the moment, though, which is a good thing.

Santa gave me a Christmas nougat pudding. I thought they'd stopped making those so that was pretty amazing. I also got some jewellery, some clothes, and money, which I used to buy more clothes and a 1TB hard drive. I've got some left over so I'm looking at getting a better mouse.

I bought my mum a photo frame and a cookbook, my stepdad a $40 gift voucher, my 7 year old sister a One Direction DVD and my 5 year old sister some craft things. My dad got a set of glasses, tea towels and placemats - he really needs more homeware stuff, especially since I'm moving in there in a couple of weeks. (Hence buying the One Direction DVD - I haven't even had to watch it yet and my family's moving interstate).

I had to work Boxing Day but work let us dress up and they provided lunch for us, which was really nice of them. Then we had a seafood dinner at home. I think we're having a seafood dinner tonight, too. Mmmmm.

I would love to be doing something for New Year's Eve but alas, I will be at work.