Why do I find Christmas dinner weird?

So another Christmas has come and gone, and I find myself thinking that there  was something odd about this year.  Not odd in a bad way, or an unsettling way, just odd.  I couldn't place it until now, but of all things, it was the fact that we had a Christmas dinner at my house.  I wasn't surprised we had one; after all, I knew we would be, as my Mum's boyfriend likes to cook.  He made roast beef, mashed potatoes, cooked veggies, corn... the whole shebang, really. That wasn't the part I found odd; he cooks fairly regularly, and quite well too.  Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing bacon becoming a more predominant fixture in future recipes (I bought him a cookbook entitled "I Love Bacon" for Christmas).  I will excuse bacon's absence from the Christmas dinner due to short notice on bacon recipes.

No, the part I found odd (actually, I'm not even certain it's this) was that we had a sit-down, everything-on-the-table, pass-me-this, could-you-hand-me-such-and-such dinner, and for Christmas no less.  I know that a lot of people do this, and I know a great many people who look forward to the holidays exclusively for Christmas dinner, but that's never been something we've done at my place.  The rest of the day was so low-key and relaxed - I didn't even change out of the sweatpants I had worn to bed the previous night - so all of a sudden the event feel that dinnertime brought through my mind for a loop.

Now I know that my anti-social mind is throwing this way out of proportion, but since when did dinner become such an event?  It shouldn't be that formal.  I don't even remember the last time I had eaten at that table before then, and certainly not in such a formal setting.  Normally our family meals are eaten in the living room, on the couch, and I like it like that.  Not that I dislike a more formal dinner, I mean, when my sister and I go out to see our grandparents on Sunday to do Christmas with them, I fully expect to have a similar dinner there.  But in that context, it is familiar; the majority of the time that we go out there is for a food-related occurrence.

Hmmm, you know what, that could actually have something to do with the oddness I felt; I didn't go anywhere or have to prepare for any sort of dinner event, it just sort of happened when I didn't anticipate it.  I suppose that could be it.  Or it could have been simply a bout of anti-social feelings at that particular moment.

Anyway, I want to know what your Christmas dinner tradition is.  Whether you prepare a home cooked meal for 20, or take the family out for a festive trip to Burger King, hop on over to the comment section to share.  In all likelihood, my aversion to sit-down Christmas dinner is entirely in the minority.  In fact I'm sure it is.  While you're commenting, throw in what your favourite gift you got was this year.  That way, when I'm doing my shopping for you next year, I'll have a starting point from which to build!

Merry (slightly belated) Christmas and a Happy Ho-ho to all.

'Tis the Season...

...To read my blog!  Happy winter everyone.  I didn't think I'd actually be able to consistently wear sunglasses through December, but so far so good, and you will hear no complaints from me about that.  Although, I am sort of hoping for a White Christmas; not because I want one, but because one of my coworkers does.  He's from New Zealand, and is used to this whole sunglasses-at-Christmas thing, but with 30 degree weather on top of that.  So, you know, if anyone out there has Storm powers, maybe help him out a little in that department.  On a side-note, Storm's superpowers would be utterly wasted on me, as I would use them exclusively to create spring or summer conditions.

This is what mid-January would look like if I were Storm.

If you're like me, you are not quite done your Christmas shopping.  It's my project for tomorrow, as I can't really push it back any further than that.  Don't misunderstand my last-minute tendencies as me not liking giving gifts, it's just how I normally shop.  Giving presents is actually my favourite part of this time of year.  Again, don't misunderstand that; I don't really abide by the "giving is better than receiving" principle.  I know there are people out there who do truly believe this and I will take a quick moment here to say you are a better person than I am.  I applaud you, I really do.  But me, I like being able to give what I feel is a good gift.  I know that sentence is perhaps a tad unclear, so allow me to tell an anecdote to explain.

Two years ago, I was invited by my friend to go see a Muse concert with him and his sister.  Okay, you're thinking, he had an extra ticket, so what?  Well, the concert was in Vegas.  My friend took me to Vegas for a weekend so we could see Muse.  The tickets were a birthday (Christmas?) present from his parents.  I remember when he asked me if I wanted to go; we were in his car driving downtown to go for a run.
 "Do you like Muse?"
"Yeah," I replied.  "I mean, they're not among my favourites or anything, but yeah, I like them." (Quick side-note: Seeing Muse live will put them among your favourites; fantastic live performance.)
"Well would you like to come to Vegas to see them?"
"Um, yeah!"
"Cool, the opening act is Cage The Elephant, do you know anything about them?"

This is the point of this exchange at which I knew for a certainty that I would be going, as I liked Cage The Elephant more than I liked Muse at the time.

It was a great trip.  Vegas was neat, if a little restrictive (17 year olds don't really belong in Vegas), and the concert was phenomenal.

Fast forward 13 months, and it's the same friend's 19th birthday.  And wouldn't you know it, Cage The Elephant's second album is being released on that very day!  Not only that, but the freaking name of the album is Thank You Happy Birthday!

So his gift was the CD of the band that he has taken me to see a year ago, released on his birthday, whose title both wished him for said birthday AND thanked him for me for said concert.  Needless to say, I was extremely proud of this gift.  It's not as if I had to put any special work into it; I went down to the store and bought a CD.  But it was a perfect combination of everything that made me so pleased to be able to give him that album.

That's the type of gift I like to get someone; the kind where it works because it's from me to you, whether it's because I know it'll be special to you, or if it's an inside joke.  I get my family gifts every year, and as much as possible try to make them somewhat like that.  When I can come up such a gift for a friend, they will find a present from me under their tree that year; if not, there's a chance they won't get one.  I'd rather hold off until their birthday rather than get them a holiday themed gift card to Starbucks or something.

This year, I have two friends who will be getting gifts.  You may read that and think "Wow, he only got presents for his family and two friends?  What a fucking scrooge!"  However, I feel that it's quite impressive that I have two separate gifts that make me super happy to give to friends is quite fantastic.  I'm actually a fairly reclusive person; I have many acquaintances, but much fewer good friends.  Also, you can forget about getting a present from me for calling me a fucking Scrooge; that was rude.

Of the remaining gifts I need to buy, I know what they all are, with the exception of my dad's (That man is hard to shop for!). My last-minute shopping habit is going to come through for me in crunch time again!

If you're wondering what you can get me for Christmas, well, you can tell your friends to read my blog.  It's a thoughtful and affordable gift option.  Alternatively, feel free to get me Doctor Who T-Shirts.

I wear a M or L.

Oh, one more thing:  I mentioned earlier that I would be putting up writing of mine that is actually, you know, writing, instead of random blog entries, and I've decided that the first of such pieces will be sometime soon.  I'm going to re-write a french speech I did years back called "Why Santa's Real".  It'll take me a little bit to do it justice, so just thought I'd give a pre-Christmas heads up as to why I'll be posting about Santa after Christmas.