...it seems that it's becoming a time of gluttonous over indulgence. Preparing for what seems to be months on end to either create our shopping lists/ or prepare copious amounts of food to stuff ourselves silly with.....then complain we suffer from indigestion !! . I'm not religious but the feeling of gathering the family together to share, what is really just a seasonal roast dinner, is now seemingly a huge task that has become so stressful that food preparations have to start months in advance and frozen!! It makes me feel quite ill to think of the vast number of unfortunate people be they the homeless or poor from within our own countries or those poor souls who are trying desperately to scrape together a meagre existence for their families in the war torn territories that seem to be on the increase around our world. I trying to do my bit by donating more to charities this year, ,.. sending out e-cards to most family and friends and the money saved by doing so is given to charities as well. Food is placed in the donation baskets near the supermarket tills to hopefully make the festivities a bit more special for those less fortunate. I knit warm hats ,scarves and mittens to be sent to wherever they are needed, home or abroad. Little' treats's' for children are placed in the donation boxes to help put a smile on their little faces. As mentioned I also try and do my little bit for Age UK too. I really am hoping that in some miniscule way I am making Christmas a little bit more bearable for some. For ourselves Christmas is all about being with our boys. One spends his winters mostly far away from our cold climate but we do get together with the other two and their partners which is lovely. We are fortunate to now be on the receiving end of our children 's hospitality at Christmas and go up and stay with them, thankfully they all live in the London area so we are able to all be together....we even link up via video calling with our escapee son and his girlfriend too on Christmas day and place the screen central so we can all chat together with them....they being normally sat on a very sunny beach........are we all jealous......you bet !! But that is what Christmas means to us.... doing our best somehow to be together no matter where in the world we might be...not the food or the glitter. My youngest son made me glow with love and pride last weekend during his visit when he informed me that the pops into food shops on passing by and buys sandwiches/ fruit and hot drinks for any homeless person who he sees sitting in a nearby doorway. That warms my heart and undoubtedly the recipients too. I just wish there was more caring going on in the world and far ,far less aggression and intolerance towards others. Yes I definitely think that it's becoming a sad world and once we are snuggly encased in our own homes we tend to forget about the many ,many less fortunate amongst us.
Well Oreti, I beg to disagree. I do start baking for Christmas a month ahead of time, but it is cookies and dessert breads to put on Christmas plates for giving to friends and people who have given good service throughout the year (you ought to see the look on the veterinarian's face when she gets her annual gift from Timi the cat!). We don't overindulge, although there are special treats that we enjoy. We give generously to the local food pantry four times a year, with the December donation being a bit bigger. We are also on their "emergency list" of people who will step in and pay a utility bill so someone less fortunate will have heat in their home. I agree about the aggression and intolerance, but that is the way some people are and all we can do is try to balance it out with kindness and tolerance. I wish you a merry, peaceful, and warm Christmas!
That's good to hear @marlingardener , we are very like minded and obviously share a very similar ethos of showing and displaying care towards the more vulnerable.I fail to see any disagreement. A month before is much more understandable in kick starting preparations. I can well imagine the warm happiness showing on the elderly lady's face on receiving a gift. Well done. The tolerance and aggression was more directed towards wars. I wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas too.
We donated 2 12kg bags of dried dog food to a local food bank, one bag was the wrong food that they sent and the other didn't suit one of our dogs anymore. People don't think donating pet food, we were told that one person gave her chicken to her dog and she had bread and jam. We don't over indulge, it's just different to what we eat the rest of the year, in fact i can't eat as much as i used to when i was younger.
It is so heartwarming to hear that folks are donating things. Personally I feel that is a very good aspect of any culture. It is true that there are signs in every culture that compassion and giving are not on everyone’s agenda. I can almost imagine that I perceive that this negative trait is on the rise. My Bride and I wonder how selfishness can become popular. Well, it is plain to read on here that there are some folks that do give a hoot about other people and is so heartwarming. Keep up the good work mates and enjoy yourselves with your families this holiday season. We will have a quiet first and second day at home. We will go for salmon and our own veg this year.
The charity food pantry here leaves large heavy paper bags for people to fill with canned and dry foods for the hungry. I made a trip to the grocery store to fill two of the bags. I didn't think about pet food. Should have. When was delivering for Meals on Wheels, they included pet food in the deliveries for those had pets. I miss doing that but I'm just not able any more. When my parents were alive, we always had a nice phone call on holidays. Work and living so far away made travel there too difficult for holidays. I felt bad about that.
