Okay, Bitches, Who Else is NOT Spending Christmas with Family This Year?

Visiting elderly parents who are ill and having a tough time.

Also mourning the death on Monday of DLer Kieran Turner, a very talented filmmaker and wonderful person who was only 56 years old; he had a lot more creative work he dearly deserved the opportunity to complete. (I understand, however, that he had lovely, devoted friends and a beautiful cat with him at the end, which eases my grief considerably.)

Life is inexpressibly cruel and unfair, and although we all know this, the forced deep-focus is making me miserable this horrible Christmas.

Thank you for listening, and sorry to be such a put-upon Scrooge.

OP, I just realized I didn't really have a response that fit your thread. Sorry about that. I'm a little cross-eyed right now. Good thread idea, though. 👍

who are you kidding? you were always alone for xmas...

Sorry to hear this, R1. I hope 2025 is a better year for you.

Christmas with my elderly aunt and cousin was canceled this morning. My husband had to drive our beloved Scottie dog to the animal ER. Her liver enzymes are sky-high and we have to follow up with an ultrasound of her liver tomorrow. I have a horrible feeling that there will be no Christmas miracle for our beautiful girl. I have hated this holiday since my parents died anyway. And I hate Christians and Christianity in general so there you go.

In the words of Dolly Parton, it looks like some folks here are having a hard candy Christmas.

I haven't done family xmas in 5 or so years and it's been bliss. Those Trump voting shitbags can all roll in shit for all I care.

We are with friends in the Caribbean. I have always wanted to experience a Caribbean Christmas, with the palm trees in lights and shit. It's really lovely and fun. The nights have been clear and the star-gazing magnificent. Last night Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus were all brightly visible. First time in 30 years that we have not been with family. We saw them at Thanksgiving this year instead.

I haven't spent Christmas with blood relations since 1994, once both my parents were gone. I've spent most Christmases with my 3 best friends and my 2 godchildren. Last year and this year I'm 3+ hours away and I just don't feel like the drive. Both years I've spent with my lovely neighbors across the road who are elderly like me. We have a great Christmas day meal with tons of Portuguese delicacies. I'm bringing a broccoli casserole and two of my home made lemon cheesecakes (they go crazy for them). One for us to eat and one for them to keep in the freezer to have for later on.

Then I plan to come back home, retire to my easy chair, binge watch The Outer Limits, and play on the laptop until I pass out and sleep like I'm dead. I'll have a big plate of leftovers awaiting me for dinner (actually there'll be enough food for 3 more meals).

Having a cozy Christmas with my partner and furbabies and it is bliss. I cut my side of the family off long ago. They were MAGA before such a thing existed. No more spending holidays out of obligation with assholes and counting down the hours to leave.

R5 =

This is my twelfth year of Christmas alone. Absolutely love not being in Manhattan pushing and shoving the thousands of tourists who invade the city each year at this time. Don’t miss my snooty relatives or the average food. I’d like to see my mother, but she’s dead.

It’s just me and the hubby. And our 43rd Christmas together.

[quote] furbabies

No frautalk! You'll be banished to a Bath and Body Works outlet for the remainder of your days!

I'm from an Italian family, so Christmas Eve is always the bigger celebration than the day. When my mother passed in 1997, my sister (a great Italian cook) took up the hosting /cooking duties since my dad didn't want the tradition to die. She always maintained about ten guests at her condo (mix of old friends and new friends) and a good time was had by all.

Since COVID hit in 2020 (and my dad succumbed to the illness that summer at age 88), the dynamics changed. Two of the couples divorced, and neither my sister nor I hear from the husbands or wives, so they're not part of the guests any more. By 2022, two more couples were dropped from the invitation list as they became very outspoken Trump supporters / election deniers, and didn't want to talk about anything else but that throughout the evening (until then, I had no idea what anyone's politics were since we never spoke about it).

So for last year and this year, we've been down to a low-key Christmas Eve of four people (my sister, myself, and her neighbor across the hall and her new husband) and it's been perfect. Just the four of us, with a scaled back dinner (five fishes instead of seven) and light, happy conversation (and the neighbor's husband is so very easy on the eyes). As we get older, I hope it stays this way.

As for today, my sister is going to a buffet at one of her coworkers house, and I picked up the holiday shift (paying double time) as the concierge at the apartment building (my P/T job of seven years). For me, this is very enjoyable !

Yup, another Christmas alone, since my husband died. I hate that part, but otherwise I really don't mind being at home. I don't have some big estrangement from my family, but honestly it's not like I really miss them today either. We just don't agree on most things and it would just be another day of forced and tiresome conversations.

Nah, I'm actually happier here alone.

[quote] We have a great Christmas day meal with tons of Portuguese delicacies.

Do you make Portugese sausage? When I was visiting central CA (San Luis Obispo) it was a popular dish there (the name escapes me).

R4, thank you so much. ❤️🎄

Christmas alone isn't so bad -- no hassling with traffic, no dealing with last minute presents, no having to eat horrible food.... but most of all, no rightwing relatives who truly make me so angry that I spend most of Christmas day grateful I don't have to be anywhere near them.

I don't understand people who can, or want to, sit down at a table, with Trump supporters. I really don't.

R5: Hugs to you and your husband from me

Sorry to hear, R5.

[quote] Do you make Portugese sausage?

No, they do all the Portuguese cooking. They're full blooded, born in Lisbon, and I'm only part Portuguese. I can cook some Portuguese dishes but my neighbors are masters of that culinary art, so I don't even try for fear mine will offend their palates. I'm better at the pastries anyway. And I can't eat meat anyway.

[quote]And I hate Christians and Christianity in general so there you go.

In a nutshell.

We are seeing the deterioration of the post WW2 advertising and consumerism explosion.

[quote]I used to fly home every year and bite my tongue while my family sat around the dinner table bitching about the "liberals," the "illegals," the "trans," and the "woke."

OP, you might want to tread lightly on the DL because there has definitely been an upsurge in threads with posts bitching about those very topics - especially liberals, far-left this or that and woke - a lot of which come from obvious trolls, but they are annoying nonetheless. Just a heads up and enjoy the rest of your day.

Was scheduled to fly out yesterday morning to see family but caught a nasty cold and just couldn't make it. Felt guilty, but my brother and his partner were also coming down with something, so it was called off completely.

I've been trying to call my mom, but her passive aggressive ass has her phone straight to voicemail so I take it she's not happy.

I'm not flying over 2000 miles while sick to sit around with my limited family and feel like crap, then turn around the next day and fly 2000 miles back.

Oh well - I can honestly say it doesn't feel any different than any other day for me. And that's fine.

I’m an only child with no partner, so once my parents died and the two friends died who had been able to bear with me for 30+ years (but with whom I never spent Christmases), I was down to relatives whose invitations were always obviously reluctantly extended, if at all, because we really didn’t know each other and what we did know made it obvious that we stood on separate sides of an irreconcilable political/religious/social divide.

So, I’m alone for an assortment of reasons in a sweet little cottage in a small seaside tourist town that I’ve always liked. There’s a vigorous storm going on outside but no snow (yet?). I get morose when I’m hungry, but the little fridge is full. I’ll make it through.

I’m glad you’re there, DL.

R24 Pfft. Those assholes can fuck the hell off!

I guess I should be thankful that none of my immediate family has been lost to the cult of Trump/MAGA, we all despise him, but I'd stay at home rather than dealing with the delusion if I did.

R17 Chorizo

Here’s a recipe but it’s widely available in stores.

Where do you with Trump supporters live? Being in the NYC area all my life - even with some Republican relatives - the only political arguments we ever had was over Vietnam over a half a century ago.

R30 My family is in Colorado. While Colorado leans blue, there are pockets that are deep red, and my family lives in one of those pockets.

Working.

I had a beautifull Christmas Eve with my family but since everyone left today for vacation and the rest are visiting other family , I will be solo today, and I couldnt be happier, I needed alone time, without doing anything but resting, watching old shows and youtube and eating leftovers. Merry Christmas to me!

I haven’t had a “family” Christmas since my mother died in 1977 (yes, I’m an ancientgay). The rest of my family have been MAGAts since long before the term existed, and I have lived somewhere other than where I grew up since then.

Today I will talk on the phone with a friend who sent me a New Jersey Sloppy Joe via Goldbelly while eating a bit of it. We have a hard time getting off the phone in less than an hour, so this will be fun.

Happy Chrismukkah, everyone.

After spending Christmas alone for the past five years, I finally AM spending it with family this year. Last night and tonight. Yum, prime rib!

All my relatives and friends are dead so it's me and my dog. Not a bad thing, it's what happens when you live a long life.

Where in the Caribbean are you r8?

Me. I haven't spent X-mas with my family for a while. It's not a crazy long trip, but it's a hassle and not worth it, for me.

I also don't enjoy sleeping at relatives' houses and hotels are very expensive in the area. So, fuck that.

I wish my relatives were dead.

I'm an only child and my partner is estranged from his two sisters. Both of our parents are deceased. His brother and husband will be here for the snowbird season in a few days. My partner and I will enjoy a day together opening gifts, listening to music, talking on the phone and texting, and then go out for a nice dinner at a good restaurant we can walk to. All of which makes us happy.

OP, how did you explain your not going to visit them? Fake illness?

R40, do you still have sex?

I ceased forcing myself to give in to family obligations on holidays a long time ago. Today is bliss so far spending it alone. I did laundry since I knew the laundry room would be empty. Made a buttermilk waffle with strawberries for breakfast. Thinking about making a hot toddy. Might go see a movie later with friends, Nosferatu or The Last Showgirl (or even both!) Today is just a random day off from work in the middle of the week for me and it's a welcome interlude of tranquil.

OP, you made the right decision.

I honestly don't understand how it is that liberals, wokeness, illegals and trans people make your family's lives so miserable that THAT is the dinner conversation on Christmas.

Said no to ‘’Trump loving’’ relatives but have my favorites coming. Can also relate to aging relatives and pets.

OP can you not refer to us as "Bitches?" Over time, you have been the source of some interesting subject threads, but I (and no doubt others) will never answer to the call for bitches.

Happy Holidays

I agree with R46. It's tiring. the bitches thing. Move on to something more interesting.

Yeah, sick of the "bitches" bullshit. Enough, already.

I envy those of you who aren't. They're driving me up the wall.

Oy! I'm stuck in London eating minced steroid pie. I'd rather be in El Lay eating Austin's Hanukkah schlong. Not so Happy Christmukka.

R41 I was honest. I said I wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit this year in light of the election and that I didn't want to spend the holiday around negative energy.

R46 You sound like a bitch.

I’m home alone today, OP, and have been since 2015 when my mom passed and my brother moved 1000 miles away.

I usually enjoy it as an end to the fucking madness that’s the lead up to Xmas, but today I’m just exhausted.

Yesterday, I had to run my precious kitty to the ER and I was up all night there. It’s a long story, the gist of which is that he probably won’t be around come spring.

I’m still trying to process this and have been ugly crying on and off for the past two days. I don’t WANT to see anyone. I just want my kitty to be ok.

Alone this year. I'm out West and family are back east. I can no longer deal with the travel delays and hordes of obnoxious people, plus I usually catch some kind of cold while traveling this time of year. It's no longer worth it and I don't care for all of the Xmas hoopla. I'm doing a zoom call later with sister and hubby where we'll open gifts.

I'm happy to travel out east on off peak times of the year and have a family reunion or visit. I did that last July and it was really nice. And I could really give two shits about giving/receiving gifts. I'd rather just get together with loved ones and spend time together.

Yeah, usually, I'm healthy, but travel, even during off-peak, tends to bring on the colds and other BS.

Not sure who you think I am, R46, but I can assure you I have never - and will never - be the source of interesting subject threads.

Happy Holidays to you, too!

It’s just me, my husband and our beautiful lil king cavalier. We’re cooking, drinking, opened presents. About to go on a long walk.

Getting high and making steak au poivre later.

Merry Xmas DL!!

Me and my husbear are celebrating with a group of our attractive, in-shape gay bear friends. We are hosting the holiday in our beautiful rustic styled home. Tomorrow we will lunch with Eric and Jonathan (in from Provincetown) at "Dainty's", our favorite cozy little breakfast nook in town. I will share pictures on Instagram for those of you who are spending Christmas alone.

You, a willing stereotype, are why they hate us, R52. Grow up and develop some positive self-esteem and respect for others.

Husbear!

Who was the guy that used to always post about his husbear?

He died, so yes.

I'm going to visit my mom in memory care shortly. It's her first year there, she can't remember beyond 20 minutes at this point and mostly speaks in word salad. I debated and debated getting any presents. I come from a pretty dysfunctional and unhappy family, if I could I'd just sleep all day today to be honest

I never spend Christmas with my family. When we were children, Saint Nicholas’ Eve (5 December) was the big thing, whereas Christmas was always secondary.

I visit my family throughout the year, and that’s enough. Spending Christmas Eve dinner with friends can be really lovely. I got to do that yesterday. And that’s it for Christmas cheer this year!

R58

[quote]I (and no doubt others) will never answer to the call for bitches.

Your loss, bitches.

R42, we've had a pause due to my cancer, but we're going to get back into it after a year off.

I'm in Leukerbad and it's teeming with hot Russian eye candy.

Mmm, Russian sizemeat!

[quote]Saint Nicholas’ Eve (5 December) was the big thing, whereas Christmas was always secondary.

The difference between presents and gifts and church.

R46 is a right ole big fucking Cunt, injest broken glass immediately.

I love skipping seeing family over the holidays. It feels naughty, like playing hooky. You’re getting away with something. Everyone else has to slave over a stove and see people they can’t stand while you can just stay home and relax.