But you know, it made me call my sister and my mom in the past hour and make amends, so it's a pretty good thread. Dad and brothers are next. I am facing the family fear-thing...wooo!

Merry fvcking xmas!

Now shut up and enjoy your gruel!


:p

My mother had a fake tree that had recirculating fake snow (tiny eeney beeny styrofoam balls) and at the bottom of the tree was basically a cardboard trough and the vacuum thing would suck them back up the central tube to fall again. Our poodle loved to leap into the trough and the damned little styrofoam balls would get all over the house/ This was a full size tree, btw.

Both of those are awesome! My hubby read something that people cherish memories and experiences more than things, so money is better spent doing rather than getting stuff. I love how your kids have to cooperate to find out the solution to the riddle!

My mom had one of those! The cat would climb it until it fell over. Repeatedly.

In cheerful news, my brother put up the (old) tree that mom gave him from her garage. It's good that it's seeing the light of day and being decorated and loved. This is a different tree, not the one with the styrofoam. I don't remember what happened to that one.

Derail is welcome- may the thread wander as it will in regards to bad gifts, bad memories, good gifts good memories etc etc etc....

Let it flow-

..and hugs hun- your dog story is heart breaking.

GC wins. My runner up story was all I wanted for Christmas was a Chatty Cathy. Christmas morning open the box and it's a Chatty Cathy box, but it doesn't have a Chatty Cathy in it. It's some other gift. Woo hoo.

Okay, someone still makes the xmas tree snowing thing

Note to KB and BtD, the advert for an I heart Porn bumpersticker and a whole lot of other stupid sheyt too!

When my dad had his giant model train set up - taking up two rooms in the basement - the pathway between the two rooms included a mountain with the fake snow thing. It was cheesy, but fun. We'd always run the trains at Christmas, with all the little accessories - the milk bottle car, the cattle loader, the coal loader, the logging car, and the little pump handle car that would zip along the track until it hit something (usually your hand) and then changed directions. It was loud and sparked a lot!

My seizures are under control, I've got great friends, there is almost always a great (sometimes cheap) show somewhere near by. Merry freakin' Christmas everyday!

Just what could somebody buy me that I really need, that I haven't already got?

Nephy, I totally feel you on this one.

For our first "seperated" Christmas I want Nick to still feel special. I know it is going to be hard on him this year. Over at the in-law's is going to be especially tough. David's parents went from having to buy for 3 of us to 7 of them (David, Nick, Her and her 4 (yes 4) kids). I really hope they do right by Nickolas, but I sort of doubt it. For his birthday his grandparents gave him a pair of sweatpants and $5. His older aunt gave him a football, one step up from a carnival prize. David's younger sister totally made his day when she gave him the new Zelda game for his DS.

I know it isn't about the stuff, but at the same time he came home a bit hurt. He is old enough to know that his is the only b-day over there that gets short changed because it is near Christmas.

I feel guilty. I feel like I am trying to buy his affection by giving him a Wii for Christmas. I would have done this had David still been here. I even considered asking hi if he wanted to go in on it with me, but quickly decided against that (he stil owes me $$$$ from summer daycare). I started off with 2 games for it and now I am up to 5 and 2 for his DS. I feel out of control, but the only thing keeping me happy is imagining how shocked and happy he will be on Christmas. He knows we don't have money for extras right now, but he also still thinks Santa will bring him something cool.

My parents have been so great helping me out that I don't want them to get me anything for Christmas. Unfortunatly my mom has a strong sense of fairness and I have an older sister who keeps asking for more.

Other than Nick and my neices, everyone else is getting nummies. I will spend the 2 weeks before the Holiday baking and fudging my little heart out.

Santa is going to bring me a new pair of jeans, I only have 1 pair that fit and even those are starting to sag a bit.