Brilliant!!
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I had a Grifter and my brother had a Chopper. The seat said it was only designed for one person. Er… why make it so big then?! We were waiting until daylight when we could go outside one Christmas to ride our new bikes down the hill next to our house.
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Its November so its the season these days isn’t it. Dont mind Xmas…when it was in December.
Reason for me bumping this thread up is over the years Xmas has gotten out of hand in terms of who we buy for. The wife wants to buy all her mates but then they have kids and some have 3 and one couple has 5!
The wife will stress what to buy and on xmas eve last year had me traping round town to get something for a kid I barely know.
So this year we have let our friends know that it all stops. We wont be sending them cards or getting presents but will make a donation to a kids charity instead,
I’ve also told my kids, aged 21 and 15, that we will be cutting back on them as well. I’m lucky my kids aren’t greedy and are fine with it.
We don’t buy each other anything, so this year we are only buying kids, my parents and nan (who is 101 next week), wife’s mum and wife’s best friend from pre-school days (we agreed to 1 friend) and give what we would spend on the others (you’ll be surprised how much it adds up) to kids charity.
So ill be the first to say Merry Xmas
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I have to say that for very many years I hated the thought of Christmas. Mainly because “the big day” was always the in laws all coming to us and me cooking and every year was deja vu. January first always been my favourite day of the year. A big sigh of relief that it is finally over and enjoying the feeling that everyone else apart from me probably has a hangover. Don’t start me off on NYE 
My favourite tv of the year is the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna.
Anyway the in laws have all passed on now and I have 2 granddaughters (3yo and 8 months) and actually looking forward to it…sort of.
I went to my local diy shop the other day only to find half the shop had been cleared and was full of CCC. Chinese christmas crap. 
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We’re saving for THE HOLIDAY next year (Silver wedding anniversary) so don’t buy the usual level Christmas presents. Father Christmas will of course visit for Jnr but we’ll just exchange stocking fillers.
I love Christmas, particularly at home as I love cooking a huge meal and starting the booze early. Everybody bogs off by 6 and it’s snooze on the couch time. Bliss.
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I love the festive season and im lucky my company give me the week after Xmas off and I take about 3 days off before so for 3 working days i get 2 weeks off.
We always meet up with friends and spent the two weeks doing stuff - i love all that but when some peoples kids are asking for Iphones and Iwatches somethings gone wrong with the meaning of Xmas somewhere!
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Christmas is a festival that has been hijacked by two religions that I don’t believe in - Christianity and Materialism.
If it returned to being a celebration of the Winter Solstice, that sacred moment when the cycles of the Earth turn, I‘d happily get involved.
I hope that one day we realise that the only thing worth worshipping is Nature. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll survive that long.
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A tradition we do enjoy is the Christmas Eve service at the church I go to. The building is usually all decorated and festive, and there’s something moving, to me at least, with the music and candlelight and a sense that millions around the world are doing likewise. Usually the church is high tech with multi media and a great band and so on, but it also captures tradition very well on Christmas Eve.
One thing I liked to see was that the church partnered with a local school and has taken responsibility for every kid at the school that won’t have anything for Christmas. It’s a lot more than people might think. There is a big tree in the lobby with hundreds of gift tags on it, and the idea is to take one, or more, buy the gifts and bring them back, and people from the church work with the school to make sure everything gets to where it is supposed to go. Each kid will get 4-6 nice gifts, and it’s all vetted with the local authorities to make sure of need and so on.
I agree with the materialism thing, and can’t stand that side of Christmas, but giving to kids who would otherwise go without seems a lovely way to celebrate it all. We will go shopping with our kids (aged 20 and 17) for the young school kids, as they are very socially conscious and are often spurring their mum and dad on to do more, and I love that about them.
Within our nuclear family we are quite modest and don’t give loads and loads. My wife buys for lots of people in the wider circle and that’s because she is so thoughtful. We have young nieces and nephews on her side of the family, and we are doing a big winter zoo trip for them all, which was their present from Christmas last year, along with stocking fillers.
I am looking forward to a few days off, and some lovely eats and treats. I usually cook a big prime rib with all the trimmings on Christmas Day. If it isn’t stupid cold, I will sit outside in our quiet back garden at night, with a cigar and a whisky, and look at the stars and be at peace.
Disclaimer: I don’t smoke, as such, but a couple times a year I might find the occasion to have a nice cigar and linger with it.
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Sadly, that’s true for all religious or even non-religious festivals/celebrations. Mindless consumerism and zealots encroaching and ruining the space of sanctity for millions/billions. In the end, the celebrations, the funs, are just some very expensive acts of going though the motion.
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Some of you are a real bundle of joy …
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Wait until I join in…
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Niapaul goes to town on this point - against Hinduism in A Wounded Civilisation and it took me a really long time to get that the observation is applicable to all societies and civilisations.
For the grumpy ones 
https://twitter.com/lfcretail/status/1724381035213853129?s=46&t=WmjWm_FqqFdVHHP8b7dN9A
last year was a tumultuous attempt to fly on Dec 22nd to my wife’s family.
no such bullshit this year. I love spending time with her family, they’re incredibly warm and kind. but to traverse this country in winter is an exercise.
this season will be likely at my parents, we do spoil the 8yo a bit this time of year but his list is actually quite small and reasonable.
I personally, have a new OnePlus pad arriving today as an early present from Mrs. but I won’t open it til Dec.
Is that an incontinence thing?
bahaahhahahahahahahaahaaaa
So that’s a yes then?
no, I should have used the word tablet instead of pad
Tablets might help with your ailment too.
I reckon a salve may be better.