Today, Christmas music finally started playing on the radio and reminded me that Christmas was actually coming up. Anyone doing anything exciting for the holidays?


For me, Christmas has slowly been losing its charm. That's probably mostly because I've been growing up. I'm expected to buy gradually nicer gifts each year for my sisters who I never see anymore, and my mom focuses too much on the price tag. My mom also demands a list of things I want every year (yet she refuses to tell me something she wants that doesn't cost an arm and a leg). Because the budget is such that I can usually buy anything that I put on that list with my own money, if I want something bad enough then I usually just buy it myself, leaving little to put on the list. Regardless of what I put on the list, though, there isn't much surprise in my presents anymore. My dad used to be great at thinking of cool gifts to get me for Christmas (stuff I'd never expect to get but usually enjoy a lot), but I've been getting college money for the last few years instead.

Honestly...I don't expect much for Christmas this year.
Although My Grandmother who I haven't seen in about 3 Years as well as my Aunt and Cousin are coming over for about 2 weeks, which is always great
As for gifts...like I said I don't expect much. or More like I don't want much...

My parents and family somehow are awesome at getting me presents. I've had some really great presents over the years. Basically, if it has something to do with Pokémon or money or some sort of fandom I've taken an interest in, it'll be great. This year I'm half expecting lots of household items and/or car items (like... fancy floor mats or whatever?) or nothing because of my Japan trip costing an arm and five legs. We shall see! I'm going halfers on an iPad mini for my grandma with my mom, and I'm also buying my sister a Kindle.

You guys are all missing the most important part here:

Oh yes, of course. Eggnog always makes winter worth it. I just wish it was available until the end of winter and not just the end of December.

I've never had egg nog in my life before. Is it good?

It's a very love-it-or-hate-it thing. I personally love the drink, but I know a lot of people who can't even stand the smell of it. Definitely give it a try.

The holidays will consist of spending time with my family and hopefully friends at some point. Then there will also be time that I spend with my girlfriend (yes I now have one everyone don't go into shock at once). Though I won't be drinking the nog, I'll stick with my hot chocolate and peppermint.

Eggnog is also good for French Toast even though when my mom makes it I can barely tell the difference.

I need to get some shopping done early this year because Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving this year. @.@

I seem to notice that the older you get, the more practical your presents become. That said, if I have something in specific I want then I usually am able to get my hands on it come Christmas time...

I love how when I was younger I used to hate getting clothes for Christmas, but now I actually want clothes.

Screw clothes, daddy needs a Surface Pro 2 and a new iPod. But I know that'll never happen so I just accept all the cash I can get.

I'm actually kind of excited for Christmas this year; my mom and I are pooling together money to get a DSLR camera to share between us. It's a pretty good one - a Nikon D7100, I think - and we ordered it early on Black Friday when it was $200 off.

As for traditions... no. I'm still young, but the Christmas charm has already worn off for me.

This year I'll be seeing if I can get a PS3, there seems to be a good amount of deals for used 250 GB models on amazon. Hopefully this'll be the last console I get for a while, since my brother has an Xbox 360 and I have a Wii and a Wii U. :/ I don't plan to get next gen consoles until much, much later(for several obvious reasons) so I'm not even worrying about that for a long while. Although I am a bit behind on my Wii U catalog(I still need to get Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, MAYBE Sonic Lost World(still kind of unsure, even with the demo), and find out when/if I'm gonna get 3D World), I'm sure there's no rush to get them. But then there's also Paul Mccartney's NEW CD, which I was unsure about getting, and then there's also the Heroes of Olympus series books that I need to catch up on, so I need to figure out when I'm getting those, too. Maybe I can get the CD as an extra for Christmas, and the books as Bday gifts. I'll figure it out, hopefully. I blame schoolwork, I haven't been able to get much done media-wise at all. :I

As for what I'm doing for the holidays, we're planning on going to New York to see some show or something as we usually do, and then we're gonna meet with some friends on the way back in PA for a symphonic concert of some sort for New Year's. I'm not really excited this year to be honest, though. Recent stress in my life makes everything else kinda just not as fun. :I

To those who celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah!

Yeah, it's really early this year (sundown of November 27 to sundown of December 5).

I see a whole bunch Hanukkah stuff around town, since I live in a pretty strong Jewish community. My family and I are going over to my oldest friend's house for Thanksgiving like I do every year, and I hear they're going to be having Hanukkah celebrations simultaneously, so it's going to be quite the turnout.

I probably won't be doing much of anything this holiday season [besides a Christmas party in the middle of December]. Family is very spread out due to irl things and doubt any of them can make it to one place for Christmas. The charm of Christmas has been slowly fading from me as well, though listening to the music of the season keeps it from fading altogether. I haven't really gotten any form of gift for the last three years [which has a hand in lowering the excitement of the holiday season] but I see this as being humble and appreciating what you have, not what you can get.

It's all about sharing after all.

I have a bunch of things to attend to this December, though I'm pretty sure we'll be celebrating Christmas in some form anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving Day! Btw, we are living in a once in a lifetime event of having Thanksgiving fall during Hanukkah!

I shall bump this thread up. 'Twas the night before the night before Christmas, and what were the creatures stirring?

I've spent the start of today (the 24th) setting up a Christmas village that didn't get put up last year and I was getting tired of it not getting up. It's something both my mom and I enjoy. It's done and looks great. Gonna go zzz and then get paid, hang with family and spend the rest of the day happy.

For some reason, it doesn't even feel like the holidays to me. I'll probably end up just relaxing today, then get to work most of the day tomorrow (yes, working on Christmas. Thanks work).

We decided to open early cause... well we honestly just wanted to. Hilariously I got just what I wanted to avoid this Christmas: clothing But I appreciate it a lot, because it's cozy and perfect for my upcoming college days. Better get all the new fitting clothes I can now~ I also got about $20 from my grandmother. Can't wait to get back home and get ALBW ASAP.

We're gonna end the night by playing cards and watching Insidious 2. And not just any cards. These crazy jumbo for the extremely blind people cards. Why do cards even need to be that big?

I don't really have much to do tomorrow. There's a possibility that dinner with my grandparents and cousins tomorrow will be cancelled because they're all sick. I CAN'T afford to get sick again since I'm leaving for vacation at the beginning of January.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you and your family have a great day filled with love and laughter

Merry Christmas! I've pretty much summed up my Christmas eve in my blog buttttt . I got some awesome gifts already, Xbox One, Flips Headphones, headgear, clothes, wrestling shoes.. ITS ALL AWESOME

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I got some assorted stuff such as Headphones, Vans, Cycling Gear, Clothes and some other stuff. Merry Christmas guys!

I got bioshock 2 and infinite for Christmas

I got a total of $360, a shirt, a couple of magazines, an NES beanie hat, a Mazda RX-7 hoodie (which is so awesome that I've included a picture of it), and lots of English chocolate. My mom got a Nikon D5200 (sadly the D7100 was out of stock on Black Friday) which we'll both be using.

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I Got a rock.....Just kidding
I got a Gateway NE 522 Series Laptop.

And now I've just had Christmas with Mom's side of the family. All in all, I received a variety of gift cards, a portable hard drive, a wireless mouse, rechargeable batteries, a 2014 calendar, candy, and some winter clothing.

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My parents kind of just didn't bother to get me anything this year.

Derp.

In all seriousness I'm not that annoyed since my dad payed for my gym membership and got me a TCG box for Hanukkah but Mom feels really bad because she kind of just completely held it off. My mom felt so bad about she going to make to the mall were she'll buy me anything I want. My sister got me an angry cat shirt, adventure time travel mug and adventure time fleece blanket.

Me and my parents then had to leave for my grandparents who live in the middle of no where and its 210 Minute ride. When we got there my grandparents gave us money checks which my dad grumpy for the rest of the day because he didn't get anything for them so that was great. And because my grandparents live in the middle no where the entire day basically composed of just sitting around all day with my grandparents which can be really boring.

In the middle of dinner we got a call that my Grandpa's brother was found dead in his house, he's kind of been a drunken slump for the last few years but he was only 59 and had no family of his own. He was also the youngest of my grandpa's sibling and my grandpa has like 5 other siblings and it's always kind of hard to keep track of all of them so I'm not really sad about it, I feel really bad for my Grandpa though.

All in all pretty boring and bad Christmas, this holiday has gotten worse for me year after year but yeesh I couldn't even get upset with my mother about not getting me anything just because my expectations were set so low I hope in the future I can associate myself with someone I can actually enjoy this holiday with.

Today was very fun for me. I didn't do much since I had a lot of work I had to get done, but I love spending time with my family. I woke up and the Christmas dinner was already cooked and almost ready. We ate around 1 PM and then played poker and dominoes. Poker was fun as it always way, but dominoes was a TRIP. None of us knew how to play and we'd do a round, learn a rule, and repeat XD It was fun. We took a lot of pictures and just enjoyed each other's company.

Tomorrow I go back to Maryland. As much as this little shack sucks and makes my feel sick I'm gonna miss being here. We're never coming back because we broke the dishwasher. Don't ask.

I had a great day today. Everyone in the family was generally pleasent to be around, and all the food we ate was delicious. I got Pacific Rim, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (blu-Ray), Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, a copy of Rocksmith, some books, a basic Nook, and a new strap for my bass (Yellow Submarine themed). I also got $75 to iTunes and $25 to Target. I had so much fun being with my family this year. I guess the older you get, the more fun that is.

Merry Christmas, everyone~

Here's my Holiday Haul:
Black T-shirt with it's dangerous takes this with you
Skyrim Legendary Edition
Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition
Pacific Rim
MegaMan ZX (think I might have it already but I'll look)
Wreck It Ralph on the DS
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Mario Party Island Tour (Hope Yoshi picks it up before we hang out again would be fun)
Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon
and a bunch of Candy

Good haul, makes up for my "early" Christmas nightmare

You know, my parents never really did get into the holiday spirit this year, which kind of sucked, but hey, I got some good stuff nonetheless and the day was, all in all, pretty enjoyable.

For the most part I got some more new clothes (as per usual), along with a new chair for my study (since my old one is literally falling apart) along with a keyboard, which was nice of them to get me since sometimes I get bored playing the same old piano over and over, and would like to hear some different sounds for a change of pace. My sister also got me a new pair of headphones, since mine keep breaking every several months. Let's see how long this one lasts!

I also got some money, also as per usual, and a Walmart gift card from my third cousin who we meet up with every Christmas, although I generally don't go shopping for anything at any point, so I sort of let my mom use it and she pays me back later. As a whole, the holiday involved a lot less anticipation than usual, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The best present I could have possible gotten was my parents getting married. My dad proposed to my mom yesterday

Now that Christmas is out the way it's time for the slow period before New Year's. Now that the rest of the year's running down I can look back on it. The latter half was more depressing than the latter half of 2012, but more eventful. I can feel the rest of my senior year being even more kick-awesome than the beginning~

And now, my Christmas marathon is FINALLY over. I'm gonna have to make this post a blob, I know this before I've even typed it, it's just so much, so I apologize for that. I'll start with Christmas morning, I guess. So when my family woke up, the first thing we did was of course make pancakes and bacon. After breakfast, we had some cake in honor of baby Jesus' birthday (it's tradition). Afterwards, we started with presents under the tree, making quite the crazy scene. I got Man of Steel (I was hoping for Pacific Rim instead, but it's still nice), Paul McCartney's New CD along with this Rolling Stone special edition magazine filled to the brim with Paul McCartney interviews and pictures (U Jelly, Turt?), a reindeer ornament, which is also actually tradition for me, a $15 gift card for Taco bell, A Link Between Worlds(which was my brother's gift to me, even though he just let me pick out whatever I wanted at the Gamestop we went to. He's not the best at gift-giving :I) a boatload of PS3 stuff, including an extra controller, Jak and Daxter Collection, Ni No Kuni, a $20 PSN gift card, and hey, guess what: a PS3! Go figure. Anyways, other than that, I got mainly candies, gift money, and clothing stuff. Although my parents say it wasn't a lot for me this year, I think this is the most satisfactory Christmas I've had in a while(not that the others weren't good, this just REALLY felt like a lot of stuff to me). I spent the rest of the day pretty much messing with my PS3 and then playing Jak 1 and Ni No Kuni. Ni No Kuni is REALLY good(and informative) so far, even though I'm only at the autumn-like woods after Ding Dong Dell.

Anyways, today was part two of the usual Christmas extravaganza. We woke up and went to my grandparents' house, where we had a party with the whole family and saw a few cousins we hadn't seen in a long while. The gifts I get there get me a bit frustrated because literally everything I get is super generic and some of them literally are irrelevant to me or I can't use, which I can't blame anyone for, it's just a tad frustrating because it's like a waste of time and money for them in my eyes. Anyways, nit-picks aside this party still wasn't fun. It ended rather ubrupty with my grandfather passing out from coughing and choking and then falling hard to the ground. Everyone was freaking out even more than usual because my uncle's father passed away only a few days ago. We had to get the ambulance to take him to the hospital, where we took a visit to shortly after cleaning up the mess left at the house. Thankfully, he's alright, and this might be even a good thing in a way since he might be able to have his cough fixed. Still, though, it's not the best seeing your grandfather pass out followed by everyone freaking out while you're trying to just stay calm. Anyways, after the visit to the hospital, I just played ALBW in the car(which is awesomesauce, btw, just got that wall-merging ability) which leads me here, typing this up for you all to read(or not). And now I've just learned that SMB3 is STILL not on the eshop this week(even though Japan and Europe both have it :I), which has left me incredibly frustrated with those horrible liars at NoA. Oh, well. I'm still really thankful for all my gifts this year. Happy Holidays, everyone!

And btw, if this was a grammatical disaster, I apologize.

I might as well lump my birthday presents in here as well, because where else would I put them? I really am surprised how hard PokéPark 2 is to find.

The HD PVR 2 on the right was actually a personal gift from lumping together Best Buy gift cards...which came with its own $15 gift card due to a holiday deal. The regular price was $180, but Best Buy already had it marked down to $160, and it was on sale for $120. The first gift card brought it down to $95, then the included one brought it to $80.

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I never did leave a post here about what I got. I didn't really want any games (I've been buying them myself lately), so I got a ton of clothes, a Wii U, a 3DS XL, candy, and a few e-shop gift cards. (which I used to buy Earthbound <3). Ironically my parents got me both X and Y; they didn't even know that I had them at the time. I might end up giving one of them to a friend at college of they don't have X or Y.

I don't have pictures, but I do have a video~

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Earthbound Test.mp4

Looks like the new year has hit for those living in the east coast. I might as well ask: what are your resolutions for 2014?

Don't have a resolution since I had a crappy New Years. >_>

This is still technically part of the holidays, right? Happy Day-of-Earth-Being-a-Little-Less-Than-One-Degree-Further-Along-its-Orbit-Than-It-Was-One-Day-Ago Day!