Laid Back Christmas - (Freeport, TX)

It was a cool, but sunny day in the Volunteer Village and along the Bayou.

I finally cleaned out the basement and re-organized it.

Linda gave me a much needed haircut.  That feels better - she had to dig deep to get that cowlick tamed.  She's threatening to go from the number 2 guide on the clippers down to the number 1.  Uh oh.  :)

We joined our neighbors Mike & Kathy for chili around 1:00.  Volunteers Gene & Mary Jane also came for the meal, but Mary Jane had recent surgery and they couldn't stay long.

So we had a wonderful meal in the Excel Fifth Wheel that Mike & Karen got earlier this summer.  If I remember correctly it is an Excel Limited 35TKE and they love it.

We sat in the wide living area (deep slides on both sides with the rear entertainment center), and discussed how both us couples got to our full-timing lifestyles.  The many different paths that are taken are quite interesting.

After a few hours, we headed home to make our Christmas Day family phone calls.  Linda's Mom hosted 22 people on Christmas Eve and my Mom hosted 21 today.

I'm sure they all had fun and great food, but I certainly enjoyed our small gathering with no traffic to fight, no dressing up to do, conversations that could be heard, and a generally more relaxing experience.

Of course in our current lives, those big family gatherings don't seem quite so daunting and chaotic as they used to.  Funny how our pace and not feeling like everything is being squeezed into pockets of "free time" improves perspective and calms nerves.  :)

Another thing that helps is our adoption of sort of a "no-gift" policy to save everyone's budgets and sanity.  We do small exchanges with immediate family, and Linda did a little something for each of the volunteer couples here, but that's it.

Gift giving used to be a symbol, but it has gotten way out of hand with less and less thought.  It's sort of evolved from searching for or making of special, meaningful gifts, to "I have no idea, what do you want?", to "Just give me a list", to "Here's a gift card, get what you want yourself".

Since we are just about at the complete gift card exchange and everyone knows what we all spent on each other, it's almost like trading cash.  "Thanks for my $25 gift card, here's your $25 gift card."

So my idea is that we all keep our money in our pockets and we have more handshakes, hugs, conversations about our lives, phone calls, and sweet notes that tell people what they mean to us.

That way, we save money, keep from charging things on credit cards, teach the next generations that "stuff" is not what the Christmas spirit is about, and we all have less stress and more heart-tugging moments that are good for our souls.  :)

Now, that idea is just for our family, friends, and RV-Dreams readers.  Wink.  I think it just sort of naturally happens for full-timers.  :)

For the rest of the world, keep shopping and spending and boosting the economy so all us full-timers with investments can keep on travelin'.  Oh, and so we don't have to worry about those folks retiring early and filling up our campgrounds.  :)

See, I just can't go more than a couple of days without some sarcasm.  Sorry about that.  :)

Back home, I finally added an RV-Dreams Rally Payment Page so attendees can make full or partial payments toward their registration fee.  No big rush since full payment isn't due until April 30, 2008, but I know some folks want to send installments and others want to get it over with.  :)

I also added a link to the payment page on the Forum and added a thread under the Rally Subforum to list Rally attendees as we receive their full payment so everyone can see who will be attending.

A couple more spots recently opened up for those on the Rally Waiting List.  If you are on that list and want to know your position or want to be removed, just send us an email.

After adding webpages and links and making phone calls to family, there wasn't much on TV.  So we rented another movie on pay-per-view.  This time I did it completely online and it worked.  :)

We watched the Disney animated movie "Ratatouille" (rat-a-too-ee) - the pronunciation is for us so we know how to say it in public.  :)

Okay, so the current pay-per-view movies are slim pickins.  But when we don't watch horror or gratuitous violence or inane (defined as "irritatingly silly") comedies, there ain't much left to choose from.  :)

"Ratatouille" was amusing enough to keep our attention and it provided the usual Disney "moral of the story".  Not my favorite Disney movie by a long shot, but it was worth watching.

After the movie, Linda found a Chat Room full of folks.  I quickly fell asleep in the recliner.

Apparently, that fact got into the Chat Room conversation and suddenly there were many loud sound effects coming from her laptop in an attempt to wake me up.  Yeah, you guys are a hoot.  :)

But I didn't stay awake long.  It was off to bed.

We loved our laid back Christmas - made better by not having to go to a real job tomorrow.  :)

 

Comments

[Denyse]

We also experienced our first non gift, lazy day Christmas. It was wonderful. You hit it on the head on how much Christmas has changed from being thoughtful to here's your gift card. We have 4 more Christmas's to go and we'll be on the road. Have a very Happy New Year.
Dee_NC

[Sonia]

Bah-humbug!

[Bob]

Your BLOG sounds like it came right from Scrooge. Save money, don't buy gifts, etc. Did you even put up a Christmas tree??

[Howard]

Well, I was expecting some "Scrooge" comments. :)

But I didn't think advocating the following was Scrooge-like:

".... have more handshakes, hugs, conversations about our lives, phone calls, and sweet notes that tell people what they mean to us."

Happy Holidays everyone! As others have said, it would be a boring world if we were all alike. :)

[Ellie Meacham]

Howard, we also had a laid-back Christmas, with the best gifts being the time we spent with loved ones. Fulltiming has changed our outlook on many things, including the rush of the holidays. We actually enjoyed the day instead of enduring it.
Ellie

P.S. Oh, did we wake you with our partying in the chat room? Sorry about that! We'll try to be more quiet tonight.

[Cindy T]

H&L,
I love the "no gift" or even a limited gift policy. I typically get together w/most of my siblings for Xmas and the best part is teasing each other, catching up, and making plans for our next get together. The gifts are very secondary.
On a different note, you provided the link to the Excel Limited. I love Excels. The rear entertainment center is visually attractive, but I wonder if it's worth giving up the big back window. Seems like the view out the back is often the best, as the side windows may be looking at other people's rigs. What do you think about the rear entertainment center vs the entertainment center on the side?

[Guy]

Howard,

I, for one, stand beside you when it comes to "no gifts" around Christmas time. Soemtimes it feels like the day should have been called "Giftmas time", instead of "Christmas time!". Too many of us feel obligated to give presents to either show appreciation for someone, to be appreciated by someone, to offset feelings of guilt, or just to try to keep up with the Jones'. I feel that every day we should show our appreciation, as you so eloquently pointed out, and that at Christmas time just for once try to remember what this holiday/celebration is for: the Birth of Christ. If we really want to give presents, then alright, give them to Christ (through charitable donations, helping out at the soup line, etc.), and not each other. We all need more hugs, handshakes and feelings of goodwill to each other, and far less possessions. Christmas is the time we should try to do more of that and less of the "presents."

Nicely said again, Howard.

God bless you and Linda.

[LakeConroePenny]

I am with you, Howard. It has just become too commercial and gets a lot of people into unnecessary debt. This frenzy of shopping is not what Jesus would have wanted for his people.
Santa Claus didn't even wear red and white until the Coca Cola company clothed him that way.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Were_the_colors_of_Santa_Claus_always_red_and_white .
So many folks don't even research these new 20th. century traditions that they keep, and just go along with the crowd because that is what the Jones are doing.
I didn't get a Scrooge message from you at all. Have a Safe Holiday. Penny

[Jenny J]

Howard,
I googled the word "Scrooge" Here is the list I can up with: a miserly person, skinflint, coldhearted, tightfisted, selfish, always complaining, and expresses disgust with modern Christmas traditions. You absolutely do not fit into any of those definitions. I feel (and I am sure most of your readers feel the same way) you are a most giving, most appreciative, most loveable, most intelligent, most friendly, person we have met in our travels. The things you do for us and to keep this site one of the most informative is very much appreciated by myself as well as your many readers.

Jenny J

PS I didn't have a Christmas Tree either.

[Howard]

Hey Cindy T,

Regarding the rear entertainment center, it really opens up the living area and allows for more windows (on both sides and in the rear on the sides of the entertainment center). But I personally prefer the side entertainment center mainly because we really like the large picture window in the rear. Having limited views out of one side of the rig is not that big a deal to us.

Also, with the rear entertainment center, the seating on the sides requires turning sideways to view. With the side entertainment center at least some of the seating can be faced directly at the TV.

Of course, our TV is on a slideout shelf on a turntable so the TV can be faced in different directions. I noticed that the TV in the Excel next door was also on such a turntable, so this is not a big deal as it would be if the TV were static and couldn't be moved. In either set-up, I recommend being able to turn the TV in different directions rather than it being completely stationary.

Just my opinion since you asked. :)