I voted for other, because for the past few years Christmas has been the hardest day of the year for me. I love most of it -- spending time with my fiance and his family, the good food, the laughs, gift-giving and gift-receiving, bundling up against the cold.

But it seems Christmas is always a bad news day for me. When I was younger, my parents decided to get divorced on Christmas. Dad put on a happy act for the rest of the day, but Mom just sat on the stairs, chain-smoking and staring vacantly into space. Somehow, that's the mental image I carry in my head every Christmas morning, no matter how happy the present time is.
There are also several family members who are currently in the "this might be my last Christmas" phase of life, so it's always really sobering and depressing when I try to do to the "Merry Christmas!" call only to get news of the latest operations and mishaps, and to be reminded several times that I am not there with them despite the fact that it might, indeed, be their last Christmas.

I would say this year it was the 24th for me. I had a big blue with my Dad and cried myself to sleep over it. Very suckful indeed.

I'm not doing Christmas next year. I've already decided.

oops.

Naw...Dazza hardly ever argues with me. He knows it's not going to get him anywhere. ;)

Srsly though, I love my Dad, but he's a real arse sometimes. About one issue in particular that we can't see eye to eye on and it always comes up at Christmas. Every year I promise myself not to get upset by it, and every year it happens anyway. It's very distressing.