tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post8807766291239588435..comments2024-03-27T17:27:42.775+10:00Comments on Aunt Annie's Childcare: 'Tis the season to be... a little more thoughtful about ChristmasAunt Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-82961533186175252952021-09-09T03:06:05.861+10:002021-09-09T03:06:05.861+10:00It is a very informative and useful post thanks it...It is a very informative and useful post thanks it is good material to read this post increases my knowledge. <a href="https://www.thrive-digital.com.au/child-care-marketing" rel="nofollow">Daycare Marketing Sydney</a>RobertNelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16690763875830277593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-41829589952276425162011-12-17T11:50:12.392+10:002011-12-17T11:50:12.392+10:00Oh dear, that is unnecessarily manipulative and in...Oh dear, that is unnecessarily manipulative and inconsiderate of the children's feelings. Yes, it's awful that she lost her job, but this reaction just highlights the dangers of accepting the consumer-driven model of an ideal Christmas. If you can't see Christmas as anything but rabid consumerism (regardless of whether you're justifying this using tradition and family values), you're really setting yourself up for a fall.Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-40323149061946061782011-12-17T10:26:11.919+10:002011-12-17T10:26:11.919+10:00Which is a good thing to point out!
I heard a sto...Which is a good thing to point out!<br /><br />I heard a story on the radio today, meant, I think, to tug at my heartstrings, but it just made me angry. A single mom had just lost her job and been forced to tell her children "they weren't having Christmas this year" because she had no money. Cue the syrupy strings.<br /><br />Bah and humbug. I can sympathize with this woman's struggle, but it does not cost money to set the table nicely and to sing Christmas carols, walk around the neighborhood to look at the lights, give each other Christmas hugs, even make gifts of storytime with books from the library. This family might not be exchanging wrapped presents, but they can still "have Christmas".<br /><br />My grandmother used to say she was celebrating a quiet Christmas. I like that.FrancesVettergreenVisualArtisthttp://francesvettergreen.ca/studiomusing/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-79314181209668424802011-12-17T06:51:25.273+10:002011-12-17T06:51:25.273+10:00I loathe the New Year madness too! And absolutely ...I loathe the New Year madness too! And absolutely no offence taken... all input is good input. <br /><br />Sadly I know quite a few people who do try to live up to the Christmas hype, and it wearies me- I just can't do that any more. Perhaps when I challenge the checkout chicks with 'I don't do Christmas', it's just my way of- well, not RESTORING the balance, because the Christmas juggernaut is way too big for me to balance, but at least pointing out to them that there IS another way to be at this time of year.Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-27555086234398041322011-12-17T03:12:55.638+10:002011-12-17T03:12:55.638+10:00Ah, peace. So valuable. I think there are many ...Ah, peace. So valuable. I think there are many ways of marking holidays; spending a day quietly with friends or family or just yourself is a terrific one. That's how I feel about New Year's, which here is an excuse for a wild party. Hate that. Starting the year hungover just doesn't seem particularly auspicious. So we make a nice meal for our little family (which is only excessive if you don't count how far I stretch leftovers) and watch the year's best animated movie on DVD. <br /><br />I hope my first response wasn't offensive; I wasn't meaning to argue with you, because though I mark the season in more typical fashion, I too have never bothered with Christmas "madness". It bothers me that many people seem to feel that if we are not participating in the celebration the way our mass culture seems to that we are not participating at all. When in fact the madness is created by marketers; it's impossible to live up to, and honestly, I personally know nobody who really tries. Anyway, even if all you do is wish a friend a Merry Christmas with a true generosity of spirit, you are participating.FrancesVettergreenVisualArtisthttp://francesvettergreen.ca/studiomusingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-53647655968871912242011-12-14T16:43:12.088+10:002011-12-14T16:43:12.088+10:00Hah, Frances, you're so good at keeping me hon...Hah, Frances, you're so good at keeping me honest! Bless you! <br /><br />Yes, I guess you could say I 'do Christmas' to the extent that USUALLY I see at least part of my family, and I do feed them (though not to excess, because I can't afford excess)... but in fact I've spent several Christmasses with no family at all. That's my choice in part and necessity in part (if you can't afford the petrol and you live in a remote area, people really have to come to you). <br /><br />There was one Christmas that was particularly quietly spent with my partner and best friend, because between us we'd lost three parents that year and just couldn't bear it; there were another two that I spent just with my partner because it had been a tough year for us both and we weren't up for the hoo-haa. My son's a struggling student, so mostly he can't get here. And I haven't had a Christmas tree for years and years.<br /><br />I guess it depends on the sort of family you have. Your traditions sound delightful- those are the sort of things I'd do if I did anything. But often it's just another day of peace in my beautiful home.Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-21528195404476613922011-12-14T15:46:04.406+10:002011-12-14T15:46:04.406+10:00But you DO "do Christmas", don't you...But you DO "do Christmas", don't you, by celebrating with a family reunion? Just not the consumer bacchanalia the marketing folks would have us engage in. I thought that was a particularly American thing; sad to hear it's reached Australia too. Though American culture is pretty much world culture now.<br /><br />Growing up we always had stockings and presents ...but what I really remember is the tree and the cousins and the feast my mother prepared. And how embarrassed I was one year when, as a broke art student, I put three expensive things on my annual Christmas list expecting to get one of them as my "big" gift, and unwrapped all three. I still feel bad about it. It was the last Christmas list I ever made.<br /><br />Which isn't really a good thing. My parents were adamant that gifts needed to be both somewhat practical and desired(I got several winter coats over the years as combination Christmas/birthday gifts, much nicer than I could afford myself), and the list was a way of ensuring that. My parents allowed us to dream, but also expected us to consider prices, and made it very clear that we were not to expect everything -- a very wise way to demonstrate that you can't always get everything you want.<br /><br />I don't remember how old I was when I figured out Santa, but I remember my mother's slightly tearful explanation that Santa Claus was a symbol of her and my dad's love for us. We held a family meeting, decided that we wanted that symbol to endure, and began a new tradition of stuffing stockings (with a creatively small dollar limit) for each other. To this day, in my house, and my siblings houses, if you are there on Christmas morning, a stocking is stuffed for you, and you know you are loved. That's powerful, it's magical, and it's plenty real.FrancesVettergreenVisualArtisthttp://francesvettergreen.ca/studiomusingnoreply@blogger.com