Lots'o good thoughts there, Woodie. Christmas can be an extremely lonely time for many people. The first Christmas in our home after my mother died was like that. My sister and I were 7 and 13 respectively. But we managed to do the best that we could. It was probably hardest for my dad. I can only imagine how he suffered without her. He had always been a real grump on Christmas day because he considered much of the gift giving to be too extravagant, and wasteful. However, that Christmas right after Mom died was different for him. He was softer in many ways. Guess that he did it for us.

Today, we have a very low-key Christmas. My husband has so many unhappy memories attached to that holiday, as a result of an dysfunctional family, that if there is too much stress related to Christmas, it makes him depressed. So we keep it very simple and as low stress as possible, which means not a lot of gift giving and fuss.