Drama: December 16, 2015 Issue [#7373]
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Drama


 This week: The Drama of Christmas
  Edited by: NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Jingles all the way? That would be nice. Unfortunately, Christmas isn't always that merry.

This week's Drama Newsletter is all about family, presents, cats and sheer frustration.

kittiara


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

We wish you a Merry Christmas! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells... Yeah. It all sounds so jolly. Outside of feel-good movies and novels, though, Christmas can actually be a pain!

Let's start with the decorations. Tangled fairy lights, and the dreaded -one-light-doesn't-work-but-which-one scenario. Tangled tinsel. My uncle collects these houses and other decorations enabling him to build an entire little Christmas town. It's not my kind of thing, but he enjoys it. This year, however, he got two cats. And they delight in knocking everything over. Again and again. Then one of the cats had a hairball he needed to get rid of. He jumped onto the village and instead of snow, well, you can guess...

Speaking of cats, some of them also love Christmas trees. And climbing in Christmas trees. And playing with baubles.

Then, there is the question of who to invite or visit over Christmas. One year, we had twenty people staying over, spread over three houses. It was a bit chaotic, but I must say that we had a lovely time. The year after, though, everyone said they would visit again, because they had a lovely time, too. But life got in the way – and mostly work – so one by one they had to cancel. Which left us with a whole load of food. I guess at least the house was nice and clean.

A friend of mine has parents in law who insist that he and his wife and kids visit them on Christmas day. Every single Christmas. He hasn't seen his parents on Christmas day for years. He would like to, but if he so much as suggests that they alternate, the in-laws throw a tantrum, so that is dangerous territory.

Another friend of mine has family members who don't get along. Every year there is a lot of “If he is coming, I won't,” and, “If she is coming, count me out,” until they all show up after all and spend Christmas having digs at the other.

Buying presents can be fun, too. I personally enjoy it, and I especially enjoy wrapping them and writing the little labels. Some people, however, don't. And it is tricky to buy gifts for the kind of people who won't tell you what they want, and who say that they're happy with anything, when they aren't. There is always the risk of the dreaded unwanted present, where you or someone else has to smile, and look delighted, when secretly you/they wonder why on Earth they gave you that.

Weird presents I have received over the years include an extremely creepy doll (I was 20), an opened box of toffees that were five years out of date, and a figurine of a bear with a bag of kittens. The person who gave it to me bought it on the logic that Kit likes cats. The figurine has kittens in it. Therefore, Kit must like the figurines. If they had looked closer, they would have noticed that the bag also contained bricks, so it was not a well-meaning bear.

The friend with the family members who don't get along tells me that there are presents in his family that keep doing the rounds. Nobody wants them, so every year they get wrapped back up and passed to someone else. Which could be funny. Just not in that family – there is a level of menace involved.

I have sympathy for those who are parents of young children. I know parents who don't get any sleep. When all the preparations are done on Christmas Eve, they crawl into bed, hoping for a couple of hours of eye-shut, only to be faced with over-excited kids. They have to wait until said kids are asleep, crawl downstairs to place the presents under the tree, get rid of the milk and cookies, crawl back into bed... and by then the kids are wide awake again.

There comes a stage at some Christmas parties when people suggest playing games. Like Monopoly. If your family is anything like mine, proceed with caution. There are people in this world who are exceedingly competitive and they do not – I repeat not- like to lose. There are people who play dirty, too, and it can be those who you'd least expect it from who use the dirtiest tricks. What looked like a fun game can soon become the stuff of arguments.

Christmas, then, isn't necessarily jolly. But it's still Christmas. I have plenty of good memories. Going to Mass with my granny on Christmas Eve, and hearing her sing O Holy Night (she was a member of the choir). Decorating the Christmas tree with my mom. The morning after that very busy Christmas, when those staying at my house all sat down together watching movies in the morning.

I hope that you have your own good memories. And not too many frustrating ones.

An early Merry Christmas! *Smile*


kittiara



Editor's Picks

Here are some of the latest additions to the Drama genre:

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 An artist defined Open in new Window. (E)
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#2068122 by Not Available.


And if you are looking for a Christmas contest:

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#1190255 by Not Available.

 
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Ask & Answer

The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Drama Newsletter Team


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