I was thinking of starting a thread for people having at tough time around the holidays, but since I saw your thread, it makes more sense to post here.

I am dreading the holiday season this year. Definitely feeling very "Bah Humbug". Relations with my family of origin are tense to non-existent, to put it nicely. I reached a breaking point earlier this year with them where I just could not deal with all their crap any more.

Similarly, my husband does not have a close relationship with his biological family. He was raised by his godmother, who passed away when he was 18 or 19.

I from the U.S. but live in South America. Christmas and New Year's Eve are always oppressively hot because it is summer, which I never seem to get fully used to.

Here Christmas, in particular, is very much a family holiday. So, in my case it is just me and my husband. The big meal is the evening of Christmas Eve. We usually cook something special and buy some good wine.

Where we used to live, we would get together with our neighbor friends for New Year's Eve. Unfortunately we are kind of far to go into the city now because we had to move to be able to purchase a home. Driving on New Year's Eve is never the greatest idea and the security situation in this country is such that driving late at night is not particularly safe. Staying somewhere in the city isn't a great option either, because the dogs would be alone for a long time. So, I guess it will just be us at home too.

All the imagery of these happy families celebrating this time of year definitely grates on my nerves.

At least we gave ourselves a little treat and bought a new grill as our Christmas present. I am sure we will grill something tasty on it for Christmas Eve.

Hugs to everyone that is having a rough time during the holidays!