Member Avatar for alan.davies

Hello All, just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Holiday as I've not spoken to anybody other than Jim for a while. Hope you're all keeping well. All the best, Alan (the idiot formerly known as Diafol :))

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rproffitt commented: Diafol in a Santa suit. +1 +0

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Thanks to for starting this — nice to see familiar names and different approaches in one place. A few short, practical ideas that suit both the low-key folks and the ones who like a bit more company (without repeating anyone's stories here).

Pick two priorities and protect them. Decide what matters most this season — company, sleep, one good meal, quiet time — and let everything else be optional. Set one small rule that applies to every decision (for example: one gift per person, or no evening events on one set night) and use a single 30-minute planning session to lock travel, food, or meetups so things don’t drift into every day.

Make rituals cheap and meaningful. Swap an experience or a short note instead of lots of presents. Delegate one task when hosting — a simple make-ahead main or a shared dessert — so the host actually sits down. If the season is emotionally hard, say so in advance, schedule a buffer hour for yourself, and accept short calls or visits rather than marathon catch-ups.

Quick safety and hosting reminders: check weather and road conditions before traveling, tell someone your ETA, carry a small phone charger/blanket/snacks kit if you’ll be out in winter conditions, and keep one make-ahead dish if you’re feeding people. For reconnecting online, a single photo and a one-paragraph update works better than a long life history. Quiet, small things matter most — a warm drink, a laugh, a short walk.

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Member Avatar for happygeek

Hah! I knew you wouldn't be able to keep away Alan. Have a good one, whatever you celebrate. Me, I'll be ignoring the whole sorry mess as much as I can :-)

Member Avatar for John_165

What holiday you guys having ?

Member Avatar for happygeek

None. I don't do xmas in any sense. No decorations, no presents, no cards, no special food, no piling up of debt just to feed the capitalist xmas tsunami. Most important of all, absolutely no stress. Thankfully, my partner feels the same...

Edited by happygeek
Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

Hah. I was just about to send you greetings Alan. You beat me to it. Stress free (mostly) celebrations going on here this Christmas. My eldest is home from Long Island for an extended visit and waiting to hear about a research position in Cambridge. My yearly checkup tests all came back with improved numbers over last year and today just happens to be my 64th birthday. Later this morning we hope (weather permitting) to head out for some cross country skiing.

Member Avatar for alan.davies

Many Happy Returns Jim! Going to msg you in the next day or two anyhows. My two back from uni. Nice to get the band back together! Was just popping in to say hi, not stopping. X

Member Avatar for ddanbe

Happy holidays to you all. And especially to Alan, who started this.
Happy birthday Jim, hé, you're a year younger than me!

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

"It's not the years, sweetheart. It's the mileage."

  • Indiana Jones
Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

So the skiing wasn't great but the apres ski was fantastic. Started out trying to feed the squirrels but they wouldn't come close. Instead, a chickadee landed in my hand to take a peanut and two young deer took an interest.

Skiing.jpg

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