Musings on the holiday season

Christmas and the holiday's are my favourite time of year. They are also my least favourite time of year. Here's why:

Favourite:

• Seeing the family again all in one place.
• Eating mothers cooking - and lot's of it!
• Spending time with my two nephews and 1 niece (3,4, & 7 years old).
• Having my 3 years old niece come over to me occasionally, hold her hands up say 'Cuddle!'.
• Watching the kids open their presents on Christmas Day (if you want to see what a "short attention span" is, three kids under 8 on Christmas Day is the way to do it).
• Christmas cake, Tea and Mature Cheddar Cheese. Don't knock it until you've tried it....
• Playing "Pass the Pigs" with kids who don't understand that the object is to pass the pigs before you lose all your points.
• Christmas dinner with crackers and Christmas pudding.
• Catching up with friends I haven't seen for a while.
  
• Wallace and Gromit
  

Least Favourite

• Having to do the shopping for everyone.
• Writing cards and sending them (although I now tend to donate to charity instead).
• Working out they happy medium between watching what everyone wants (parents: soap opera's, brother-in-law: soccer & war movies, kids: SpongeBob, me: movies).
• Trying to coax three kids into eating a plate of food when there's gifts to play with and SpongeBob to watch...
• Having to negotiate holiday traffic to get to the family.
• Having to negotiate holiday traffic to get back home.
• Having to negotiate holiday shoppers when returning or exchanging gifts.
• Finding out that something you've given as a gift isn't working correctly and needs the receipt so it can be changed.

Well it's all over for another year. Hopefully over the next 12 months there will be new friends to meet, new adventures to have, some great weather over the summer to let me catch up with the golf, and another Happy Christmas at the end of it.

What are your favourite/ least favourite things about Christmas?