The return of the recalcitrant blogger with a christmas rant

OK confession time. I hate Christmas. I have never enjoyed Christmas and never will. It holds no warm and fuzzy memories for me. I have been a much happier person since I refused to participate in it. No tree. No decorations. No presents (given or received). Nada. And thankfully, not since I was divorced nearly six years ago, have I had to endure the excruciating ritual known as the family christmas party. Its a time of year I just grit my teeth and can't wait until its over. As for the whole Father Christmas business....we bring our children up telling them the importance of truth and honesty and believing in what we as their parents tell them and then Christmas rolls around and we tell them the biggest whopper of them all.
As far as my side of the family goes, there is only mum and me these days. Mum will be 88 in a few days time. She comes and stays with me for a week over Christmas. I'm the only child, of an only child, of an only child, of an only child on my maternal line, and not a lot different on the paternal. So not a lot of extended family there. Explains a lot....do I hear you say?

Christmas has now,thankfully, been and gone and the new year has begun. I don't really make new year's resolutions but I plan on going out and having fun more this year. I feel like I've been a bit of a hermit during this past year. And now that at least part of the studio has moved into the house I plan on spending a lot more time in there too.