Saturday, December 26, 2015

Christmas without a TV

Christmas without a TV - no, it's not some unplugged family bonding ploy. It's the normal state of things in our house in the Village.

We have an actual television set, come on, we're not barbarians, but we have no cable or satellite service and have decided not to hook up the TV to the Internet. No Netflix for us. 

We do have a DVD player and a very modest collection of DVDs. We choose what to watch, watch it, and then turn the television off, however tempting it is to stay on the couch.


There are so many other things to do here in the Village. The kids have lots of toys, books, and games. We adults can read too or actually speak to one another. We all have bikes with gorgeous bike paths almost right outside our door. There's a new public pool nearby. There's an ice skating rink too. We can visit friends and neighbors. We can just be.



I am a bit sentimental at this time of the year. I do miss all the holiday movies. My kids have never seen any Kevin or Griswald movies (and off topic, I've never seen any "Star Wars" movies ever). I'd really like to watch "It's a Wonderful Life"* with them. What we don't miss is the incessant advertising for electronics stores. Last year there was such an annoying one, the poor pop star that sang the jingle was almost ruined. 

As we slowly wake up this Boxing Day, we are filled with possibilities of what we can do today. Yes, I'm planning to watch a couple of episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD, but I'm also planning to tackle some books, and make some cookies with the kids. Rosie will probably do something in her fashion design book, while Lizzie has plans to start in on her book of 500 brain teasers. I can already see that it's going to be a beautiful sunny day. I might go for bike ride or the kids might hit the pool. We don't have to do it all, but it's better to have too many fun options than too few.






*Remember "when you hear a bell ring an angel gets his wings" from "It's a Wonderful Life"? My father had a different take on that. He told us every time we ate a piece of candy from the tree, an angel died. We never touched the candy on the tree. Never ever.

How are you spending the holiday season?

9 comments:

Sallie said...

Your children are among the luckiest children on earth, Christa and Marek.

czarownica said...

We're taking the best of both cultures - celebrating Polish Wigilia (and get presents then) on 24th and English Christmas on 25th, we don't go shopping on Boxing Day though ;)
We watch Queen's speech and Mrs. Brown's Boys as a must, then different movies on TV or streamed/rented from wherever we pay subscriptions. This Christmas it's all about The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and part 2.

I'm impatiently waiting how our Christmas celebrations may change when/if my daughters marry/live in with their Irish and English boyfriends (and especially if they have theirs own children), probably first we'll give up presents after Wigilia, but I don't mind as long as nobody makes me attend the Midnight Service.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and family!

Chris said...

Thanks Sallie :)

I'm wondering the same thing about my girls :) But I disagree about the presents. Waking up to,presents under the tree, the American way ;), is so much more fun and not just for the kids. As you know everything is closed in Poland on Boxing Day forcing people to spend time with family, outside, or in front of the TV. Like you, we wouldn't go shopping even if we could.

We're going to visit friends today so the kids will play while the parents chat. I signed up to step aerobics and need a new pair of shoes for it, but I don't want to brave the mall today.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

czarownica said...

I won't regret moving presents to Christmas Day - It's not only much more fun, it's so much easier for the parents, too!
The night is long and you've got more opportunities to put them under the tree than just before the dinner and remain unseen.

Step aerobics, wow!

Chris said...

Polish Christmas Eve with American Christmas morning is awesome for parents. The children actually eat supper without ants in their pants. This year Lizzie ate 12 uszkas ;) Then they start stretching and yawning and declare that they are very sleepy and have to go to bed, leaving a lovely evening wide open for parents and Santa Claus to do their thing.

I highly recommend step aerobics. It works the biggest muscles in the body. If someone is less fit they just step, more fit they can step and hop. Three months twice a week is enough to see and feel results. Polecam :)

czarownica said...

Afraid it wouldn't go well with my prolapsed disc, I'm allowed pilates (and only with a trainer who's got the physio background), swimming and nordic walking. Will stick to it, but it's enough to keep fit.

Chris said...

Due to the fantastic weather, I'm still cycling. The step aerobics sign-up was because I was certain the weather would turn bad and I wouldn't get a chance to get out on my bike. How wrong I was!

Karuzela said...

My Christmas time ? Green tree and family meeting, because we are living in different places. Christmas Eve Supper, presents, carols. Go for a long walk. Fire place, good coffee and lot of cakes - ginger bread, cheese cake, walnut gateau [ specialite de la maison !]. I love holiday season !

Chris said...

Karuzela - That sounds like a wonderful Christmas. Coffee and cakes are a must for any holiday. We are now starting our second batch of Bigos, necessary for the New Year - sauerkraut on January 1st is a Pennsylvania tradition. Happy New Year to you!