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Wish I was back in the UK!

Wish I was back in the UK!

Old Dec 24th 2014, 11:57 pm
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Default Wish I was back in the UK!

Days like Christmas really make me feel homesick and wanting to be back home. Christmas in the US is not the same as in the UK.

I keep on saying Merry Christmas to everyone when I remember it has to be "Happy Holidays"!!

Anyone else feeling the same?

Merry Christmas you'll....
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 12:16 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by brit_usa2014
Days like Christmas really make me feel homesick and wanting to be back home. Christmas in the US is not the same as in the UK.

I keep on saying Merry Christmas to everyone when I remember it has to be "Happy Holidays"!!

Anyone else feeling the same?

Merry Christmas you'll....
Yes - I don't really enjoy Christmas here very much. It's much more fun in the UK, more time off work, pantos, etc!! I guess while we are here, we just have to make the best of it (and I shall probably stay here due to family here). Merry Christmas to you!
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 12:41 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by brit_usa2014
Days like Christmas really make me feel homesick and wanting to be back home. Christmas in the US is not the same as in the UK.

I keep on saying Merry Christmas to everyone when I remember it has to be "Happy Holidays"!!

Anyone else feeling the same? .....
Only somewhat. Christmas does leave me feeling a bit deflated compared to being in the UK, but I still wish (most) people "Merry Christmas!" and I refuse to feel bad about that!
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 12:54 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

I'm feeling the same and I don't know why.

Obviously I've only been here a few months but deflated is exactly how I'm feeling
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 2:29 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by brit_usa2014
Days like Christmas really make me feel homesick and wanting to be back home. Christmas in the US is not the same as in the UK.

I keep on saying Merry Christmas to everyone when I remember it has to be "Happy Holidays"!!

Anyone else feeling the same?

Merry Christmas you'll....
Does not have to be Happy holidays , who told you that , most people in the US say happy Christmas , and they make a point of saying it too ..
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 2:59 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by Ruth16
Does not have to be Happy holidays , who told you that , most people in the US say happy Christmas , and they make a point of saying it too ..
Most people in the US say Merry Christmas (rather than Happy) don't they? I always say Happy and constantly get either corrected, or, more often, that "humour him, he's foreign" look
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 3:00 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by Ruth16
Does not have to be Happy holidays , who told you that? .......
In corporate America "Christmas" (the word) has been entirely squeezed out in favour of "the holidays".
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 3:02 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by BunnyGirl
I'm feeling the same and I don't know why.
It's odd, we were just talking about this earlier, and quite a few people seem the same this year. Not sure why - we've alternated one year here, one year in the UK for the last couple of decades, but for some reason this year, it just hasn't felt so "christmassy". Maybe it's because we haven't had the obligatory "what are you cooking for Christmas dinner" thread this year....
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 3:06 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

I'm delighted not to be dealing with UK supermarkets which are horrendous at this time of year.

We do appear to have British rain here though. A snowy Christmas would be nice but apparently not happening this year.
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 3:17 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by Yorkieabroad
..... Maybe it's because we haven't had the obligatory "what are you cooking for Christmas dinner" thread this year...
Seeing as you asked, an angus rib roast for Mrs P, little Miss P, and I, and a large bone-ribeye which will be incinerated "well done" for the in-laws , accompanied by roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, spouts and and sautéd mushrooms. Appetizer will be oyster stew, and poached pairs and chocolate cake for dessert.

Originally Posted by kins
.... We do appear to have British rain here though. .....
We've had three days of low cloud, fog, drizzle and light rain. I've been feeling all nostalgic about Christmases back home! With the damp it has felt miserably cold, but hasn't been anywhere close to freezing.

Last edited by Pulaski; Dec 25th 2014 at 3:25 am.
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 5:56 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

I've always enjoyed being away from home at Christmas - 30+ years now. I always found the obligatory 'family visits' to be a challenge; "...well, we have to go to Aunt Blah's this year because we went to Aunt BlahBlah last year ..." and so on. I've only been home once for Christmas since coming here, and I regretted it - cold, damp, dark. My first Christmas here, 1983, I drove to the Ocean at San Gregorio (on Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay) and sat watching the waves for hours. Then I visited a friend for dinner. Spending Christmas with friends was impossible back in the UK ... there was just no way to not attend family gatherings!

Sometimes I say 'Happy Holidays' just to stick it to the 'Fox News' religious types - Christians DON'T own the season - but I also say 'Merry Christmas' just to be anti-PC
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 6:51 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Originally Posted by Steerpike
I've always enjoyed being away from home at Christmas - 30+ years now. I always found the obligatory 'family visits' to be a challenge; "...well, we have to go to Aunt Blah's this year because we went to Aunt BlahBlah last year ..." and so on. I've only been home once for Christmas since coming here, and I regretted it - cold, damp, dark. My first Christmas here, 1983, I drove to the Ocean at San Gregorio (on Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay) and sat watching the waves for hours. Then I visited a friend for dinner. Spending Christmas with friends was impossible back in the UK ... there was just no way to not attend family gatherings!

Sometimes I say 'Happy Holidays' just to stick it to the 'Fox News' religious types - Christians DON'T own the season - but I also say 'Merry Christmas' just to be anti-PC
It felt like a non-event in the US for me but I'll see how it goes today for my kids - I know they are feeling the pull to California weather and their friends.
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 7:51 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

Several "merry christmas"es to me today, 7-11, supermarket, Lowes. Only hear "happy holidays" on radio, TV etc.

Traditional turkey for us tomorrow, looks like SWMBO snuck a few more guests in as usual but I'm on to her game now. Had an xmas eve party this evening where I supplied a smoked ham and smoked chicken which seemed to go down reasonably well. I've never brined chicken/turkey before (never needed to in the UK) but it does seem to give birds some flavour here. Five bottles of white chilling in the fridge.

For me, I don't find it that much different from the UK except no works Christmas do (more because I'm self employed than being in the US), and fewer drinking partners.
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 10:39 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

I say Merry Christmas to my Jewish, Muslim, Atheist and Agnostic friends, and "Happy Holidays" to the Christian ones. Nothing like a good wind-up !
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Old Dec 25th 2014, 10:45 am
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Default Re: Wish I was back in the UK!

I'd got all humbug about Christmas quite a few years before leaving the UK. The once-a-year drinkers cluttering the pubs, the decorations going up in August, the dumbing down of TV and ever increasing commercialism. I just got back a few days ago from a week in London and the only thing that tugged at my heartstrings and brought a tiny, regretful lump in my throat was the price of sprouts.

Fast forward a few years and in the US Mrs tonrob and I were blessed with a gorgeous baby daughter (relatively late in life but after years of trying). Christmas now has its spark back. Given there's less of what I'd call the "traditional" Christmas atmosphere out and about (at least the kind I remember from my childhood) I find myself becoming a lot more 'deliberate' about creating a sense of Christmas magic for her. Complicates matters a bit that as Mrs tonrob is German, so we have to have two Christmases (24th and 25th) backed up by two conflicting-storlylines and told in two languages, but in the end it all means double the fun.

Mrs tonrob did go a bit overboard this year by inviting her (non-English speaking) parents here to stay for a month, but hopefully normal service will be resumed next year.
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