#surviving the holidays

[sunrisethoughts02]

just some holiday reminders!!

It’s okay to have complicated feelings about the holidays (even if you used to really love them).

it’s okay to hide in the bathroom/take a step outside for some deep breaths.

it’s okay if events or activities meant to be ‘fun/recreational’ (like shopping, cookie decorating, etc) are stressful or tiring for you.

remember that it’s okay to rest 💜

it’s okay to set boundaries even around family (‘I don’t feel like talking about that right now, etc’)

you deserve to be hydrated, rested, and well fed 💜

There is no wrong way to feel about something! There can be so much shame around struggling in a season famous for being filled with ‘love and joy.’ You aren’t alone and you are loved 💜💜

[itgetsbetterproject]

The holidays can be tough for some people, especially if you're not out to your family yet, or you're spending time with family who aren't the most accepting.

So we got some truly pro advice from our It Gets better Twitch Ambassadors! Watch more from our Chosen Family stream.

[voguegenics]

How to Survive the Holiday Stress Season Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Wine)

🎄 Ready to survive the holiday madness? 🙃 Check out our funny, relatable guide on handling holiday stress—from family drama to shopping fails—without losing your cool (or your wine). 🍷✨ #HolidaySurvivalGuide #FunnyHolidayTips #StressFreeHolidays

Ah, the holidays! A time of festive cheer, twinkling lights, and… endless to-do lists that make you question every life choice you’ve ever made. If you’re like most women, the holiday season brings joy, but also a boatload of stress. Between planning parties, making sure your kids don’t set the house on fire while baking, and somehow squeezing into those festive outfits (despite an unhealthy…

[streetlightsflicker]

I’ve used “maybe! :)” before and it did in fact work. People kinda don’t really know where to go from there, and the added swift redirect is all you need. 

Them: “Well, you should have gone into tech or medicine if you wanted to make a living wage. Just get a better job! *Eye roll* kids these days don’t value real work anymore.” 

Me: “Maybe! :) Isn’t this hummus amazing by the way? I can never get mine to turn out this good. I think the secret is adding the right amount of lemon.” 

You can use this an infinite number of times and they’ll either never catch on, or they’ll get so annoyed they just leave you alone. You didn’t refute what they said, you didn’t affirm it either, and nothing gets escalated. Win/win in a situation you can’t leave! 

there are a lot of posts out there that are positive and healthy coping mechanisms for handling the holidays. this is not one of them :)

i think there's like. going to be times in your life you will be stuck in a social situation that you cannot escape from gracefully. i do not know why the internet doesn't believe these times exist. it's not always just that your physical safety is at risk - sometimes it's legit like "i just don't currently have the energy or time to put in the effort of responding to this." sometimes it's a coworker you hate so much. sometimes it's just like, fine, you know? like you know you can handle your aunt when she's cheerily horrible, but if you actually set a boundary around her, it's going to be weeks of fallout with your father.

i don't know why people think the answer is always just "cut them out!" or "don't let them get away with that!" because ... the real world is tricky and complicated. i think kind of a lot of us have an internal "radiation poisoning" meter for certain people. like - i'm talking about the ones who are absolutely giving you gradual ick damage. like, you can handle them, but you'll be exhausted.

and yes. you absolutely should listen to your therapist and the good posts about handling others and set good boundaries and take care of yourself. prioritize peace.

HOWEVER :) ...... since im often in a situation with a Gradual Sense of Ick person i cannot just "cut out" of my life (without losing someone else precious to me) - i have sort of developed the most. maladaptive form of mischief possible. because like, if i'm going to have to listen to this shit again, i like to have a little bit of private fun with it.

now! again, i am physically safe, just mentally drained by this man. you should only do this with people you are not in danger with. which leads me to my suggestions for when your Unfortunate Acquaintance shows up and says oh everyone pay attention to me.

my favorite word is "maybe!" said as brightly and happily as possible. whenever the Horrible Person starts in on a topic you do not want to go further with, particularly if they make a claim that you know to be inaccurate, do not respond to it. you and i have both tried to actually argue with this person, and it hasn't gone well, because this person just wants the drama of an argument. however, "maybe!" gives them literally nothing to go on. it is incredibly disarming. they are used to people having some response. they know they can't prove what they're saying, and maybe! treats them like the child they are. it dismisses them in the politest way possible.

i like to say maybe! and then, in their stunned silence, immediately change the subject. this is because i have adhd and i will have something unrelated to talk about, but if you can't think of topics fast enough, i recommend just pointing to something and saying, "isn't that lovely?" because fuck you let's bring in some positivity.

by the way. that second trick - of pointing to something and stating an opinion about it? - that just works on its own, like, 70% of the time. i picked it up from teaching preschoolers. it's an intentional "redirect". it stops children crying and it also stops grown adults from finishing their explanation on why women belong in kitchens. dual wielding!

keep it silly for yourself. i absolutely do not care if people think i'm fucking stupid (it's more fun if they do) and as a result i will purposefully misunderstand things just to see how long it takes them to realize i've completely removed them from the subject at hand. when they say "women aren't funny" i get to be like. "which women." "all women." "all women in america?" "no in the world." "like the mole people? the people in the world?" "what? no. like, alive." "oh are we not counting the mole people?" "what the fuck are you talking about." "you don't believe in the mole people?"

similarly, i play a personal game called "one up me." my Evil Acquaintance literally knows this game exists (my family & friends caught onto it and now also play it) and it always fucking gets him. i don't know why. you have to be willing to be a little free-spirited on this one, though. the trick is that when they make one of those horrible little bigoted or annoying comments they are always making, you need to go one unit weirder. not more intense, mind you - just more weird. "you don't look good in that dress." "yeah, actually, my other dress was covered in squid ink due to a mishap at the soup store." "you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." "wait, what? oh shit. sorry, your son tears off strips when no one is looking and eats them. i swear it was longer before we left the building."

the point of "one up me" is to completely upend this person's narrative. we both know this person likes setting up situations where you cannot "win" and then they really like telling other people how badly you handled it. in a usual situation, if you respond "please don't say something that rude", you're a bitch. but if you let it happen, you're letting yourself be debased. they are not usually expecting door number three: unflappably odd. because what are they going to say when they're telling everyone how badly you behaved? "she said my son eats her dresses" ".... okay?"

if you can, form an allyship with someone whomst you can tagteam with. where they can pick up on your weird "soup store" story and run with it.

the following phrase is amazing and can be deployed for any situation: "oh, be nice :) it's the holidays!" i do not know why this works as often as it does. i'll say it for the most random shit. i think this is bc most of the time these people know they're being impolite, they just like to fight.

godbless. when in doubt, remember that you could always start stealing their pens.

the whole point of this is - if you can't escape. maybe see how long you can just be. like. a horrible little menace.

[has-the-gavle-goat-burned-yet]

2023 Gävle Goat!

Well it’s getting to that time of year again, and our watch of the Gävle Goat approaches.

Our thirteen-meter tall straw friend will be inaugurated on December 3rd, and will stand for the holiday season (or until it burns).

Watch the live stream of the goat here!

Looking forward to another burn watch this year!

[soothedcerberus]

1 min doodles of the survive partners i slapped some color onto,,

[hollyida]

The Letter

It’s been 5 years since I wrote my family’s annual holiday letter. Since my brother, Phil, died on July 23, 2017, I’ve had no desire to write a happy holiday letter, or any holiday letter at all. My favorite time of year became the time of year I dreaded. I no longer dread Christmastime, but I also don’t look forward to it like I used to. I enjoy the music, the lights, the gift giving and…

[fragonreal]

some things I drew on joy doodle cuz that was the only app that worked while my power was out

[duchi-nesten]

My Holiday Truce gift for @therealsirsticker ! Happy Truce!

My brain immediately mashed the Amorpho and Vlad getting canceled prompts together the moment I saw them hahah they just fit (no clue what they did to cancel him though but it must have been horrible if there’s 14.5K tweets under #CancelVladMasters like dang….)

Its a little silly but still I hope you enjoy! :]

[whispers-of-gallifrey]

It's thinking about Maxwell and Jacobi hours

[darkstalker-void]

Happy Chrysler

[manderleyfire]

And last but least, District Twelve girl . . . she belongs to Coriolanus Snow.

[jaratedeguadalupe]

they do this every year to his dismay

[gayferrari]

charles and his little group of friends is sooo endearing to me… like idk it’s just so rare to have a circle of friends that stays with you like that through thick and thin and even in spite of charles literally becoming an f1 driver and one of the most recognizable faces in sports. it can be easy to lose your way but it’s a testament to how grounded he is as a person that they still have that special bond and it makes me miss my friends even more

Charles and his boyband are SO cute, unfortunately I'm not immune. He's such a ride or die, he loves his tiny ass fake theme park of a country and his posse of middle school friends that takes everywhere and gets to pose in his peroni sponsored holiday photos. I relate bc I'd do the same with my friends from when I was 8 years old if I became a super famous multimillionaire overnight. It's adorable