Christmas is Coming!

[OrangeRakoon]

December is upon us, and with it the advent calendars go up as we begin the season of festivities. Yes, that's right, Christmas is coming! Here on SONM of course that means the opening of the Christmas forum for all your holiday discussion. The forum will be open for all of December into the new year, so get on over there and start getting in the festive spirit!

As you've probably already noticed, there is now also a wonderful Christmas banner adorning the top of the forum, created by the super-talented SONM member Casplen! As the winner, chosen by the mods, of the SONM Christmas Banner Competition for 2014, Casplen gets his banner used for the duration of December, along with a special tag in his profile. Congratulations Casplen, and also a big well done to all the other entrants - both the number and the quality of the entries in the competition was very high, and it was hard to pick just one favourite. We hope you all enter the next banner design competition we have, and better luck next time! And if you didn't enter this one, then we also hope this has inspired you to take part in the next!

We've got even more to get involved with and look forward to with the GAAW Christmas Project 2014, Countdown to Christmas! That will all kick off on 15th December, and will run up till Christmas Day itself, so look out for that!

[Edd]

But it's not December yet you MONSTER

[OrangeRakoon]

Sorry Edd :(

[K2.]

Ed's right, it's 50 minutes too soon, gosh

[TamzehVB]

You will close the Christmas forum once December is over, and not keep it up for a whole year, won't you?

[LostNoob]

Yay Christmas hype, also my birthday month, so yay for another wasted year.
Trying to find a more festive avatar now, because... reasons.

My mum hasn't brought me an advent calender this year, apparently 19 going on 20 is too old for such a "childish" thing, pfft, parents...
I'll buy my own on Tuesday

[Fabong]

Thank you based OR for the subforum I've been waiting for

[pokemaniac212]

God OR, how are we meant to keep the spirit of ONM if you're so god damn efficient all the time. Christmas forum should not be made until January and then stick around until some time in April.

[Casplen]

Woo. Thanks guys, for Christmas you've given me a near infinite amount of boosts to my general level of self satisfaction.

[Genericenemy]

Can you merge this board with Off Topic once its done with then? It was always irritating on ONM when they just made it inaccessible and all the posts we made inaccessible.

[Mr. EE]

Time to change to the Super ONM style.

The red background makes it look even more christmassey.

[Teair]

Will there be a Christmas sing-a-long like there was in the days of yore?

[Bix]

Carols with funny lyrics replacing the proper ones ... Aaaah Christmas !

[Jack]

i hate christmas

[Kriken]

This announcement means that it's official.

I like that this Christmas forum tradition has passed on to the new forum, anyway.

[Fieryice]

Christmas is coming!

Quickly, man the turrets!

[ABoxerWhoIsPacifist]

i hate christmas

WELL THEN gooseberry fool OFF SCROOGE

[kerr9000]

I can understand people hating Christmas, did you know that typically this time of the year has a high number of suicides ? I suppose any-time that is all about togetherness can magnify someone's feelings of isolation and loneliness.

I have a very mixed relationship with Xmas I grew up with a mum who loved it more than anything and a dad who didnt enjoy it. I always wondered why he was so grumpy never found out till years latter that his dad had died when he was 7 just before Christmas. I loved all of the presents the family time etc. Then I began to work in a bar when I was older and Christmas just meant more fights, more trouble, harder work and it took a lot of the shine off of it. Id see a lot of the bad side of it in one condensed time. Then when I left this line of work I had a few really nice Christmas times with my mum making huge meals again and all of her effort really making it seem almost magical again. Then one year my mum got sick out of nowhere went into hospital and died, Christmas was a few months latter. This was my first ever Christmas without her but worse than that my dad was in a state my daughter was still very upset and here I was trying to cook a Christmas meal, trying to buy presents. This Christmas will be the 3rd since she passed I think.

Id like to enjoy it again, to feel the magic and be honestly happy its here but it just leaves me in a mixed bag of emotions. It probably doesn't help that my fiancée goes home to her family for Christmas so I miss her as well, it leaves me with my dad who doesn't like it and my daughter who is depending on me to make it special and provide her with the good Christmas she deserves.

[OrangeRakoon]

On the plus side, the GAAW Christmas Project, Countdown to Christmas, has just launched!

[Ghost]

I can understand people hating Christmas, did you know that typically this time of the year has a high number of suicides ?

It's interesting that you should mention that as the thing I'm doing for the countdown is got to do with suicide.
But yeah, Christmas is definitely a "hate it or love it" thing. I used love it with all my heart but family conflict has made it a rather horrible affair of late. And then, as you said, some people die around Christmas which can ruin the event forever. Someone I went to school with recently died due to leaving the gas on in the cooker and falling asleep. I didn't really know him (he was two years behind me) but his family must find this Christmas extremely difficult.

[kerr9000]

I had done a Christmas themed computer painted replication of the famous picture the scream but then figured it was a bit morbid.

[Ghost]

It's been done :3

[kerr9000]

I really shouldn't be surprised ... I did a brief one it didn't have reindeer it had the santa hat though and then snow and fog in front of it all.

The thing is though that sometimes I think the look on that picture describes how I have felt at certain Christmas events, surrounded by people arguing and such wanting to just scream either because people are being so rubbish to each other or because you feel like trash inside and everyone expects you to be mega happy cause its Christmas time. I guess its a popular painting though and a common way to feel about it.

Its better than my effort anyways lol

[Ghost]

Wow, that's deep. Yeah, Christmas can feel like that at times. Just think though, only two more weeks and it will all be over

[Bee Doof]

Christmas came.