How Many Day Till Xmas In The Uk?

Xmas is over before it started, what about you?

• Hey I really cannot sleep at the moment and its Xmas tomorrow and i was wondering how this year is going to be for you guys and how you celebrate Christmas. Here is my story: Ok, well I'm 21 from the UK. Where i live there is no jobs at all, I've done a lot of voluntary work. My most recent was at a college near me for Children with Disabilities which ranged from mild Learning Difficulties to the more extreme Terrible Palsy. Because i don't have a job, many assume I'm scum and not having a job is something I'm not proud of but the only job i can get is one which i cannot get too due to the public transport not running early enough so I'm stuck in some loop hole until something local comes up. At the moment, I have to have a car to get to work but i need to work to get a car. My last job was a few month back, I had to walk 5 miles to get to a destination then a 2 hour walk over hills (No roads/paths) to get to the actual job as where i worked was on the moors on the hills. Worked this job for around 2 month and i got paid around £30 for it in total and everyone who worked there was done over by this guy which the job center "told us about" then they laughed it off when i told them i got done over. I went to college but as i came out the crunch hit really hard and lots of companies closed and no one was taking on. It was difficult i guess but i knew people had it worse. At home i live with my Dad and my Brother. My dad is now in his 50's, has COPD (Life Threatening lung disease) hearing problems, 60 something % use of his leg and struggles to work and also has really bad depression which he will not leave the house. It was only last week i got him to finally go to the doctors after 3 years of persuading him. He is a great guy, he will give you his last penny and has worked since he was 15 until his work place closed down about 5 years ago. He now gets treated like dirt from the employment places. The reason I'm putting this is because i don't want people to jump to the guns quickly making assumptions. I'm not what you call a "Good Guy" but i guess i do my best and live my life for others. My dads mother (My Granma) helps us when she can with money as our cupboards are pretty much always empty. Its horrible stuff really and i know a lot of you may relate to this. Anyway, i never let things drag me down regardless of how low they have gone.. So i was in high spirits for Xmas. We have a small family who are not close so on Xmas day i Invited my little brother up who lives with my mom. My mom is at her boyfriends about 60 mile away so he was on his own although hes 19. I give every penny to my dad for the bills and a little food just as my older brother does but this year, i decided I was going to order some food, maybe online.. a Turkey and cook a real Xmas dinner for my Dad and 2 of my brothers with the £50 a week i get from the benefit office (Which i am ashamed to say) and when i went to them, they told me because its Xmas they will be paying me on the 22nd of December due to not being open for Xmas. On the 21st of December. I was looking for some recepies as I'm rather a good cook although it will be the first real dinner we've had so i wanted to make it special. I found some nice things and xmas was only 4 days away. On the 22nd of December, I checked my account online and the money was not in. I decided I'd give it another day before contacting them just in case they made a mistake.. 23rd of December comes and still nothing so i ring them, explain the situation.. what i was told by the staff at the Job Center about being paid early and they say i won't be paid whilst the 3rd of January so i was completely gutted really. That was our Xmas over. I love the whole Xmas Spirit.. the Music, Coldness (weirdly enough) and even the Smell! but it was a real blow. We don't normally have presents, when we was younger we did but since my parents split that went so i thought it would be nice to do the whole dinner thing for us 4. This is my reality of Christmas this year and how the whole crunch has hit us. Its kind of awful but i know people have it just as bad. Anyway, good or bad, whats your Xmas going to be like this year? or are you in a similar situation to myself? It would be nice to hear your story.. Just because mine hasn't turned out as planned, still post your Xmas story for this or the past years.. It'll be nice to read them and see how other people have, cope or even deal with it :p Merry Christmas to you all! and have a wonderful new years! If any of you are a little stressed out or fancy a chat.. just mail me and I'll get back to you! I'll be on here for a few hours :) [email protected] My name is not dan by the way.. It was a moment of randomness :) <3

• Answer:

  Hey dude, sounds like things havent gone completely your way so far in life - but who's life is perfect? Just reading your post made me realise how generous of a person you actually are.. And thats what this time is all about - dont worry if you cant have a fancy dinner, as-long as you made the effort (its the thought that counts) and you are spending the time with your loved ones. I like to believe in a little thing called Karma and you better believe it when it comes knocking on your door, Have a Great Christmas and hope that good luck comes in the New Year - God Bless.