First... got back from a "family" (extended) quasi-Christmas meal/gathering today; and just a few notes:

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1. They call this "Christmas"? Notably absent was anything to actually DO with "Christmas" at all -- we're talking not only nothing "Christian" but really not even any of the (so called) traditional "Christmas-y" stuff -- i.e. no Christmas music (neither religious NOR secular), no Santa Claus, no Rudolph, not even "Frosty the Snowman" or "elf on the shelf" decoration stuff... zip, zilch, nada.

Everything was all Disney crap, everywhere... The snowman and reindeer have become the "Frozen" Disney CGI things (I think "Olaf" and "Sven"???). The little kids (and apparently most/all of the parents as well) are entirely OBSESSED with that film -- they seem to have the entire thing memorized from multiple (dozens, apparently even hundreds) of viewings.

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2. Got (basically was FORCED) to end up watching that ABYSMAL film. Believe it or not I have managed (for multiple years now) to successfully AVOID seeing "Frozen" (or indeed even hearing the "Let it go" craptastic song). Good GAWD what a hollow, shallow, ridiculous piece of valid, putrid crap THAT was.

There really are NO WORDS to describe all of the "pure shite" (feminist, Mary-Sue, anti-evil-male, cuckoldry, etc) that film manages to contain, all the while being ABSENT anything that even remotely resembles a "plot" or character development. (And how in the world anyone -- even an ignorant toddler -- could manage to watch that even a second time, much less over and over again -- well I just cannot fathom.)

Weirdest thing I noted was that the two main female characters' parents ostensibly DIED (in some horrendous ship thing I think, it went by so fast, it's hard to say) -- but NEITHER of their daughters seemed to even take NOTE of the tragedy -- not even "crocodile" tears, it was just tossed off as an "oh well..." ephemeral & apparently trivial sub-plot-non-point (a trivial "road bump").

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Then there was the whole dinner thing...

3. Oy Vey! the amount/level of female "whinging"! The wife of the couple who's home this was at... well, when calling people in for dinner (and pushing for it to be FAST before things got cold, etc), she felt she HAD to make a special note about how much/how hard she had "worked/slaved" to get it all ready (particularly noting getting it all ready "at the same time")...

So, given that lead-in, I was half-expecting this to be some "feast" of grand proportions. (I mean this was THE "MAIN" famly holiday gathering -- and while this woman has NEVER been some "great cook" -- I figured maybe, just maybe, some miracle happened, and she'd somehow managed to commit herself to making some REAL, huge ham/turkey & all the fixings, etc etc etc).

Bwahahahahahaha! On seeing the "spread" I almost burst out laughing -- now, maybe she was being intentionally "sarcastic/ironic" about the "all the work" (and I just wasn't getting some "joke") -- because the spread was... Deli-sliced-ham being heated/kept warm in a slow-cooker; powdered-herb-mashed potatoes in a casserole dish (i.e. box mix, or who know maybe even deli-made & reheated?); vege-bean-mix in a third (microwaved out of a can, I saw the cans in the garbage); and the rest... well store-bought buns (not even warmed) along with cherry-whipped-cream "fluff" (also from Deli, still in deli container).

Oh, and not even served at the table everyone was sitting at... this was all "serve-yourself in a line" cafeteria-style on the counter. (About the only surprising thing was that it wasn't being served with paper plates & plastic utensils -- not exactly "china" either, but still, actual plates and metal utensils.)

Quite frankly I (me, single, bachelor/MGTOW guy) often put more "cooking" skill/work/effort into making a typical evening meal FOR MYSELF than this woman did for a whole array of family.

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NOTE: For context, I haven't been to one of these (the "extended" family) event things for several years... for all I know this IS what has become the "tradition" of late (in which case I haven't "missed" anything at all by not attending the past few years -- think I'll go back to that next year).

At least the conversation was simply (i.e. only) vapid, banal & superficial -- chiefly kids (and more Disney crap) etc -- no arguments over politics, not much for "gossip" either (thankfully) and etc. -- really NOTHING of any note or intelligence, just trivial stuff about kids, consumer & 'thing on TV' crap (which I essentially just ignore).