Holidays and Aspergers

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I've heard that people with Asperger's sometimes have trouble dealing with holidays.

Do you ever get overly exicted during the anticipation of holidays, especially the high-sensory ones such as Halloween, Christmas, and Easter? Or do you feel overwhelmed by all the different things to look at?

When I was younger and before I was on Zoloft, I used to get terribly excited on Christmas Day and become very hard to live with. I usually got into at least one argument with someone on that day. I would get nervous about opening presents, and get unhappy when there were no more left for me to be opened.

Even though I love parties, they can be difficult for me if I'm with my mother (I usually don't go to parties with my dad). My mother doesn't like it when I start talking to people nonstop. Gatherings are easy for me if I have someone to talk to and they're difficult for me if I don't.

I don't have visual-sensory overload, so I can handle all the sights of the holidays just fine.

What about you? What's your reactions to holidays like.

ohh i thought you meant holidays abroad when i saw the title.

i find christmas and halloween very tense, but i dont think i would if i didnt have to be around my family all day christmas
(tons of high-toned voices, my head cant cope when they are all shouting over the top of each other and then you have the tapping and scraping of cutlery, also deadly to me lol)
everything else apart from the family i love, especially the movies and the food. hate the media hype though.

I use to obesses about the major holidays during the days before them. On X-mas eve our family always went to visit the homes of the other family members. During that whole evening, my parents were constantly telling me to calm down and be patient.

Countdown to any event was always a hyperactivity festivel for me. I remeber in april 1991, my dad dragged me off to an auction that was taking place right after school. The auction began at 4:30pm, and as the minutes ticked off, every minute, I would call out loud "xxxxx MINUTES TILL AUCTION TIME!!" After the third time or so of doing this, my dad got fed up and told to shut up. I couldn't understand why he was getting upset and told him I was just letting everyone know how much time was left before the auction. My dad retorted that I either take part in the auction, or keep my mouth shut.

i think the phrase is 'stomach in knots'.......

I *hate* Christmas. I can't stand the corny music, the show of emotions, everything red and green, Santa Claus, the excitement, the buildup of tension beforehand, and so on. Most of all, I hate the whole gift-giving scene. I cannot afford to give everyone a present, and even if I did, I rarely have any idea of what they really want. My ideas of a pleasant gift are usually very different from what most of my family wants, and at any rate, I always feel guilty/stressed for having spent money (let's not even get into the whole shopping frenzy trip!! ! UGH!! !!).......

And then when I get the presents, it isn't generally something I want to get, and there are these expectant faces staring at me waiting for a reaction....how to tell them I would rather have had a microscope or a neat book or a cyclamen than some yucky red and green sweatshirt or other dreck? It isn't that I'm ungrateful, exactly, but I feel very awkward and uncomfortable about the gifts, as though I'm not good enough for them even though I don't even WANT the danged things! It is too much torment and not very much enjoyment.

Also, people seem to get all phony and false whenever there's a holiday. I've gotten to the point where I don't celebrate any holidays to speak of, except perhaps Thanksgiving (I like to cook and eat) and Chanukkah- the children like to light the candles and it is less stressful than Xmas.

Christmas is one of my obsessions. I enjoy the season because of the Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Mankind. It's the only time of the year when all of my family members can stand being in the same room together. However, I don't really care for New Years Day that much, because that's when our Tree comes down and it signals the end to my yearly Peacefest.

I love Christmas! I love the colors, the sacred music, the wonderful smells, the familiar decor. At home, that is. Green, red, and gold are my comfort colors. Cinnamon and ginger and vanilla are my favorite scents. My holiday decor has personal meaning for me, from the placement of the figures in the creche to the smallest ornament on the tree.

I hate the commercialism, the shopping, and the social games involved with gift-giving.

I dislike Christmas for the same reasons as Chamoisee. I hate the commotion which precedes the holidays, buying presents, etc. The social gatherings which follow are usually quite boring, and most presents that I get end up gathering dust, but I enjoy food. The worst thing about Christmas is that I have a rule saying that nobody should spend that holiday alone. I am a loner, but I don't feel lonely, except at Christmas. In 2002 nobody invited me and I ended up all alone. I went to the mountains and hiked in the company of buffalo and elks, everybody else happily celebrating Christmas with family or friends. Everyone except me.

Other holidays do not carry any emotional weight for me, and I do not feel a need to celebrate them. If possible, I use long weekends to go to the mountains.

I hate the build up to any kind of holiday but have a wonderful Husband who takes a lot of the pressure off me. I love going abroad as well but find the airport terrifying.

My favourite holiday is Christmas by far.

Debs

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There's always one - it just happens to be me

I don't like the way that everyone else gets excited about holidays - usually becasue it involves seeing family and friends and I don't have family and friends so it is like they are just reminding me of how antisocial and depressed I am . . .
I had a very hard time with that this last year . . . fortunately, I will be working Christmas this year so it won't be such a big issue . . .

As for shopping, I used to hate that, but now I do it all online, and I really love hunting for information/things online, so that is fun . . .

I have a hard time coming up with things to do for the few people I like to be around for their birthdays/anniversaries, other personal holidays, etc . . . I, of course, find them presents, but I would like to spend time with them, but I know that people don't like to spend time with me, so I never know what to do about that . . .

I don't like the build-up to holidays much. Life seems to get more hectic and stressful, and I don't usually have much to look forward to especially when I have no friends.

Most holidays mean little if anything to me, but it was not all ways the case. In my younger years i did not know most of them were 99 percent madeup and now days go a long with them to be nice and not rude to ppl who think those days are "important" The changing of the seasons and new years day in my mind are the only days worth having a holiday about. Most days to me are important do not need "important" days in the holiday sense.

I am of the school that doesn't like holidays on a particular date, but would not mind celebrating a surprise Christmas in the middle of July -- as has been presented in the Bugs Bunny series of cartoons. I like all the genuine spirit and good cheer that goes with it. Sure, there's fakery, and that ticks me off, but I know some people like a good friend of mine... she really digs the stuff. She plays Christmas music all-year round and she has such a cheery attitude about it. Some people need Xmas to forget about the pain that happens on all the other days of the year. It's kind of an escape avenue, and if it is for them, I can see why they take to it so merrily.

I do like to celebrate friends's b-days and stuff but I have great personal difficulties remembering them at times or figuring out what to do. Even "being there" can be awkward and anticipating a date if I know it's counting down can make thing worse. I don't observe my own b-day. Someday, I just might like to.

I wonder if there's a town that is happy 24/7, all-year round. Something out of a wondrous fantasyland. If so, I'd like to live there.

Arbitrary? Mais oui!

I do not care for most holidays, they make me feel like somethings expected of me, or I must be cheery when I don't feel that way or someone will ask me whats wrong when I am just not in the mood for it.

I don't anticipate very much of anything anymore.

Holidays stress me out. It messes up my routine, means a lot more people visiting; and people expect you to be sociable.