Normal?! I hope my life remains a succession of non-normal events then, with many surprises and laughs..just like Christmas 
it's all too artificial and focused on money for me Teresa. I hear young parents complaining that they have maxed out on the credit cards, I see people selling brand new, unplayed with toys on Ebay and Car boot Sales and for many people it is a hugely stressful time. families fall out over who is going to spend the day with which parents and some siblings won't go if others will be there.
Nobody really NEEDS anything these days and shops are just happy to sell people all the useless tat. I volunteered for many years in a charity shop and just days after Xmas people brought in all their unwanted gifts. Slippers, dressing gowns, books, CDs, preserves, perfumes, diaries and calendars, scarves and hats and DVDs. I will never forget one woman who brought in a couple of bin liners of presents all still wrapped up! I said “are you sure you meant to donate these because they are all sealed.†She said “people always buy me stuff I don't want so there's no point even looking.â€
Then there are those who can't really afford to go round the whole extended family buying gifts but feel obliged to because people buy for them. My daughter's boyfriend is a good example. he was between job's last winter and was almost skint but his family do this weird thing of TELLING each other what they would like! I told him to explain that he was on a very limited budget and would only be buying token gifts but he said the whole family would turn against him if he did that. So he ended up buying one brother some expensive garden shears which he asked for and he got some Shower gel and shampoo in return! It will be the same again this Xmas no doubt.
Quicker we get back to normal life the better! 🙂
