I didn't miss the materialism of the holidays, especially birthdays and Xmas. Not getting presents wasn't that big of a deal. My parents usually did make up for it through other ways. I wasn't greedy...I seemed to appreciate what they could do and understood when they couldn't afford to.
There was one holiday that I did like and hated missing out on. I loved Halloween. The movies, the decorations, the candy, the whole spooky event was great...and I didn't get to enjoy it. I'd sit in the window and watch all the kids in their costumes walking up and down the street having fun and I was stuck inside with all the lights off to discourage them from coming to our house. When I got older, we started going to the movies on that night, unless it was a meeting night...which was even worse. Having to dress up in a suit on Halloween...oh the irony of it all...
Looking back I realize another thing that made me hate the holidays...the purposeful standing out in a crowd. Jews or other non-Christians would say "thank you" or even reply back with a "Merry Xmas" or "Happy Holidays" even if they themselves didn't celebrate. But not us. Noooo....we had to make an issue of it. "Oh, I don't celebrate Xmas...blah blah blah..." and try to use it as an inroad to witnessing to someone. I remember being encouraged early on to always say "I don't celebrate Xmas" whenever someone wished my a Merry one. No, it wasn't cool to just be polite and say "thank you". I even got in trouble for trying to skirt it by saying, "You too..."
We couldn't just be quiet and let people enjoy their holidays. We had to find a way to bash their beliefs. Whether it was the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, or enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving, it was the oppurtunity to drag their customs through the mud and try to establish ourselves as so much better than the rest of the world.