Would you cancel Christmas?

Former_MSE_Debs

Poll started 16 Dec 2013

It's nearly here. For some it conjures a picture of smiling children, fun, family and festive frivolity; for others it means stress, present pressure, debts and chores.

So if we had a big red CANCEL CHRISTMAS button that'd make the whole thing disappear (and just add the days to your holiday entitlement), would you press it?

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dgwebster

I hate the even steven culture: if you spend £10 on my child I'll spend £10 on yours etc. You dont need to spebd the same, you just need a gift the person would like and enjoy.

This year I have spoiled my children, but we can afford to do so this year. In previous years they have simply went without, weve went second hand etc.

DigForVictory

No! I've survived this far, spent (most of) the money, had (some of)the hassle - don't you dare hit the red button!

Unles you have a memory zapper like the men in black, & can also modify my fridge, freezer & offspring....

Why couldn't you have asked back at the start of November, as I'd have broken my thumb on the button & thought I'd got a good deal...!

Torry_Quine

No I wouldn't cancel Christmas as it is when I celebrate the birth of Jesus. People don't need to spend a fortune and eat to excess though.

notanewuser

Yes I would. Absolutely.

[Deleted User]

I don't even celebrate it, but wouldn't consider wanting to cancel it. There needs to be more reasons to bring families together, not less

It's a shame there isnt a British versions of Thanksgiving; something secular that people can use as an excuse to get together and share a meal with their extended family

SpecialBrew_2

I wouldn't cancel Christmas, especially if it was to stop people getting into debt. With logic like that, you'd have to cancel all the other big calendar items that cause some people to throw caution to the wind and abandon all common sense.

About £200 of the debt in my siggy was acquired after I went away on my summer holiday this year, and got caught in a 'clobbered by bank charges' cycle that I didn't see coming due to a lengthy fit of head-in-the-sand-itis. I could do without that debt, but hold my hand up to it and own it - it's certainly not justification for cancelling the summer holiday season for everybody else.

Most of my Christmas is being paid for by Amazon vouchers squirreled away over the months (the result of doing a ton of surveys), plus careful budgeting which has allowed me to put away a few quid at a time for Christmas and pay off my debts at an affordable rate (I've paid off more than my siggy shows - at the time of posting I'm just too idle to update it). For month after month we've lived tight here and counted the pennies and there will be quite a few more months of it to come. Our 'budgeted for' Christmas is a welcome highlight in the middle of all this tight-waddery, and it strikes me that the idea of cancelling the event could only come from either a scrooge or someone with enough money to throw about that the thrills of Christmas come all year round. So cancel your own - you ain't canceling ours

As for separating the responses according to gender - I realise that this is just a bit of fun and so I shall restrain myself a bit here - this is skewed and pointless if you don't know why the majority of men visit the site and why the majority of women do. Perhaps most of the menfolk just aren't interested in answering polls and are busily scouring the Grabbit Board for Christmas presents or twelve foot high inflatable Santas instead. This is the 21st century - anything is possible

torbrex

I personally cancelled it over 30 years ago, nothing would make me ever want to celebrate the birthday of a person that was never born.

one2escape

My major problem its one day that people worry about year round for I know people who started saving and shopping for Christmas in March. how can this be right? People overspend on a dinner(s) and presents and normally ends up in disappointment in either exhaustion or in a drunk mess at lunchtime on actual Christmas Day. They you have the build up to christmas with shops starting in October and then theres all the "dos" beforehand.

I used to like Christmas but as the years go on it becomes more and more a drag and its getting close to hating it.

paulwellerfan

yeah i hate christmas.
however i do enjoy the boxing day sales.
so can you have the one without the other?

[Deleted User]

As someone who works in retail, my Christmas starts in mid-September.

Endless team meetings, preparation, extended opening hours, enforced festive cheer, and by December swings around, I'm sick of the whole thing.

But then again, if I had the choice, I'd also make Sunday trading illegal again. It would make family life so much better to have a mandated day each week where the whole family can get together without someone having to go off to work, or someone running off to "just pop into town for a few bits".