I hate Christmas. Who's with me?

Georgiegirl256

Pollycat wrote: »

I agree it's way too early!
Do people just lurch from Halloween to Christmas?

As soon as the witches hats go away, the Christmas decorations come out?

I don't buy many presents, we give money to my sister & niece and my nephew gives me a list (usually including the Argos catalogue number, bless him :rotfl:).
.

In our shops the halloween and Christmas things sit side by side on the shelves. They don't even wait for the witches hats to go away before bringing the Christmas stuff out! :rotfl:

I used to do that re the Argos catalogue!

jaylee3 wrote: »

BLEH!!!

Ha! Grumpy cat!

jaylee3

:D:D I love Grumpy Cat Georgie.

C_Mababejive

When i was a kid i was brought up in relative poverty. We lived off charity. Commercialism and materialism are foreign to me and that which is exhibited at xmas is ugly and i want no part of it. I am more than content just to share a meal with family and friends and be thankful that we are all alive and doing ok.

If someone foolishly asks me what i want for xmas i just say i want nothing..and then it is they who have a problem with it ,not me.

Georgiegirl256

jaylee3 wrote: »

:D:D I love Grumpy Cat Georgie.

He's brilliant! :rotfl:

jaylee3

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

He's brilliant! :rotfl:

That is literally me 50% of the time! :rotfl:

faerielight

I hate it so much.. I've got no family, no partner, it's miserable for me

jaylee3

faerielight wrote: »

I hate it so much.. I've got no family, no partner, it's miserable for me

(((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))) We are all here for you sweetie. :j:beer::)

System

On the one hand i love christmas, i love buying people presents and seeing the happy (hopefully!) look on their faces when they open them BUT every year fr the past 6/7 years i've had a depressive episode around christmas, which isn't easy to deal with. I remember last year my family were sat around the table playing games, and i had retreated to my "room" crying and overcome with depression.

This year will be my first away from home as i'm spending it with the bf and his family, i'm hoping a change of scenery might help with the depression.

I'm afraid i'm also one of those people who puts up their xmas tree in thelast week of november and wears xmas jumpers at work as soon as i'm allowed to

Skint_yet_Again

I don't hate Christmas but I do hate the commercialism and the long run up to it. By the time Christmas day gets here I'm a bit fed up of it all

jp1964

This is a really interesting thread, I simply cannot hate Christmas, well, only a couple of minor things that I don't have to buy into, and reading this has made me think and consider what I do like most about Christmas, although I do appreciate that many people don't feel about it the way I do, and some have a pretty hard time of it at Christmas.

I love the fact that all our family have time off work over the Christmas period, and can be together, I love buying them all gifts, not hugely expensive ones by any means, but for us it is all about the sense of occasion more than the actual gift, and the laughter it usually brings.

I love cooking for everyone, although everyone helps with veg prep/setting table/washing up/loading dishwasher etc, Christmas dinner is after all just a bigger version of a roast dinner with a few extra sides, and I bake ahead for our boxing day buffet so no pressure other than putting a few things in the oven and plating up food for the table. I enjoy planning the extra treats to buy and make, this year I am making my 86 year old Mum a hamper of treats and looking forward to getting things for that, things from Lidl, Aldi and bit of M&S as well will be included!

I love the run up to Christmas and all the excitement, and yes that includes the TV adverts, we all have a laugh at the over the top gifts suggested and plugged on TV , and the fact that everyone just HAS to have a new sofa/ oak furniture/ massive telly etc every Christmas!

I love the Christmas songs in the shops and on the radio, and the dark chilly evenings with all the lights on in the shops, even though I only tend to do a few last minute things by the time it gets close to Christmas, and can wander around and enjoy the atmosphere.

I love putting a real tree up in the dining room around the end of the first week in December, and decorating it with beautiful and well loved old decorations we have had for years.

We send a few cards to people we don't really see that much but don't go in for massive heaps of cards to everyone for no reason, we also don't buy for adults other than our own kids and our Mums, DH and I usually buy each other a small gift too.

I love the 1st December when I light my Dad's annual advent candle by his picture, he passed away on the first day of Advent eight years ago, and it means a lot to me to commemorate him and make him part of our Christmas every year, seeing his happy smiling face lit by the candlelight reminds me of how much he gave to us with his positive and cheerful disposition and yes, he loved Christmas, so really fitting! So sad but happy and grateful, I miss him so much but in a way he still remains with us.

I feel so grateful that we have our five children now all grown up with the youngest being 17, and enjoy the memories of Christmases gone by, the sea of wrapping paper and excited little faces as they grew up, and now we have one fianc! on board as well (my sixth 'child' as he is affectionately known!), no doubt other partners will eventually join our midst.

We don't forget other people who are not so fortunate, though, and we give a couple of boxes of essentials to our local facility for homeless people each year, who I donate to all year as well, and who do a fantastic job of making sure that Christmas is made a little better for the people who use their services.

I hate, however, the horrendous 'Black Friday' kind of commercialism, and the pressure that some families seem to put themselves under to buy things way over the top, hugely expensive gifts for kids, it seems obligatory in some families for a three year old to have such things as a tablet these days, whatever happened to little cheap gifts for kids and maybe some must have small toy or game, ours always were told that bigger gifts come from us and Father Christmas only brings smaller gifts, and that they could ask for a couple of specific things and for some little surprises!

I fail to understand why people try to outdo each other or impress people by going completely over the top, then grumble how stressed they are with it all. Puzzles me.

We have only ever done a couple of Boots Star gift promotions predicted on here for things that our adult girls really love, that is the extent of commercial pressure for us, just getting a couple of Soap and Glory boxes last year before they sold out!

We have usually stayed at home, but for the last couple of years have rented a farmhouse, first in the Lake District and last year North Wales, which were a great success, but this year we are at home again, partly due to finances, and partly because eldest daughter is going to her fianc!s Mum's home for Christmas Day, and will be with us on Boxing Day.

So that's my thoughts on it all!