How do you stop yourself wanting all the things?

Think about the environmental impact of all this wasteful tat.

I'm also in camp "think of the landfill". If something (any time of the year) catches my eye, I look to see if I can find it or similar second hand. And sometimes just searching and adding stuff to favourites is enough to scratch the itch.

If I want something "new" for Christmas, I look for a (secondhand) game we don't have so that we have activities to rotate through December.

And all of it is plastic. Just this endless merry go round of ever changing plastics, none of which will biodegrade. Has no second hand value because it was all cheap to begin with. They are literally selling us things that are designed to be thrown away.

I don't think I am very materialistic. I've bought quite a few things for the house this week. They keep arriving and I have started to panic at my spending and this influx of stuff. I have to remind myself, the last time I decorated the rooms I'm revamping was when DC were in primary school. They left uni a few years ago! It's okay to replace a lampshade and tattered old blind!

Agree. I had to go into M&S yesterday to buy some things for someone else. There was relentless, hideous Christmas music blaring, the clothes were really badly displayed, and no regular sizes available - just lots of size 6 and size 22. I found myself swearing and muttering under my breath like a mad woman.

I remind myself that the happiest and longest lasting Christmas memories I have from my childhood are of my family and doing festive stuff together, not of "things".

And I think about the trash island floating in the sea and suddenly that tacky Santa mug isn't so appealing.

Reduce the air of materialism that surrounds you - delete the influencers/content creators/whatever they call themselves from your social media feeds. All they are doing is trying to entice you to click, click and buy, buy, buy to swell their own bank balances. Ignore the gift guides/pay-day treats nonsense. Stay away from the shops if you are unable resist buying needlessly.

Christmas themed clothing is naff, other than perhaps a Christmas jumper perhaps and pj’s and that’s only if last year’s doesn’t fit, Last year’s Christmas ornaments are perfect I’m sure and there’s always a fun nostalgia with opening up the boxes from previous years, maybe adding one or two new things a year. Until the year, you decide you’ve accumulated far too much, less is more and donate a lot of it.

You don’t need stuff to have a good Christmas. You don’t need a different outfit every day just to post cute photos on your own SM feeds. Your children will remember the board games you played, the decorating of the tree for five minutes until they get bored, the watching movies together, the going for a walk. They won’t remember the Christmas outfits or scented candles or whatnot.

Every time I get tempted with seasonal honewares I ask myself where they will live for the other 11 months of the year, then put them down again. I get it OP - I was in a garden centre at the weekend and there were some lovely autumnal and Christmas cushions and footstools but it's just so unnecessary when you think about it.

Reaches for the smelling salts, at the thought of all the box set gifts, full of tot, no one really wants, apart from 12year olds, being given as presents this Year, only to end up in charity shops, or the bin!

You exercise your self discipline and just choose not to buy it. It’s not actually very hard.

We have what we call the three day rule. If you see something you want (but don't need) you have to wait three days before you can buy it. 99% of the time you don't care about it any more.

I know the 'want' feels enormous at the time, but it really will disappear very quickly if you ride it out. Shops (online, real world, and that 24/7 interactive shopping channel that calls itself Instagram) are all designed to take advantage of the wave and make you buy stuff you don't want, not really.

I always ask myself what happens if I just don't buy it.

and how will I feel afterwards if I do?

All of the xmas tat is destined for landfill. You are just buying landfill waste.

I don't get any dopamine rushes from shopping. Except maybe for groceries when I buy sometimes good like favourite chocolate or something like that.

It's all just landfill.

Think of the slave labour that made most ot it and the toxic landfill most of it will become.

There is a big difference between WANTING something and NEEDING it.

This is so true. I have had a tricky financial year with one thing and another and this month is the first month in forever where I have no financial commitments (aside from the usual mortgage and bills). I have realised how much money I fritter away on crap that I don't need. Christmas is saved for all year long but I am absolutely not wasting money on crap neither of my DC need this year.

Will those xmas mugs etc really bring you happiness? I doubt it.

The clutter in your house was once money in your pocket; that money you earned was once time.

Assess your priorities; its just crap that will clutter your house.

Have a cooling off period. So see the stuff tell yourself you'll go back for it in a couple of days if you really want it. Once you're out of the environment designed in every way to maximise the appeal of the stuff, you will think more clearly.

Perhaps you cant get everything, but its fine to get one or two things to satisfy your seasonal yearnings and not be a complete Grinch. It also helps now that everything seems to have a very long lead time....eg Christmas stuff starting appearing in the shops here a couple of weeks ago. So by getting one item every two weeks and adding to the store Ive gotten in previous years, Im starting to build up a lovely festive store of decor and decorations. Its not a quick fix or instand gratification but it works.

It's just the disconnect between "take a reusable bag, fill your own water bottle, use paper straws" and the aisles and aisles of absolute rubbish in places like Home Bargains and the acres of plastic clothing.

I never want anything Xmas branded, as you can only use it for a couple of days a year!
I do "covet" certain things but, as you get older, you learn to buy better quality, so you spend the same amount of money for much less stuff. Too much stuff is depressing. One of my weaknesses is top end stationery - I recently had a tidy up and now have a drawer full of lovely notebooks, brought back from all over the world. I know I have to use (some of) them before buying any more!

I find it online, add to shopping basket, then don't buy it.

I listen to the Money for Couples podcast. Ramit talks about living your "Rich Life", which in essence is aggressively cutting back on all the crappy day to day spend, so that you have money available for the things that truly bring you joy and contentment. More often than not, buying tat, meals out/takeaways, subcriptions etc is a person's financial downfall. Trying to focus on ultimate financial goals (comfortable retirement, paying house off, occasional family travel) has made me absolutely ruthless about buying anything unnecessary. And yes, when it comes to seasonal decor I totally endorse the landfill concerns of others.

I hate clutter so the vibes I get are more like "God, I hope nobody brings that crap into the house"

I find ‘stuff’ depressing and just think of the waste and landfill it’s creating. The sheer amount of sequins in M&S sent me running for the hills. What’s it all for? What has any of it got to do with Christmas? Bah humbug! 🤶