What do you find shocking at Christmas?

[RosieGuacamosie]

Lighthearted

I have ASD so certain things utterly astound me, I’m sure others will vehemently disagree so feel free to share your own!

1. Starters for Christmas lunch! Surely you’d save room to maximise the main event!
2. Cooking the turkey the day before - are you not worried about food poisoning or it being super dry?
3. Mash on a Christmas dinner, see also sweetcorn

I’m sure I’ll think of more

Its not so much the day that drives me mad. Its folk starting going on about it in June. Even on MN. Its all got out of hand.

@Blossomandbee

The waste. We spend all year being told to be green, recycle, minimise plastic use etc etc, and then along comes Christmas which is basically a sea of plastic tat, glitter, foil and packaging, most of which must end up in landfill. I also struggle with how commercialised the whole thing is and what we are actually celebrating.

This a million times

@DueyCheatemAndHow

I don't really understand why this idea of 'last minute omg I'm so disorganised' has appeared from. I've just finished wrapping and feeling quite smug. I don't underatand why you would want to do everything in November. I love wrapping on the floor with the tree and something Christmassy on

Oh I do agree with this. I can't wrap a thing or write a card until a Christmas movie is on, Christmas candle lit and the tree is up, and that absolutely cannot be before the 1st weekend in December at the earliest.

Now is last minute? I did "most" of my wrapping this afternoon and feel well ahead of the game for a change

How much more I hate it every year.

@JohnSmithDrive I agree! Christmas eve is cutting it fine I'll acknowledge...

A few years ago I re-evaluated my Christmas I realised spending time with people that could be annoying and wanted Christmas their way and you went along with it to keep everyone happy was not the way .
It’s not shocking just annoying but it used to annoy me that my dm would want to meet up for Christmas drink on Christmas Eve ( tradition in my family ) so I said come after lunch as was cleaning getting ready after being in work all week . Dm turned up at 11am as was ready and wanted a drink of wine so I had to stop what I was doing to entertain while she drank my wine while I finished cleaning or stopped to chat. After she finished she said I’ll let you carry on with your jobs . I was so miffed as was looking forward to a Christmas tipple in the afternoon and a catch up as agreed not in the morning.
My parents would always want to see us on Christmas morning to exchange presents trouble was they like to eat dinner at 12 so it was a very rushed visit plus the rushing to open presents/ breakfast/ get ready before they arrived . I always offered whatever drinks they like coffee / wine/ beer, alcohol was alway accepted .If we went to them on alternative years to exchange presents the smallest coffee was offered then hints were dropped within half a hour about getting Christmas lunch ready .I just felt like we were on their time schedule and not welcome. I don’t see my family over Christmas anymore we give gifts before Christmas. I don’t eat till after 3pm earliest on Christmas Day so it’s a relaxed morning of opening / presents etc and it’s much more enjoyable. Fair enough you like what you like but it’s bordering on rude .

@JohnSmithDrive

Now is last minute? I did "most" of my wrapping this afternoon and feel well ahead of the game for a change

Haha! I'm always shocked at how I am struck down with some sort of brainfart that makes me incapable of pulling my finger out and cracking on with stuff! I'm almost 50 years old and every year I swear I will be more organised. And yet here I am again .

The fact that some people DONT have mash or yorkshires on their Christmas Dinner! I don't know anyone that dont have both on it (S Yorkshire)

@Alarmset

As far as I know I don't have ASD but I'm with I'm you on all of those, except mash. My mum makes mash just for me on Christmas day

I can't be doing with Yorkshire puddings on Christmas dinner though. And what's with putting cranberry jam on your dinner?

Horses for courses! I'll have your yorkshires, cranberry sauce and extra bread sauce too, you can keep the meat and the mash!

@SisterAgatha

- My in-laws cracking open a packet of croissants and eating them without toasting or heating or anything.

• not prioritising the kids but tearing them away from their new toys to make them faff about travelling all over to see adults who have done 50 odd Christmas’s already and should travel to see the little ones.

• making people be at their in-laws dead on time for 8am Xmas morning (in laws again looking at you)

Oooo I love this here here !!

The waste. The expense. The horrible its-all-over-why-do-we-bother feeling.
Not gone all out this year, no crackers, no turkey, - just the food we genuinely enjoy but is a bit more than everyday, like naice cheeses and biscuits , salmon, good steak.

It feels such a lot of fuss about very little

When any of my close friends give me chocolates. I have a severe lactose intolerance. It's not a secret and I've had it for years, so they all know. But I can guarantee - there will be at least one box of chocolates waiting for me.

@CheesecakeAddict

I can't get my head around people who like the sales. After spending a month or two stressing about what to buy and hunting down sold out items and stressing, and the sheer cost of it, I can't comprehend how people want to go out and buy more things, especially as the vast majority of what is on sale is just the shite they couldn't shift in the run up to Christmas.

Absolutely this!! Dh suggested we go out shopping on the Monday....no chance of me setting foot in a shop (apart from food shop if necessary) until well after the new year

@TroysMammy

That someone has the audacity to cobble together all the shite films, programmes and regular repeats and presents them to us mere morals as exciting tv entertainment over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Tell me about it. I resent that £5.25 i spent on the Radio Times (first time in years) to find it full of films/progs which were broadcast in the last 2 months.

Is this it?

Other people's gift exchange rituals.

I'm one of 6. When I was a kid we were each given a sack of presents and just dived in while Mum sat and watched indulgently (in between rushing off to check that the sprouts were still boiling themselves to a soggy death) , clutching a cup of tea. We were all in splendid nylon fire-hazard pjs/dressing gowns and almost certainly hadn't even brushed our teeth.

Then I spent a Christmas with XH. OMG. We had to get dressed, firstly. Then one person was handed a present by the Nominated Present Giver and everyone sat and watched as they opened it. Exclamations were made. Then the next person was given a gift and the process repeated.

It went on. And on. And on. I ran out of different ways to say how pleased I was with the toiletries/book by authors I never read/scarves. And my face ached from making "Oooh" expressions.

Then I discovered that actually loads of people did this, and we were quite unusual.

Still, now that he's an XH, I've reverted to childhood days. It's great

@Shodan

Other people's gift exchange rituals.

I'm one of 6. When I was a kid we were each given a sack of presents and just dived in while Mum sat and watched indulgently (in between rushing off to check that the sprouts were still boiling themselves to a soggy death) , clutching a cup of tea. We were all in splendid nylon fire-hazard pjs/dressing gowns and almost certainly hadn't even brushed our teeth.

Then I spent a Christmas with XH. OMG. We had to get dressed, firstly. Then one person was handed a present by the Nominated Present Giver and everyone sat and watched as they opened it. Exclamations were made. Then the next person was given a gift and the process repeated.

It went on. And on. And on. I ran out of different ways to say how pleased I was with the toiletries/book by authors I never read/scarves. And my face ached from making "Oooh" expressions.

Then I discovered that actually loads of people did this, and we were quite unusual.

Still, now that he's an XH, I've reverted to childhood days. It's great

I feel there's a happy medium somewhere.

When we go to my in laws we're all handed about twenty presents before we've even sat down. This year there'll be 21 people and a dog all opening gifts, I feel stressed about it already.
It's worse when they come here as they don't even wait for me to be in the room, the kids are opening stuff, MIL is firing questions at me about if things fit etc while I'm juggling the potatoes or something.

I grew up with opening Father Christmas presents as a free for all but presents from family were opened after dinner and a bit less frantic.

I agree OP about starters. A traditional Christmas dinner already has so much food that pudding is already a lot to fit on top.
What else surprises me is people making a big deal of Christmas Eve by preparing a special meal. In our house, Christmas Eve is always an easy meal.

People taking their decorations down on Boxing Day. Boxing Day!!

...and the fact that it all starts once the kids go back in September and finishes on Boxing Day only for Easter Eggs to appear on shop shelves before end od December

The amount of stress people put themselves under for one day.
That people put themselves in debt to buy big ticket gifts.
How commercialised and shit it all is really.

People on Mumsnet that seem to be incapable of a Christmas pot without inserting magic or magical. Why isn't it enough for it to be fun, enjoyable and loving?

@RoyalFamilyFan

I agree OP about starters. A traditional Christmas dinner already has so much food that pudding is already a lot to fit on top. What else surprises me is people making a big deal of Christmas Eve by preparing a special meal. In our house, Christmas Eve is always an easy meal.

You wouldn’t like it at our house We always have a starter but I don’t eat pudding. It’s nice to gather everyone at the table before the main event.

We also have a special meal Christmas Eve
It’s a lovely family time for usb

OP- you are 100% right about sweetcorn. That said, sweetcorn is in my Room 101 so I'm a bit biased. Mash I can take or leave. However, if Yorkshires are wrong for Christmas dinner, then I don't want to be right.

I do canapés rather than starter as the timing becomes less critical. I am terrible at timing anyway (only one oven doesn't help) without throwing another curveball into the mix. I cannot stand lukewarm food so I like to serve up the second everything is ready.

I'm conflicted on the commercialisation- I remember adults saying that when I was a kid so it's not a new issue. I'm not sure the problem is increased materialism but what it's replaced - e.g community events where you'd socialise with friends and acquaintences being replaced by flashy paid insta events. People generally seem more isolated from one another now.