Does anyone find Christmas a bit too much?

[heartbroken22]

Shops having all the decorations, plastic tat..you name it. Seeing stuff everywhere. Songs everywhere. It's a bit too much clutter for the mind. Pressure to buy stuff. Etc etc don't mind the actual days with family hut everything else makes me want to live in a cave somewhere...

I just refuse to do it.

@Bestcatmum what do you do with your kids?

Totally. I no longer send cards and only but for my child, mother and DP, tree goes up the weekend before Christmas Day and we have a lovely time decorating it. I don't engage in anything else apart from the day itself. I'm lucky I have a small family though and most relatives are overseas and we prefer to visit each other at different times of year.

Only buy that should say

No I love it. DD3 is really into it this year so we’re going all out. We don’t have much extended family (one set of grandparents only) so I want to make the festive period as special as I can as it’s literally just us. OTT decorations in every room downstairs plus outside and the entrance hall, 1st Dec box, family jarmas, winter wondlerland mini break in log cabin, breakfast with Santa and Xmas eve at NT place. Bringing her joy makes my heart so full!

I get some people aren’t into it but for me it’s the best time of year.

I love Christmas but I even I can agree that it gets a bit much at times. I just try to make sure and only do things I want to do and not get sucked into everyone elses expectations.

I would quite happily do Christmas every other year. It seems to take up a quarter of the year.

We have very untraditional Christmasses though cutting out all the stuff that’s just ‘tradition’ if we don’t want it. Like Christmas Dinner.

I love it! In fact I was thinking they need to put up the town square Christmas tree soon and get the lights on in the street. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Our little town light switch on is this Sunday. It will still be November. 🤷‍♀️

I love Christmas as soon as the kids finish school and we can chill out and take a step back. I find it all a bit relentless now, we don’t put decorations up until the 12th at the earliest, kids already mentioned that most in class have already got theirs up, even school have. One already has a card, it’s November! I am trying to find a balance but it’s not easy.

I’m getting sick of it already and it’s not even December 🤦‍♀️

I’m sure Christmas didn’t start until December when I was a kids and I certainly didn’t have all this shite they do now a days!!

Went into Smyths to pick up a birthday present 2 weeks ago and some one was trying to give me a Christmas catalogue ffs

Bah humbug….and yes our lights are being switched on this weekend as well I want to shout it’s not December yet

I'm not a big fan. It's very overwhelming and I find traipsing round everywhere to people's houses too much.

We have open house on Christmas Day, friends and family know if anyone wants to come and see us at Christmas we'll be here and they will be welcomed and fed/watered. This goes for DSs friends too, but we won't be leaving the house just for that one day.

I agree. Roll on Easter; nice weather, no pressure, and chocolate.

not sure if I’m being selfish here but need some perspective and opinions please, has anyone had friends or so called friends that just hasn’t bothered coming to see your baby or bring them a token. And I think back to all the effort I’ve made with friends kids, Xmas, birthdays etc for the effort not to be returned for any of those events for my baby. It’s making me bitter.

I adore Christmas but have barely seen anything. I don't watch TV though so any advertising has passed me by and I don't tend to go down that aisle in the shop. I also don't feel pressured, nor have I seen any lights on houses yet.

I love it but I only want a week of it and I want it to be in my house and nowhere else!

I have grown to hate and dread it.

I loathe Christmas, it’s a reminder of how alone I am. I just survive it. I’m pretty pissed off with the radio station I normally listen to playing Christmas shite already, they can shove that where the sun don’t shine.

Yes- Instagram is full of it already- tree up in November, matching pyjamas, Christmas Eve boxes, run down of Christmas movies, non bloody stop. I’m no Scrooge but it’s overkill at a time people probably cannot afford it.

I wish Christmas were a bit more like US Thanksgiving - a family gathering, special meal etc but without all the massive build up and pressure to overspend.

I find the adverts on telly so cringe. I also hate how expensive everything is - panto, Santa experiences, etc. Kids don’t even give a shit about it, we went to a free locally run Christmas fair last year and the kids enjoyed that more than a pricy ‘Winter Wonderland’ thing we did - I’m not bothering with any of the expensive stuff this year.

I love Christmas but dislike tat, giant snowmen, flashing lights and silly jumpers.

I love writing the cards, thinking of distant friends and family, remembering special times with special people.
I love the calm and sense of peace at our candlelit Carol service. I love the sense of expectation within our villages community on Christmas Eve. I love that tingle of waking up or being woken and remembering ‘He’s been’ and a mug of tea amidst shrieks. I love the warmth and twinkling lights in church, the exchange of cards, the singing. I love Champagne and salmon at friends house afterwards.
It’s about family and friends and that makes it wonderful. I can forego the artificial snow and tinsel to a degree.

I also loathe it and exhale an enormous sigh of relief on the 1st January.

I like Christmas but agree that it's all a bit much. We don't go ott though, no elf, no Xmas boxes, not too much fuss over Xmas Dinner, we just enjoy some time off together as a family, exchanging gifts and lots and lots of chocolate in the house.