Cancelling Christmas Forever

[Mrsmunchofmunchington]

Has anybody done this?

(Not meaning people from religions or cultures who don’t do christmas anyway.)

I am single, no close family but have some good friends.

I find christmas expensive and depressing and I am pondering telling anyone who needs to know that I am opting out altogether from now on so won’t be sending (or wanting to receive) cards, messages or presents and just generally will exist outside of the whole blimmin thing.

I don’t want upset my older friends and acquaintances though who are rather more traditional.

Our lead up to Christmas is relatively stress-free as we don't shop for gifts in super busy shops, or have to listen to Xmas songs from Halloween to New year's whilst shopping.

Christmas Day is us with our adult DC's having Christmas dinner round an seasonally decorated dining table, and because it's the kind of family we are I guess, we always make these times fun, with plenty of humour, also wine helps.

We do gift our dcs some money so that they can treat themselves to something, when they want.

What we have also done is give the gift of giving, a donation to a worthy cause, in the name of the gift recipient.
It feels good to help others,or animals in need, no matter how much or how little you can afford.

One thing you could try @Mrsmunchofmunchington is something a friend of mine now does.

They volunteer on Christmas day where Christmas dinners are being served to people who are alone or who wouldn't have a Christmas dinner otherwise.

This friend has said that volunteering has made them happier over the Christmas season than they have felt in a long time.

Also forget about Christmas cards, for the most part physical cards with a signature on the bottom are filling the tip, and a thing of the past.

We have an adult DS who has been subsumed by his wife’s large family and we have been knocked back at Christmas so many times now that this year we’ve booked to go to a beautiful hotel in Morocco, rather than invite them to spend Xmas with us and be rejected yet again.

they couldn’t even be bothered to do a quick call last Christmas so we’d rather escape the whole shebang.

they couldn’t even be bothered to do a quick call last Christmas so we’d rather escape the whole shebang.
I'm sorry to hear that they didnt call you. That is just mean.

We opted out several years ago - kids voted Xmas pressies or holiday and the sunny holiday won 🌞
So now we do it every year. No big announcements we just say oh we're on holiday.
(Kids get pressies on birthday, they are not missing out😉)

If you can, go away for a few days over Christmas instead.

I LOVE the idea of saying 'Christmas or holidays?'.

DH is pretty much a hoarder and we have so much shit in our house. Every time my birthday comes around i ask for money to prop up our holiday account. Every time he says he has to get me a 'proper' present which usually means tat.

I would sincerely love to say to all the family 'no presents, let's go to ..'.

Everyone I know has cut back, regardless of their relative wealth.

I only buy for adult DC and teen DNs. Nobody else. No cards. No crackers.

I have a tiny tree and some tinsel and fairy lights that go up. I cook a turkey roast.

Thats it!

It would be lovely! I am not a naturally festive bundle of joy. Unfortunately, I moved away and got a job with long hours that doesn't stop for Christmas Day, which gets me out of enforced socialisation. I really like working around the Christmas period, because it is quiet and the manager is off! If it is affordable, can you unfortunately be away over Christmas, OP? Preferably somewhere that you might get snowed in for the season?

I have a minor reputation as being slightly eco, so I don't send Christmas cards at all. The ridiculous price of stamps is also a bit of a deterrent. I do give presents to a small number of certain family members, but that's it.

Like a pp, I view it as Yule, a beacon of light in the depths of winter. Twinkly lights, nice food and drink, some family time. I sometimes make a wreath from foraged greenery and possibly bake a cake if i want to.
But I hate the hideous, 3 months of hysterical build up. I will ignore it as far as possible until December 10th.

Several years ago I knocked proper present buying on the head. My two are adults so whilst I get them some bits they mainly have a big event thing or money. I take my close relatives and friends out for dinner after Christmas. We all have too much stuff anyway.

I don't do Christmas cards. I make Christmas dinner and get some nice things to eat in.

When I think of all the stress and expense when the DC were younger I feel quite sick. I'd hate anyone to be stressed thinking they have to find the money to buy me a gift. What I want is their time.

What do you currently do to celebrate? So we can gauge what you could rein in.

If there really were hardly any cards sent anymore then they wouldn’t be in so many shops. I understand not everyone is enamoured. I also think that your situation is unusual. A lot of people have more presents to buy. Everyone is different.

I've stepped down massively, 15 years ago. I only gift the children and parents.

I feel this way since I lost my parent 2 years ago. It all seems materialistic and pointless now. I admire the people that celebrate the season with family winter walks, and cosy days, no gifts or rubbish. I have young dcs so don't get me wrong I love seeing their excitement, but of it wasn't for them I would celebrate it differently. At one time I would have missed the tree, but I have nice lights in my home all year around, so really I don't need it.

Perfectly ok to say to those who you typically exchange gifts with that you won’t be doing so, no need to say much more. Just drop a few cards in for older people who really do like cards and replying “and to you” to happy Christmas messages is free, don’t stress but just replay at some point on Christmas Day. I’m down to under 10 cards and they are all over 70 year olds, in addition dh sends cards to his siblings because they live a distance (we see mine on Christmas Day)

People seem very accepting of not celebrating Christmas if you follow a different god. Maybe tell everyone you've converted to following the great Iggywiggy of the sky and that the Iggywiggy specifically forbids following false gods.

I envy you. I’ve tried so many times to ask my side of the family not to buy us presents and I’ve said that we will do the same - but they point blank refuse . ( DH family already do this). ( Money isn’t the issue, it’s the stress of buying stuff for people who are lucky enough to have everything they need. )
They tell us not to buy if we don’t want to but they say that they’ll continue giving to us as they enjoy buying.
I’ve told them that they’re putting us in a horrible position and to please stop but they won’t , so I’ve started buying again as feel so bad receiving & not giving every year.
There are loads of us and the stress of sorting it all spoils Xmas for me.
Ive tried again this year but again they’ve said no , so I’m getting vouchers for everyone from the same shop !
I wish you luck and hope your family & friends listen .

I really love Christmas! But I think that's because I do the bits I like. I don't send cards or buy presents. I do like Christmas dinner and singing carols and a lovely tree, so I do that part, on Christmas Eve for the tree and do nice things on the 12 days: light candles and so on. But nothing really beforehand.

I don't much engage with "the media" so all that stuff passes me by. I don't often go to shops, either. I find all that stuff pretty stressful in ordinary times so double corporate Christmas - no thanks. TBH the first time it really comes up is going to a carol service.

Yes and hope in time more people will see through the brainwashing and start to reject it.
Note the annual bore has already started with the things arriving in the shops.
The annual bore fest. No thanks.

How is Christmas expensive if you have no family?

my costs are feeding everyone & DCs presents.

I’ve not sent/received a card for several years.

I don’t buy friends gifts and adult family only token items.

I like to buy some new decorations every year but if I couldn’t afford that I’d still put up old ones.

I don’t see the need to deprive yourself of happy celebrations. Could it be mild depression?

Just tell people you are scaling right back this year, I'm sure they will be fine with it.

I've opted out a few times in years past. No decorations, no presents, no food, just a couple of phonecalls to friends and relatives.
Those have been the years I was working 12 hr shifts over the holidays so it just felt like any other day.

Who sends cards in 2025? You don’t need to make a big deal of it. I don’t really do Christmas. I’ll buy presents for my parents and sibling l, have Xmas dinner with them if I’m around. Or some years I’m not. This year I’m going to South America and won’t do any Christmas stuff but it’s not like I’ll have to make an announcement or anything.

I went on strike last Christmas, didn’t do anything except have a delicious non-Christmas dinner. I told DH he could write the cards if he wanted to.
It was lovely, no decorations, no stress.
Bring it on!

I wouldn’t cancel Christmas but just cut it right back. A pp suggested volunteering on Christmas Day that sounds a good idea.

This thread has made me feel so much better about no Christmas.
I used to be the Christmas Queen. - Overheard my full time step daughter tell her friends that our house looked like a dept store. I started Christmas on Dec 1st out with the full Christmas dinner service, family parties for all 4 children (3 of them full time steps), and their friends and families to decorate the tree etc- But with divorce the SC are gone now and then 5 years ago after a lot of not being invited/control issues by her, my own daughter went no contact with me. So I have spent Christmas alone. Tried being with friends once but it made me even sadder. This year I plan to do absolutely nothing. Might go away with the dog to a remote cottage. And I have hated Dec even in the supermarket with the music and the displays.
But there seems to be a lot of us so here goes this year. . . Thank you all you other ex Christmas M/netters. Will still send my grandsons presents even though they are not acknowledged. Some things you have to do just for yourself.