Fucking Christmas duvets??

[sandylion]

I LOVE Christmas, so this is in no way a bah humbug thing, but does anyone else think it's getting way out of hand? Every year there is a new "thing"; Christmas jammies, Christmas eve boxes, advent calendar with actual toys (eg lego ones, playdoh ones etc), elf on the shelf, 24 advent Christmas books and now I see there are bloody Christmas duvet sets! When did these all become "traditions"? Only in the last 5 years? I sound like my mother! Christmas has become over-commercialised! AIBU or is it expensive enough without having to add to the expense! Imagine if you have more than 1 child! Is it competitive parenting? Is it over-compensation for shit parenting? Am I just being an old cow? Sorry I just saw the Christmas duvet tonight and it's proved to be my tipping point.

Admittedly I live in the US, but they had Xmas bedding in Crate and Barrel the other day...

I saw festive kitchen roll today and lolled. I'm sure there must be Christmas bog roll, too

I gave up the ghost when everyone started competing over Santa's fucking footprints & glittery reindeer food in their gardens. There must be glittery reindeer poo this year, surely?

Until the footprints thing started, I was really big on Christmas. You know, it's sparkly and boozy and features cake. What's not to like? But I seem to have reached & passed peak Christmas all in one go. Now it's so far behind me, I'll be pushing the boat out if I manage a front door decoration.

That's nothing! I'm off to sainsburys for festive spice christmas BLEACH!

Aldi have festive kitchen and loo roll in this week... Thursday I think...

This year she is doing thanksgiving too. We are not American. We are in no way related to any Americans anywhere in the family (we are mostly Irish/Scot/Christian) So the holiday of thanksgiving has no significance to any of us.

If she was truly American, she'd keep her decorations away until Black Friday when we usually break them out.

Get the festive loo bleach cracked open metro.co.uk/2015/11/07/festive-bleach-is-now-available-in-sainsburys-and-waitrose-because-christmas-5487021/ [santa]

I agree that it has all become ridiculous but as others have said you don't have to do it all. Some people like to go all out!

Confession - we are using Xmas kitchen roll already. . DH did the shopping and apparently it was the cheapest. .

For the wrapped books for advent I assumed they weren't new every year? I thought it would be buying Xmassy books one year and then re- using them in following years. Still an expensive outlay for the first time obv. And as dcs get older I suppose. We had quite a few Xmassy books when DS was little and I used to only get them out in th few weeks coming up to Xmas and then they got put away with the Xmas stuff till the following year. Never wrapped them though!

I love Xmas and go overboard in some things. Haven't gone down th Xmas duvet route though. Unless you count making sure DS has his red set on his bed for Xmas week. It does get used through the year too but I will make sure that is the set on for Xmas!

We went to stay with MILs sis in the States for Xmas years ago and I was amazed at her house. Complete set of Xmas crockery, mugs, glasses, salt and pepper pots, towels, tea towels etc. She clears out her kitchen completely the day after thanksgiving and replaces her normal stuff with the Xmas stuff. I loved it!

Oh - th festive Zoflora smells amazing! I bought some last year thanks to MN. .

There is Xmas bog roll. M&S have done it for years. I always buy it (hangs head in shame) along with the Xmas tissues and kitchen roll.

To be honest I would definitely buy Xmas duvet sets if I could find any to match the curtains. And I'd def buy Xmas nappies. Tampons might be taking it a step too far.

Betty berry does you sister want a new friend? I think she sounds amazing. Wish I had that kind of commitment...

I don't care if people do Christmas 365 days a year (in their own homes). However, I hate 'traditions' that are really just an excuse to buy more stuff.

Not quite useable anymore, but here are some Christmas tampons!!!
jezebel.com/5970936/christmas-craft-time-make-a-nativity-scene-with-tampons?trending_test_c&utm_expid=66866090-62.H_y_0o51QhmMY_tue7bevQ.3&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F

It is all getting silly, but then you don't have to do any of it. I have always managed without special pyjamas or a visiting elf so the rest will happily pass me by.

We do new PJs on Christmas eve. Not Christmas themed ones, just cotton pyjamas to last my children the year. Works well for Ds who doesn't normally like new clothes, but for some reason thinks it's OK if it's a tradition.

Got a Lego advent calendar one year when they were half price, mainly because I wanted a Lego Christmas tree and father Christmas . Bloody cats spent the whole of December scattering the pieces everywhere. Stick to chocolate ones now.

My gran gave me Christmas tea towels one year, but they get used year round.

I do have Christmas duvet covers but they are more winter than Christmas- have reindeer and snow on. These are used anytime between nov and Feb but I do like them to be on the bed for Christmas itself.

Elf on the shelf, Christmas eve hampers, extra presents throughout advent can all fuck off though.

catrin Card Factory sell special keys so that Santa can get into your house if you don't have a chimney.

I always do new pjs for Christmas Eve for all my dgc as I did for my own dc. That's it though I think the little ones all do carrots for the reindeer and mince pie and a drink for Santa. We always did when I was a child and I am 71 now. I remember the smell of new winceyette pyjamas on Christmas Eve.

I saw a load of those LED canvases in a garden centre a few weeks ago, together with a special Christmas LED doormat.

I just think pick and choose, we have winter/Christmas bedding, a few Christmas teatowels and mugs. We don't do hampers as such but on the 1st December all these appear from the loft together with the Christmas books and DVDs and advent calendars.

I've always done Christmas eve stuff. You go for a bath and when you come back the helpers have left pjs warming on the radiator, and a Christmas dvd to share and an activity (sticker book/ fuzzy felt /where's wally type thing) though this year we are doing it on the solstice as the dc are going to stbxh on Christmas Eve till boxing day. And the dvd will probably be several dvds, so we can spend the 23Rd under blankets watching dvds together.

7 years ago I was broke. I had a tatty 2nd hand tree with crappy baubles and a plastic Santa table cloth.

Things changed a few years ago. I've been building up my collection of Christmas tat year on year! It's not an extravagance IMO - DS and I enjoyed Christmas as much when we had nothing. But we love Christmas and decorationing for it.
We don't do elf on shelf etc as its not one of our traditions. We do have a knitted nativity scene that we change accordingly!

I'm off to google duvets now

I love those book advents. Presumably you wrap the same books year on year? The outlay wouldn't be huge from the book people.

I have had the Xmas gift/ pj tradition since I was a kid. It's not a specially purchased gift, just one you can chose to open early. Maybe from a friend or relative.

I like the more old fashioned Christmas traditions but I don't think there is anything wrong in wanting to make it as special as possible. I could be tempted by Xmas sheets for the kids but not me

I don't get the random gify wrapping, if your child needs something in december they have to wait until christmas and it has to be wrapped... Like toothbrushes, shower gel, hair bobbles, pjs, etc

My mil does that. We get the randomest presents wrapped separately. Like a pot of pepper

I love Christmas I really do but I like to keep it to December!

I've had Christmas mugs, table cloths and tea towels for years - the mugs I've had since I was a child from visiting Father Christmas on a Santa steam special. Some of the stuff is like greeting an old friend - there's something strangely comforting from having Christmas items for years.

However I draw the line at duvets. And book advent calendars - I have a small book with short stories each night in Dec.

I do like a Christmas scented candle though!

I think half the problems that people post about re Christmas are in fact partly caused by having such a big build-up to it. Special books, special PJs, special toys in the calendar, zillions of going out treats/pantos/lights/events, special hampers on Christmas Eve - what does actual Christmas Day have to be like to live up to all that?! Piles of presents. And no wonder people object when grandparents want to be visited, or the exact toys aren't available, or there's not enough money to buy the piles of gifts that are needed, or there's competition between families or whatever. Nothing but perfection will do after it's been promised for a whole month!

I think December has so much in that children are already excited, and don't really need it built up any further. A couple of extra activities, combined with all that is put on by school and other groups, is loads to build up excitement. A chocolate advent calendar, fine. A movie on Christmas eve, good way to occupy time. A few stories here and there, yup. That leaves plenty of room for a few things to be less than fairy-tale perfect on Christmas day, and it will still be special, a few gifts will still seem amazing, and they will have good memories because things will stand out as being special. I tried once to take my niece and nephew to a special Christmas play, that I thought might be their really good special memory of that year, going out late, dressing up, being with their auntie, seeing a fabulous professional show with an amazing set. But after I bought the tickets, they also squashed in ice skating that morning, an even at a local park in the afternoon with reindeer and cookie decorating and carol singing and whatnot, and then a quick Christmas party over tea time. They were shattered by the time I got them, and not terribly keen on one more event.

Look at the state of this. Christmas Pugs. And it's a double.

www.bmstores.co.uk/products/christmas-double-duvet-cover-christmas-pugs-3022552

That made me smile about the Christmas table cloths - both my table cloths are Christmas ones! The kitchen one because a holly-theme one was the only decent flock-backed plastic one I could find at the time, and the dining room because I'm a lazy slattern and cba to take it off (it's also VERY pretty - metallic lace sort of thing). We don't use the dining room except for rare special occasions though - think Christmas and my birthday, which is when we do "Christmas in July" (we're in Australia, this is A Thing) - so the table cloth fits.

I don't think I'd be running to Christmas duvet sets though. That would annoy me.

I didn't believe people actually did Christmas bedding and stuff until I came on MN. I am a weirdo who refuses to buy an advent calendar with chocolates and sweets or toys in and it has to depict the Nativity. They re getting harder and harder to find.
When the dcs were small it was dh's job to take them out for a walk or to the park on Christmas eve to occupy them and give me a few minutes peace with gin.
Cannot bear pantomimes but we did endure the Singing Kettle Christmas show one year and have been to see either The Snowman or the Nutcracker a couple of times. Elf on a shelf, Christmas Eve hamper and such like didn't exist then, or only existed on MN. But each to their own. Not my circus, not my monkeys....