Ridiculous made up 'traditions'

[Sittinonthefloor]

Looking at you on your shelf, Elf . It actually has the word 'tradition' on the box, after what, 2 years?

Also spotted today 'Christmas Table Favours' eh? Not a thing! They were like wedding favours (also ridiculous) but gold and silver. That's what crackers are for surely?

Advent calendars for grown ups, Christmas pjs, also Christmas Eve boxes (haven't dared discover what they are though).

Love, love, love made up / evolved family traditions but feel irrationally enraged by the commercial ones, and more so that people seem to fall for it with enthusiasm!

Generally I agree with you.

But it's both nice to have your own traditions and difficult to think stuff up. Piggy backing on to popular things is easier.

One of our favourite Christmas traditions is to go for a walk on Christmas Eve, ending in the pub for tea.

I'm a grown up and I've always had an advent calendar (usually just s cardboard one with pictures). I have seen pictures on Facebook of children with five advent calendars each which seems excessive to me.

I agree with you about the rest of your post. Those elf things are creepy.

Totally agree. Wish we could go back to my childhood Christmasses in the 70s/80s when it was all very straightforward.

I'm 30'and got new pjs every Christmas Eve (so we'd look good on the Christmas morning photos) so for my family at least, it's not a 'new' thing

Also isn't elf on the shelf, well the idea of an elf who comes to visit for all December, a Scandinavian thing? So it may well be a Christmas tradition, just not one that originated in the U.K.?

the selection boxes were alot bigger in the 70,s and 80,s too and it always snowed.

I don't have an advent this year Im treating myself to a large christmas yankee canlde instead,

I feel like the expectation that everyone will buy a novelty Christmas jumper has only happened in the last few years.

I had only heard of the new PJs thing on here. I would have to wash them first though. Growing up our Christmas was very simple and traditional or so I thought.

I have no idea when EOTS first appeared here but it also passed me by until I joined MN. Had no idea what it was.

lilqueenie I treated myself to a Yankee candle advent calendar! Best of both worlds!

Also special Christmas dinner services- what do you do with for the rest of the year? I did buy my DCs a mug each with a festive pic last year, they were shocked at the decadence . My favourite tradition is Christmas Eve church (although atheist!) , putting out FC s carrot and mince pie, and trying to get stocking on ends of beds without waking DCs, brings lovely childhood feelings back.

Aye 70s Christmas's were magical. I got a stylophone one year.

I do get what you mean OP. Apparent Christmas bedding is a thing now. It's not Christmas in my house yet. Although several of my neighbours have their door bows and inflatables in place.

Yes I don't understand why everything has to be Christmas themed. Less is more IMO.

I have one Christmas cushion that late MIL bought, so I put that on the sofa.

No mulled spice loo bleach/christmas loo roll/dinner service/doormat etc etc

The notion that some people redecorate entire rooms for Xmas is baffling!

Replacing ornaments, artwork, cushions, tablecloths, candles etc. Just lob a tree up!

Generally I agree, but I love my advent calendar, and have had one every year.

I started a long thread about 2 months ago about excessive "stuff" and this is the epitome of that.

Elf on the Fecking Shelf is not a tradition in the UK. Although you could argue that pumpkin pie and trick or treating isn't a UK tradition either but people seem happy to buy all the stuff associated with that too. If you want to buy your child new pyjamas for Christmas then fine, but you really don't need a box to put it in, along with chocolate, DVDs and other assorted "stuff". Christmas jumpers likewise - these were unheard of when we were growing up.

Lots of this stuff which people are buying will be thrown away first week of January. And as someone else pointed out on the other "stuff" thread, there is no "away". The planet is drowning under plastic santa sacks, poorly made Christmas jumpers designed to be almost disposable, and fecking table favours.

Ahem. Luna, trick or treating is based on the Scottish tradition of guising and moved to America with the early settlers. So it is a UK tradition.

Consumerism gorn mad. I hate it.

I don't mind trick or treating. It lasts one evening.

I pick and chose. I don't want to get involved in the faff fest that is elf on the shelf but I love doing a Christmas Even box (I put ours in a sack). Its only stuff they would get anyway but its a nice wind down activity. Pair of PJs, magazine, hot chocolate and maybe a dvd. Nothing much.

In October I scoff at the very idea of Christmas themed stuff. By mid December I am convinced I haven't got enough Christmas cushions and duvet covers

The madness descends. I can't help it.

Pretty much everything about a modern Christmas is a fecking recent invention! That bloody sinister elf is just the latest in a long line of lunatic inventions. An HGV with some fancy lights on? Flying reindeer? A fat bloke that isn't under investigation by Operation Yewtree, yet who regularly goes into children's bedrooms? Sackloads of presents?

It does seem to get more complicated and more consumerist every year. My kids have had chocolate advent calendars (1 each) this morning. My Facebook tells me lots of other kids have woken up to multiple advent calendar, elf on the shelf shenanigans, North Pole breakfasts and breakfast tables festively decorated.

I feel intimidated by it at times, I can't imagine the time and money spent. How do people do it?!

Always makes me think of the Simpsons: "and it wasn't long before this yearly event became an annual tradition"

*yearly custom, not event!

I have an advent calendar each year and I'm 31. Infact this year I have 2. We still always have new pjs Christmas Eve, as I am a firm believer in staying in pjs all Christmas Day. We don't do Christmas Eve boxes as such but we always do a big buffet for dinner and a new film that we watch as a family in our new pjs. Then hot chocolate and cream, lay out stuff for santa and bed.

I think everyone should be able to do whatever they like at Xmas.

BUT I agree that everything except a tree, decs, carols, a stocking, Church, presents after church, nice food and a Christmas film is completely unnecessary