Scrooge-like I know but all this lark is getting a bit much...

[Jacobandcara]

Are we ruining Christmas? I remember only 30 years ago Christmas was mentioned a few times the weeks before, I got a quick visit to Santa at the garden centre, wrote a letter and sent it up that chimney and wore an angel costume made out of a pillow case. Magical times.
Nowadays it's all gone crazy. Mums on our local facebook 'what's on' page are clamouring over booking several 'experience' events which cost 20-30 pounds a ticket. So Santa on a train...or visit Santa cove or lights all over the local zoo and we will charge you an arm and a leg. And from the reviews on Facebook people are splashing nearly 100 quid and often these events are badly managed with hours of queing and disappointment.
Christmas eve boxes. And now today I'm a grinch for not doing a 1st of Dec box. Wtf.
The bloody elf on the shelf....yawn.
It used to be just the occassional oddball that put their decorations up in November and now it's ten a penny.
Supermarkets selling ready made nativity costumes for 15quid.
A friend of mine has just paid 20quid for a personalised Santa letter reply. Honestly.
Wheres the charm and magic when it's all drawn out over weeks and weeks?
Bah humbug

I just can’t be bothered with it anymore. I used to make an effort when the kids were smaller, but it gets boring after a few years. I also have to work over xmas.

I hate that every year there’s something new that is immediately marketed as A Thing and everyone seems to buy (literally) into it. I mean, wtf is elf on the shelf? Elves are creepy wee shites

I also hate Charles Dickens with a vengeance for creating the character Scrooge. You can’t mention that you don’t find xmas super thrilling without some sod telling you you’re ‘a scrooge’. No, I’m not, I just don’t like crass consumerism, greed, mountains of plastic, queues and debt. Cue lots of defensive huffs and reasons why these things are absolutely essential in the raising of children and ensuring their ongoing mental health and wellbeing.

The public are brainwashed.

I remember my mum 30 years ago complaining that Christmas began on 1 December now, and was all over commercialised with cartoon characters instead of the Nativity and shocking extravagances like chocolate advent calendars, so whoever posted above about "only having a bog-standard Paw Patrol chocolate advent calendar" made me laugh.

I wonder if our children will be saying "I mean, obviously we do a bog-standard Elf on the Shelf and decorations for December, but none of this terrible new commercialism like {insert whatever abominations are being sold to us in 30 years time}."

You can’t mention that you don’t find xmas super thrilling without some sod telling you you’re ‘a scrooge’. No, I’m not, I just don’t like crass consumerism, greed, mountains of plastic, queues and debt.

Yep. I’ve got nothing against Christmas at all, just the consumption that has increased exponentially.

Put out a carrot for Santa, fine - why does it have to go on a special fecking Christmas plate (i.e. plastic junk from China that only gets used one night a year)? Have a normal bubble bath and put on your normal pyjamas, you don’t need a Lush bath bomb that smells like a reindeer’s arse and special pjs for the Christmas morning photos.

The public are brainwashed.

Utterly.

I have never been a fan of christmas and been branded a scrooge many a time! I don't care - actually, i 've found as i've aged that more people are not saying the things i have been saying for years - maybe we are just a bit fed up with the big companies pushing ' the perfect christmas' etc and making people depressed if it doesnt turn out that way?
After all, its a fancy roast ( if your cooking one) and time for children and ( if your lucky) a day or two off work. For religious people, it may be a lot more of course, but everyone shouldnt feel they have to make so much effort and spend money they might not have. Keep it simple!

Ontop we're pagan. We celebrate Yule, which is all that, plus the rebirth of the sun god.

are saying rather!

I said to dH a

I was talking to DH about 1st Dec boxes and he said we've had one of those for years , it's it cards wrapping paper and our Christmas crockery in it. As we just take it out of the attic without ceremony I don't think it counts

I agree that there seems to be something being pushed, commercially, all year long.

I think winter is dreary and dull and look forward to seeing the lights IN December.

I also think people do get the Christmas tingle and feel excited (I'm not one of them) but if something makes them feel good/happy/hopeful, then I'm not going to knock that.

If my kids were little, I'd do Xmas eve boxes. I do have Xmas bedding (because I love textiles). The social media "look at how perfect we are, look at all the stuff we've bought" does make me sick though.

Pre working in retail, I would enjoy the festivities. Post working in retail, I feel slightly differently
It's like seeing behind the wizards curtain.

Do what you want. None of it is compulsory. Let others do what they want.

If you don't want to do it all then don't..

I have took my DS on the Polar express..However we were still watching the DVD in July ( one of those films)

We have done some stuff that has been magical., Lovely family time things. My son does well at Christmas and we will be putting our Tree up this weekend.

We will also be going to the Chris tingle Christmas eve. ..

Do it to your own level of happiness.. The only people I concern myself with is the ones who spend more than they can afford.

What’s wrong with Scrooge? He was a successful businessman and had some good points. Maybe Cratchit shouldn’t have had all those kids if they were so poor.

It gets on my tits that they have a ‘Dickensian Christmas Market’ round here. Really, Dickensian? Are a few rich people going to wander around spitting on the poor? Will the majority of us be working for pennies as flower sellers or begging on the streets? Will there be massive social inequality and tales of injustice? Or is it just a fucking Christmas market with a few people in silly costumes?

Agree.
I went round the supermarket last week and came out feeling very angry at all the unnecessary, overpriced
tat they were selling.
And the spin off Christmas Food. Christmas pudding with edible copper glitter, bizzarely flavoured "Mince pies" WTF?
Yes, am looking at you WAITROSE.

dingdong, that made me lol -
Amazon and Sports Direct type employers are today;s scrooges - not to mention the big retail companies who only shut Christmas day - they should give their employees two or three days off. One day isnt really enough. I know the stores would not agree!
The Victorian;s started christmas card giving and the big Turkey or Goose idea - we have them to blame.

I don't mind when people call me a Scrooge or a Grinch, my patented withering death stare usually sorts them out.

I think also my problem is piggybacking on other people's traditions and thinking you're oh so clever and original. Some families have their own traditions which have developed over time - in our house Santa always has to have the first dram out of a new bottle of whisky, for example. My sister's family each chooses one new special decoration for the tree each year and gets to choose another one to discard. An ex's family used to always have birthday cake for Christmas breakfast as it was his Mum's birthday. Those types of traditions are what makes Christmas memories, not dashing down to Poundland and buying traditions off the shelf.

Christmas food has changed a lot over the years as well. The stores just can't leave things alone.! They have to put a spin on everything.
agree that your own traditions are the best.

I hate all the 'exciting new' ways to cook a turkey or flavour a Christmas pudding. If they were any good they would have caught on when some desperate magazine editor first featured them 50 years ago. If you don't like the normal taste of Christmas pudding/mince pies/ turkey/sprouts just eat something else. We will have pavlova and chocolate fondants on Christmas Day and instead of `Christmas cake we will have a sponge cake with jam and buttercream icing because we prefer it. We will also light candles on it and sing Happy Birthday Dear Jesus because that is how we roll.

Turkey cooking - so many different ways. it has caused me so much stress over the years - i let my dh do it now ! he is a better cook than me he just follow the instructions given on the packaging and cook in foil. No messing around that way.

The in laws commandeered xmas for many years when the dcs were small. I either had to work and dh would travel down to theirs and I’d have to remain at home alone doing my shifts or I’d go over with him and spend a few days in a large, cold, damp house listening to them endlessly whittering on about past xmases and having to eat weird horrible out of date food.

After fil died, it was dh’s responsibility to spend xmas at his mothers. Sil did her own thing conveniently

The consequence of all this obligation and selfishness is that I’ve never been able to establish our own xmas traditions. I don’t have the energy now and the dcs are older. A certain amount of resentment remains despite me trying to just crack on and make the most of things.

It makes me cross to hear other posters being put under pressure from parents/family members to spend xmas with them when they don’t really want to.

Christmas Jumper day is a load of shite, it’s just more pressure to spend money. I’d rather give directly to the charity but have ended up having to buy 3 Christmas jumpers for the last couple of years so the kids aren’t left out.

Or you could teach your kids that it is a load, and that it is better to be the one who sticks out and is "left out" than to be a sheep who fears being the one who is different and actually thinks.

I can sympathise Incitatus, my own fil and mil were very much have christmas our way - i had to go along with it all as well for a number of reasons - they are miserable people and just went on about how commercial it all was, and not like the old days! We never spoilt our children at all. Its much better now we dont have christmas with them, just see them christmas eve or boxing day instead.
It can be a very bad time having to spend it with in laws!

Elf on the shelf is sooo creepy and now you can buy a ‘Santa camera’ to make your children think that Santa is watching them. CCTV for toddlers, great. Christmas when we were a couple was lovely, and with young children it was fantastic but very hard work. With teenagers it’s very expensive and just another day. I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks that it’s over- hyped and over-priced.

It is excessive, but you don't have to do it. The only concession I've made to all the "new" traditions is new PJs on Christmas Eve - but then kids need new PJs anyway every so often, so it's not actually an extra cost, just a matter of timing.

No elf on the shelf (I'm not even sure what it is tbh), tree and decorations go up mid-Dec, advent calendar each, we might go on a cinema trip or to see a light show but then we'll do one or two events or trips in any school holiday. Presents are chosen carefully and I'll get them things they want, but not mad amounts.

I make a bit of a joke out of being a grinch and moaning if I see xmas decorations or mince pies out too early, or hear Christmas songs. I tell the kids it should all be banned until December and we have a laugh spotting the first examples, and they laugh at me complaining about it. It's all good humoured and fun but also I hope gets the message across that all this stuff isn't essential and we don't have to go OTT. They still love Christmas. I do too, though chiefly the food :)

I think as PPs have said, big, expensive, overhyped stuff is often no fun anyway. You just need to manage expectations (I mean that in a positive way!) so that everyone gets excited about smaller things like getting a chocolate orange in their stocking, or setting fire to the pudding. :o

Well I'm sure everyone here's Christmas is just so classy.

You're traditions are just somehow better than any of these distasteful new ones.

You spend your money on a much better Christmas so you're not contributing to a consumerist society at all.

I don't think anyone will deny plastic tat is a problem but as for the rest of it well it's just a little group sneer. Enjoy your anti how other people do Christmas group wank.

choli or the Christmas jumper just becomes "this year's jumper". Neither of my younger DC care about wearing a "#Elfie" or stormtrooper-with-a-Father-Christmas-hat-on jumper all year round.