To have completely just lost my shit and spirit of Christmas?

[Rangelife]

I'm walking across an icy, freezing northern city after rushing into Sainsbury's to buy a shifty secret santa present for work.

A bastard glass hot chocolate snowman kit for a fiver. I'm trying to simultaneously shove the thing into a shitty gift bag, whilst tying the ribbon and ripping off the stupid plastic hanger thing and screaming in my head 'I'm sick of this shit!'

I don't even know the woman I've bought for and I was ill yesterday so missed the food and secret santa swap. AIBU to think this isn't what it's meant to be like?

I want to be a child again. Please regale me with your Christmas meltdowns so I don't feels so irritated with the festive season. Please.

We go to my brother's on Christmas day. Two years ago I was so stressed trying to make everything 'magical' whilst simultaneously packing the car with food, presents, overnight bag etc that I lost my shit, bellowed at poor dh who was only trying to help and slammed the his car boot shut so hard it broke
Then I had to confess to dh, and repack everything into my bastard car!!

Why not just say no to the secret Santa? You don’t have to take part.....

Oh Range
I'll be doing the same at lunchtime, buying a gift and gift bag for secret Santa. Here's my non festive advent picture from the other day

I said yes to it, back in November, when I was feeling festive lottie

Breaking the boot is spectacular zig

Thank you trailed I need that calendar!!

Last year my DH had a serious leg operation 3 weeks before Christmas. He was laid up on the sofa, while I had to do everything - School run ( 40 mind each way twice a day), work from home, clean, cook, look after DH (who is not a good patient) do all Christmas shopping (food and presents), look after 3 kids, run my cub pack.

I finally lost the plot in a grotty car park in a city centre when I could find change for the machine. I burst into tears, phoned DH and moaned down the phone to him, and said I wasn’t doing Christmas anymore.

We’re going away to Florida this year

I’m so over Christmas that I cancelled the food order today and declared we’re eating beans on toast and everyone can either deal with it or fuck off!

We’re hosting the inlaws this year and it’s soooo difficult, nothing is quite right for the MIL and she’s very passive aggressive over the way things ‘should be done’.

Next year I’ve decided it’s BILs turn to host. We’re going to lock the door and tell everyone to fuck off.

budgie that is a result!

I'm lucky - where I work there are only a handful of us but even when I worked in the proper corporate field, Secret Santa never happened. I don't know why it's become such a thing and why, seeing as so many people seem to hate it (based on MN threads), people just don't say NO. It's such a simple word.

I'm so over Christmas this year.

I haven't had a meltdown but I hate all this enforced buying shit.

I'm not religious but I do like Christmas. A day off work, an excuse to eat lovely special food. It's magical for children especially if they believe in Santa.

But as for all this secret Santa and buying adults gifts just for the sake of it, drives me insane.

I love Christmas but it is definitely a case of the less shit you buy, the more you enjoy it.
Don't do Secret Santa next year, cut back on presents etc

I think society has lost the plot. It's one day people, two at a push. We all need to cool our jets. It's turned to madness in the last five years.
I'm sick of shopping for people I don't know that well, sick of the crowds in town centres, sick to the back teeth of the ruddy TV and Radio advertising telling us how to spend our Christmas and what we all need for Christmas. I'll tell you what I need...a pause button for life. Let me just BE for two whole days...let it be easy and stress free ( or as stress free as possible)
I have been lucky enough to spend two recent Christmas breaks in Florida. It is glorious, relaxed and fun and you still get to feel Christmassy without all the stress.
I can't go every year, but so wish I could.

I have no christmas spirit this year atall. Porrly DH (long term, life limiting illness), poorly DD (MRI scan tomorrow - very scary as intermittently loses the ability to walk, and bodily functions from the waist down), i am working, school runs, everything at home, all by myself, and im ill myself (psoriatic and osteo arthritis, underactive thyroid, diabetes, b12 deficient, arrythmia). All presents finally bought, no cards written, nothing wrapped, no tree up. Nothing. Christmas can do one this year.

I was really ill a few years ago with a chest infection and had a friend and her family coming to stay with us - they were travelling from overseas so I couldn't cancel. At the supermarket the check out assistant asked if I was ok, I didn't look well - the little act of kindness opened up a flood tears, I felt like shit and I was mortified.

I’ve definitely decided to chill out about it this year. Only buying for 5 people (my 2 kids, 2 nephews and a niece). All but a few gifts ordered online and delivered to my door.
Made the most of the kids being out in the snow this weekend and I sat and wrote my cards. Just a few at a time, had a break, went back and did a few more, etc. Soon got them done.
It’s just the 4 of us on the day itself and it’s just a roast dinner which I do most weekends anyway.
I’ll definitely get a few treats in for us all and I’ll definitely get stressed at the food shopping stage, but at the moment I’m feeling quite chilled about it all.

@Whoremoanee that’s a lot to be dealing with, take care xx

I don't do secret santa because I don't want to receive some crap I don't want, you can just say no.

My personal best was when I was having DD2 (16 next week).

I had severe PGP, was in a wheelchair and thanks to hormones had a fuse shorter than a nanosecond. We had gone Xmas shopping and DH left me by a shelf in WHSmith at my request. A woman came up and pushed me out of the way as she wanetd to see the same shelf. Normal me would have gone bananas but I just cried. He was fuming when he came back but the woman had long gone. By the time we got to the car my anger had found its way back and as I flipped my sun visor up it came out of its housing and bashed me in the eye. I was so fucking incandescently angry and I ripped it out of the car roof and slung it out of the window. DH demanded why I had done that and I literally screamed at him to fuck off.

Within hours of giving birth I was my usual happy self, although Xmas did get worse from there on in, but that was for medical negligence reasons and not because I lost my shit again!

This is the first year in ages I’ve not had a serious meltdown. What sends me over the edge is the crappy big retailer adverts that show mum/Dad/2 kids or worse the ‘even the penguin can find a partner’ making me feel that by default my Christmas will be shit because it’s just me and Dd.
Looks like they might have learned a bit, they appear to have calmed down the messages the last couple of years.....

I am coming close to going full Die Hard ar Hermes. Parcel got to local depot, there was a problem passig it to the local driver as it is large, waited, waited, now my tracking info is not valid. I ordered this dolls house over two weeks ago and they have had it a week and now it has vanished! I am seriously considering treking to the depot and shouting at them through the gates. Maybe with a placard. Definitely lots of arm waving. It isn't the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone but after a really bad year this could be what finally makes me snap!

This year i ordered a tree to be delivered in a stand (as last year we had a debacle). On Saturday we decided to decorate it and the moment we took it into the front room the stand thing fell of and we coudn't get the tree to stand up again. Dh took it outside and sawed it and hammered it and had words with it. But no. It is stubbornly refusing to stand up so it laying on its side on the floor. DH (like last year) has suggested we just decorate it leaning up against the wall. I said no, how shit would that look!!! The kids had got all the decorations out and were all over the floor too so i just said 'Right everybody out' and have shut the door.

No one has been back in there since Saturday and i'm just going to pretend we don't have a front room till January.

interesting thread on here also about buying prsents for adults. Many years ago my nasty bullying MIL killed Christmas for us, every year we were told what we were doing, we longed in to away or say at home with our DC, I worked nights, only ever had a couple off in 20 years, didnt mind it went with the job, but wanted to go home to bed. Had a phone you couldnt switch off, went to bed, she round ring about "something", (it wasnt just christmas eve, "Oh, did I wak you oh never never mind you are awake now, and continue convseration) Dh answered phone Christmas eve, but I was still woken by it. Some years nodwn the line we said we were not buying presents, and not to buy for us, she was furious and didnt speak to us for 23 months. It used to make me ill come October I was crying because I didnt know what to buy, she would look at your present with ill disguised disgust and put it aside, several times actually saying she didnt lkie it. We dont speak anymore havent done for years. Every year she said she hated Christmas, so I said "Dont do it then". I asked my DC did they want a tree etc. no, so we stopped, HOWEVER, now DGC, we do have a tree, etc. My thoughtswith you who are ill etc, like WhoremoaneeGrainger, who have so muich to put up with. We have cut back on presents (retired) didnt do the secret santa at work either.

My Christmas shopping is all done and dusted
But I had a bit of a handling yesterday, managed to track down some of the elusive lol surprise dolls but by the time I got to the checkout (which was literally seconds) they where out of stock.
I did manage to get some later though but have to say my heart was pounding.
Why don't they make enough toys this happens every single year.

I'm really struggling with it this year too. I started a new business which has been very successful but such a steep learning curve and my brain feels like it's on the go 24/7. I've also had some health issues and I just feel put upon and stressed. We are going away for Christmas and not sure whether it's more or less relaxing. I'm normally a do the wrapping on Xmas eve person and I'll have to be WAY more organised this year.

If you said yes to it in November it might have been an idea to get something before the day after it was due.
Can't really complain when you are making life hard for yourself.

Thank you all. You've given me perspective.

I'm a week into a break up, I'm completely skint and I'm in a new job that was meant to be a dream but is turning quickly into a nightmare (the secret santa is just fluff on a pile of shit really).

I have 3 lovely DC's and I should be more grateful