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.

I think you are in good company. Where I am it's 30C and very customary for everyone to lose their shit right about now - traffic jams, crowded malls, any number of Secret Santas, Christmas concerts, shared lunches etc to accommodate exactly when yours hit, tired and starting to feel worried about cash.

Tbh I took a step back some years ago. We haven't got any decorations up as we're going away and we took a vote that it wasn't worth the hassle haha.

Buy only for the kids and to a strict budget. I don't usually do a traditional meal either, just a fancy brunch with crackers & bubbly, which takes us through to about 3 or 4.

Honestly, it really is a case of less is more. Hang out with who you love, eat some delicious food and give what you can/want. 💜

I once cried on a shop assistant in Boots whilst trying to buy a secret Santa present. She had a distinct look of ‘I do not get paid enough for this shit’.
I don’t do ss now as too stressful

There's some kind of time vortex shifter isn't there. One moment you're in your shirtsleeves, moaning that it's way too early to even think about christmas. Then with absolutely no warning you have no free weekend days left and the things you vaguely thought about buying are hard to get.

Worst of all are all the other muppets leaving it late. If they'd planned a bit better, the shops wouldn't be mayhem.

Special shout out to Nigella who avoids the shops by cooking her presents. Using ingredients. From shops. That also sell presents.

Not me but I witnessed a great Christmas meltdown.

I was in one of those Home Counties shopping centres, the ones that are all the same and over heated, just before Christmas. Walking behind a woman who was weighed down with so many shopping bags that she reminded me of one of those send money for the poor donkey ads you see on the telly between the life insurance and high interest loan ones.

She was approached by a young man in a shiny suit who asked her if she wanted to sign up to play paintball. It's hard to describe exactly why but she was the woman least likely to want to play paintball that I'd ever seen and the young man knew this, he was just trying to mock her.

She put down her bags, straightened up and shouted in his face "when I start shooting people, it will be with real bullets and you'll be on my list."

Here's today's advent calendar offering:

I used to love Christmas , the last two years have been tough with family bereavement and I felt like I was just ticking boxes and going through the motions . This year I'm kinda in the spirit but I'm not pushing it. I've cut back on cards and I'm just going to sit back and let it happen around me , no stress

@Trailedanderror on my, that calendar is full of the joys of Christmas Where is it from? so I can avoid it next year

I feel the same. I always, always, get a stinking cold/chest infection a couple of weeks before Christmas, just when I have the most to do. My DD's birthday is at the start of the month, so Christmas can't start until that's been done, then it's DH's birthday a few days before Christmas. I have to find a £5 secret Santa gift before Thursday, and make a Christmas jumper for work lunch (I refuse to buy one).

Last year was the worst though. Wanting to announce that I was pg with #2 when we saw family at Christmas we had an early scan. Not good, and we were left in limbo for two weeks to see if our too small foetus was going to make it (I knew it wasn't). Ended up having an ERPC three days before Christmas. That was properly shit.

It'll all be over soon.

Trailedanderror Christmas looks grim and joyless at the Inland Revenue

What Xocaraic wrote earlier; I have done the same re going away for the festivities.

Family bereavements, sneezing at each other over the table on Christmas and a close friend dying near Christmas has also driven this decision as well as MIL's behaviour towards me when she is the guest in our home. She scampering up to me when DH is out of the room with a 33cl sized bottle of water in hand saying this is for BIL is not in any way acceptable.

If you're a woman, the best way to be a child again is to be a man! Sorted!

Trailed where is that advent calendar from? I can think of at least ten friends who would love it.

Our house is being renovated and the kitchen was meant to be in before Christmas, now delayed to January. I had a tiny strop about this, and also the general dust and mess in the house means it's probably not worth getting a tree either. But i'm seven months pregnant and have given in to giving zero fucks about it all now. Christmas bad time anyway due to bereavement and family issues, three year old DD will be happy with stocking and a few things wrapped in newspaper. It'll all be over soon!

Trailed, I need that advent calendar!! Usually I'm feeling the joy but I'm snowed in for the third day, car couldn't get off the ice and my children are climbing the walls so I'm a bit Bah Humbug today

I've added the thread to my watch list just to find out where that advent calendar is from!

I want the calendar too! It made me laugh out loud! Where is it from?!

Trailed, I need that advent calendar for my dad next year :o please tell us where it's from!

SilentlyScreamingAgain, that woman in the shopping centre is my new hero! I fucking hate being accosted by anyone trying to sell me stuff, they're always pushy, condescending bastards.

My 10 year old son would love that advent calendar!!

I need to go to Specsavers. I read the calendar as "needing to be faxed" and I thought "do people still even use faxes"? Then I looked again. I thought it was something Pythonesque.

No actual melt downs here, but I do plan to have a “migraine” on Boxing Day this year.

Just to be clear, the reason I have no history of melt downs is not because I’m some kind of saint. No. I am a fucking stubborn bastard and refuse to be dragged into Christmas insanity.

I've not had a meltdown as such but I'm really not looking forward to Christmas and am actually dreading it slightly. I've done a panic buy of presents (40 presents for 16 people, immediately family and teenage DS1 & 2) and have spent around £750 so far! And I KNOW it's about the giving not receiving, but I bought myself a beauty advent calendar and have held off opening it so I'd have something to open on the day (don't usually get anything in return from 2 x brothers, 2 x sisters and various nieces and nephews).

DS1 would rather go to my ex-in laws for Christmas dinner as they have a huge, noisy get together, whereas it would be just me, him and DS2.

I'm feeling a bit woe is me and sorry for myself and probably just need a good kick up the arse

I'm basically missing out on all the festivities at work as they've all been planned for my non working days, the miserable twats then shot down the idea of a secret Santa this year Needless to say when the office busy body breezed round to my desk demanding I contribute to the bosses gifts I wasn't feeling overly impressed-she was even less impressed when I did this face & said errrrm no- I wanted to say fuck off but managed not to, just.

Christmas is very stressful, especially for anyone who is trying to organise a perfect day for a number of guests and family etc.

OP you need to watch one or two of your favourite Christmas movies (this may have to wait until the weekend I realise) anyway, watch Home Alone , Die Hard and It’s a Wonderful Life whilst wearing a Christmas sweater and drinking baileys or baileys spiked hot chocolate. Then put on some cheery Christmas tunes and wrap a few gifts.

I defy anyone to wrap presents whilst drinking Baileys and listening to Slade sing Merry Xmas and still feel all bah humbuggy.

Not so much Christmas but listen to my morning. Had to risk life lastnight to go and get ingredients for dd gcse cooking today. This had to be done as due to her cock up missed a cooking class last week. Schools were shut yesterday but hinted at today being ok. Also realised it was dd nursery party and needed to buy jam to make sandwiches and prepare for a job interview today ! Soooooo woke up at dick a clock. Got an email to say youngest school was shut ok no problem didn't need to prep and food. Got both kids ready, went outside scraped the whole car and warmed it up only to them look down and see a flat tyre. 5 mins after that got a tx to say oldest school was shut after all. So cooking ingredients weren't needed. Got two bored kids. A job interview shortly and no fuckin car.