Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be a bit shocked by the Christmas topic

135 replies

user1485342611 · 03/01/2018 09:49

Someone mentioned it on a thread yesterday and I ventured in out of curiosity. There are people on there anticipating and planning Christmas from about April on, discussing Christmas in August, worrying about it in June?????

Fair enough, people want to spread the cost across a few months, but beyond that why on earth would you be planning Christmas and talking about it in the middle of Summer?

AIBU to find this a bit strange?

OP posts:
TheQueenOfWands · 03/01/2018 09:51

Meh. Up to them.

I'm not sure of the fuss. It's a few presents and a fat bastard chicken. People go OTT.

defineme · 03/01/2018 09:53

If it makes them happy then great. If they're stressed then not so good.yabu to be shocked though...the UK is more Christmas obsessed than anywhere.

ghostyslovesheets · 03/01/2018 09:54

I start planning presents etc after summer because I have 2 kids with birthdays in October and December - so I have to start early

wouldn't post about it though or get stressy

Singlebutmarried · 03/01/2018 09:55

I couldn’t imagine preparing that early.

I’m a wrap the presents xmas eve once the child is in bed type person tho

Forgettable · 03/01/2018 09:56

Love the Christmas boards. Tucked away in own topic to avoid offending sensibilities of those less obsessed interested.

Ho ho ho

Thehairthebod · 03/01/2018 09:57

It's always on Christmas Day itself that it hits me that it is just one day and the build up is a bit OTT. Yes a small amount if planning is required in the run up, but the months of Christmas everything isn't really necessary.

We had a great Christmas this year - really relaxed, tried to pare back on the presents, I messed up dinner a bit but it didn't matter, it was great!

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 03/01/2018 09:59

The Christmas topic is one of the few ones that I hide.
That works until about October when they start spilling out into the main board.

Buxbaum · 03/01/2018 10:03

But - that is why it has its own topic...

CuppaSarah · 03/01/2018 10:05

For me a big part of Christmas is the fun of planning and finding bargains. Ds has his birthday on Christmas eve so lots of afford. The best bargains are at weird times of the year.

Phosphorus · 03/01/2018 10:08

I start planning early. It's fun.

Some people get super onto holidays, weddings, TTC, cooking, meal planning.

I do Christmas. All sparkly, and gift wrapped, and no one thinks you've list your mind when you spend £50 on a dead tree and plonk it in the middle of your house. Xmas Grin

sinceyouask · 03/01/2018 10:08

Meh, people like what they like. It's easy to hide the topic if it's not your thing. Goodness knows there are times I find the thought of planning Xmas in April less boring and weird than yet another intricate discussion of the Bristol Rovers starting g lineup and likely finish place in the league!

dolfinne · 03/01/2018 10:09

i know many people who go away for christmas and its only like planning any other holiday and organising it in advance, especially if its something likely to be booked up early.
As for christmas at home, i guess people do what works for them and how organised they like to be, some people would rather start buying early then save throughout year and buy everything in November/December or maybe others are really busy before christmas and like to get it all done when its a quiet time at work

I was shopping a few days ago and couldnt believe the people in front of me at the checkout had a trolley full of sale stuff and a tick off list, discussing with her dp who she still needed to buy xmas bits for almost 51 weeks in advance ! I would worry someones interests might change and who knows where they store all this stuff

Sarahh2014 · 03/01/2018 10:10

TheQueenOfWands fat bastard chicken 😂😂

Original poster
user1485342611 · 03/01/2018 10:10

I know people will say it's none of my business but it is people like that who have turned Christmas into this big stress fest that starts in Oct and is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid - it's ruining what used to be a lovely meaningful and family time in deepest mid winter for the rest of us.

Don't people have anything else going on in their lives for the rest of the year. It's almost like a hobby or pastime for some people.

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 03/01/2018 10:12

They're ruining it for the rest of us?? Confused

How? By doing their own thing?

I don't start until December but I find your attitude really strange.

pictish · 03/01/2018 10:13

Bit off to go into the specified Christmas topic and then snide about it being about Christmas.

I never give Christmas a thought until December every year and every year after I have run around like a blue arsed fly, I swear I'm going to get organised early for the next one...but I never do.

Good on those who are organised enough to spare themselves the stress.

StoorieHoose · 03/01/2018 10:14

How is it ruining it for you though? Just hide the topic and don’t engage

irretating · 03/01/2018 10:14

I've got a grudging admiration for them to be honest. I may laugh at them in public but really when they've got all the presents bought and wrapped before November has rolled by and I'm just starting to shop, I do think maybe they're on to something.

usualGubbins · 03/01/2018 10:16

We seem to be obsessed with the 'one day' thing at the moment. Weddings that cost more than a new upmarket car, and Christmases with more presents than people have storage space. Then the inevitable moaning about debt costs and how it wasn't their fault that the payday loan companies are charging 1000% APR.

Personally I'd far rather have a more tempered time so that I can enjoy the rest of the year!

FundayMorning · 03/01/2018 10:17

YABU, very very U actually. I can't stand talking about Christmas personally until December. For a lot of people it is a sort of hobby, it's no different to spending all year researching and planning your annual holiday really. Perfectly innocent fun that no-one is asking you to partake in.

PizzaPower · 03/01/2018 10:17

I'm with the others; and slightly confused about how what other people do who have no connection to you affect your life.

BiddyPop · 03/01/2018 10:17

For some though, the planning ahead of time on shopping etc means that they can concentrate during the festive season on the actual meaning, take time for friends and family and church etc rather than focussing on the commercial fest that it has become for many.

ghostyslovesheets · 03/01/2018 10:17

ruining it? oh come off it - that's a huge stretch

Original poster
user1485342611 · 03/01/2018 10:18

Sorry expressed myself badly.

I mean that people who are constantly stretching the Christmas season out, making it into a bigger and bigger thing, etc are changing the whole nature and tone of Christmas for everyone. I know you an say 'just don't join in' but it's a general society thing now that Christmas has become over commercialised, ridiculously stressful and hugely expensive for a lot of people.

OP posts:
whiskyowl · 03/01/2018 10:19

I have no problem with the topic and those who want to do the whole shebang for Christmas.

BUT I think we ought to start a Slow Christmas movement that promotes the idea that it's socially acceptable to do it all another way, with the emphasis on how we spend time and not on commodities. With every Christmas that goes by I feel more and more... sickened, really, by how tacky, overblown, plastic, alcoholic and unChristmassy the whole thing has become. It actually makes me feel the opposite of festive - really sad and low.