To think it's way too early for Christmas???

[Fabiagracefawndorn]

Have been to the Range yesterday - Christmas is everywhere. Decorations, cards, craft supplies.

Seriously? It still feels like summer. Just why?

The downside for me personally is that they are destroying the special feeling about the festive season.

AIBU?

Prepare yourself for Boots getting their Christmas crap out, my friend works their and the warehouse elves are already stocking the stands.
Winter is coming.

I pressed send too soon.

I’m really excited for Christmas this year as like the PP it’s DDs 3rd one and she’ll understand it a bit more this year.
We’ve already got half of the lists written out and put a deposit on a Turkey. HO HO HO.

YANBU. I like the whole concept of Christmas but I hate what we're turning it into. It just seems to have got really OTT - ads and Christmas displays in September, people putting their trees up in November, kids getting massive piles of presents under the tree, everything from advent calendars to Christmas 'traditions' becoming commercialised and another excuse for businesses to make money.

Then the awful crashing back down to earth afterwards and everyone going around talking about how miserable and broke they are in January, and how they're off drink and sweet stuff because they boozed and gorged so much over Christmas.

It's easy to say 'well just have the Christmas you want', but it's not that easy to put into practise when you're being bombarded with Christmas music and Christmas decorations before Autumn is even over and events that used to be low key and calm have all been turned into huge money making rackets. For instance you rarely see an old fashioned local type pantomime anymore. They're nearly all hugely expensive shows starring boy bands and soap stars with gimmicky stuff being sold in the foyer just to pressure parents to part with even more money.

Prepare yourself for Boots getting their Christmas crap out

Was in tesco this morning and staff were filling the tat aisle with chocolate, shortbread boxes, cheap and nasty gift sets and those "novelty" gifts which are quite frankly only bought by idiots for the office secret santa.

Urgh.

Also meant to add that there's a lot to criticise about the consumerist culture in America but they have it right - nothing Christmassy until after Thanksgiving.

YANBU and every year I hate it more.Autumn is a lovely season with so many things to enjoy it it's overwhelmed,swamped by Christmas 'crap ' as someone put it earlier and earlier.I someone wants to quietly stock up on presents and wrap them to spread the cost that's their choice,but to have shop displays,Xmas jingles and adverts shoved onto us before Bonfire Night or Halloween have even happened -NO!What's utterly depressing is the sheer consumerism and the proliferation of plastic tat we're meant to buy in to.At a time where we are literally drowning in waste,most of which doesn't biodegrade to then feel you can't enter supermarket without even more of it takes away the so called 'magic 'of Christmas.Well for me anyway.And that doesn't mean I want it scrapped altogether-just downscale it,massively cut outdown the crap and make December the month for lights and festive trimmings to appear.Not going to happen though is it ?sadly.

@headinhands I'm with you 100%.

When there is so much misery in the world why not let people find joy in whatever they like. And if that's happily looking at Christmas "tat" in September then so be it 🎅🏻

I watched a program about this years ago - I don't know if its true for all stores but one store in particular purposely put things like boxes of christmas chocolates out early in the hope that people would buy a few boxes, couldn't resist the temptation, eat them all and then go out and buy more. I've never done that - honest

Xmas causes me, and many others, misery. The shops are being desperate and grabby for money by rolling it out in September. If it gets any earlier they might as well just keep it going for the entire year. How miserable will that be then?

Could you imagine Slade every day of the week for an entire year, forever?

Im so excited for christmas. Working in a buying office means that christmas is on mind all year. Depending on when it falls. Only xmas day and boxing day off before jan sale prep starts and finalising everything before lunar new year close down.

I am so so so excited to be on maternity leave this year so not have weeks of 16 hour days all december and january.

Feel like I can finally enjoy christmas.

Spare a thought for anyone who works in retail a lot of planning and prep goes into your christmas.

I love it

@StopItAndTidyUpNow I had to replace the Christmas quality street 4 times last year! I blame the shops

User there are loads of small pantos round me! Some in beautiful old theatres.

Could you imagine Slade every day of the week for an entire year, forever?

That awful song was, according to google, released in 1973. I was one year old. I have therefore suffered through FORTY FIVE fecking Christmasses of it. It's like a really bad version of Groundhog Day. Same movies on TV. Same stuff on the radio. Same "traditions". Doing the same thing again, and again and again for 45 years in a row is not interesting in the slightest.

Quite frankly bored with it all. Did suggest to the kids we have steak or something this year and you'd think I'd proposed pickling next door's dog and serving it with an apple in its mouth.

I’m starting to think about Christmas - i’ve bought a few presents and made mincemeat at the weekend - so i’m not averse to the shops getting stuff in. I think there’s a distinction between preparing for Christmas and celebrating Christmas. I’m quite happy to do the odd bit of shopping here and there, to start thinking about menus, recipes, who’s going where. I’m busy with other things and there’s a lot to do - it’s stressful to leave it all to the last minute.

I won’t decorate the house, eat a mince pie or listen to a Christmas carol any earlier than a week beforehand though. I would get sick of it all if I did any actual celebrating any earlier than that.

It is 37 today where I live. Unbearable heat and humidity. The thought of Christmas makes me want to scream. I need at least some cold, maybe a few snowflakes, to get in the mood. I vote for the Christmas every four years scheme.

I totally agree treats. Preparing for Christmas is one thing, and celebrating is another. It makes sense to make Christmas puddings, mincemeat etc in advance, and to spread the cost of presents across a couple of.months. And unfortunately a lot of Christmas events now have to be booked well in advance or they become booked up.

But it's another thing to keep pushing forward the whole Christmas buzz and atmosphere until we end up starting the celebrations in early November - trees going up, Christmas music playing in the shops, Santa's grottos opening etc. It just means that by late December you feel as if you've been celebrating for weeks and Christmas Day feels like a bit of an anti climax.

Then to counter that loads of people are rushing out to their local shopping centre on Boxing Day, taking down the decorations and basically declaring Christmas now formally over.

There's just something non magical about all of that.

Beach it is so boring. The same shite over and over and over again. I’m autistic and I love doing the same thing over and over, it’s part of who I am, but even I’m bored shitless with xmas now 😂

Please, for the love of god, stop playing the awful songs as well. Xmas once a decade as far as I’m concerned.

Just think, on other planets, there is no xmas! How lucky are the inhabitants? 😮

I understand it's very normal for some to start their preparation earlier.

But for me "creating Christmas atmosphere" months in advance is killing actual magic of it.. unfortunately. Pictures are taken several days ago.

I mean when I can't hide from it and being forced to see it everyday in the shops, listen to the songs too early.. nope. Not for me, it ruins the mood.

Bikinis, sun cream and sunglasses start appearing in the shops around March, 3 months before we need them in june. Its no different.

I think it is different. People go on sun holidays all year round. But we don’t celebrate Christmas at other times of the year.