To ask if you make a 'big deal' about 1st December?

1st December is when I start thinking about Christmas shopping. I don't like Christmas though. I used to put the tree up on Christmas Eve and take it down on New Years Day. Now the kids are older they nag to put it up by the 20th. I do try to keep the celebrations to Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I would rather go abroad and ignore it all, but the family do not agree.

I do think starting Christmas celebrations on the 1st is very early, but eat to their own.

I only do advent calendars, or o run the risk of peaking too early.

That said my house has a lot of candles and fairy lights all year round.

Absolutely not. Advent begins on 2nd December this year.

Thank you 😊. The thing is, pre dc's my DH and I used to have major, MAJOR beef over Xmas. He wanted tree etc up asap, he's already recording the odd Xmas film on the planner and he'd be watching them already if it wasn't for our post dc agreement. I'd have been happy for the tree etc to go up the week before the day, he'd have done it in November. I do it for the kids so we meet in the middle now. It isn't costly really because we reuse so much, luckily we have the storage to do so. But I don't really want to, I've faked it until I made it when dd was very small (4 now) and now I genuinely want to because they love it. And the happier it makes her the happier it makes me so I don't want to stop. Left to my own devices I'd find no joy in Xmas but I do it for them, my ds will be 1yr2mth this Xmas so he'll enjoy it too. I suppose my point is that despite your struggles if you want to make it special for your kids go for it! Go so over the top you feel ridiculous but they will know and remember the good times, it doesn't have to be all about consumerism.

Tree up, decorate the house, advents out, christmas movie and either takeaway or some treats. The works have some craft sets, colouring books or you could bake?

I’ll put up the tree and sort the —bastard— lights out the week before (fighting with them NEVER starts the season off well!), then I can enjoy putting everything else out on the 1st. I’m a minimalist...until it comes to Christmas, then it kind of explodes!

we make the whole month Christmasy

we home educate so do a lot of crafts,cooking and making home made decorations

we start with films,research how christmas came about(not the Jesus part as we are atheists)

we usually officially put everything up but last year we did 1st of nov and it was to long so sticking to 1st of dec

this year we are going to try home made pot puri(ie dried oranges,cinnamon sticks etc)

I put my tree up the first weekend of December so it'll be the 1st this year. Christmas bedding on then too and obviously advent calendars started.

I live alone (but host Christmas for my parents and brother) I love it and decorate my house on/by the 1st including putting out the Nutcracker, various decorations and Christmas creatures and putting on the Christmas bedding. I also have Christmas leggings for the gym and special Christmas glasses (wine, not specs) Your house, your Christmas! And glad you feel so much better.

Not RTFT, but clicked on this thinking it was going to be about World AIDS Day.

Way too early to start.
I love Christmas but not for one twelfth of the entire year.
I don't do Christmas duvets or crockery or pyjamas etc. I get sick of seeing them.
I get a real tree a week before Christmas and all the decorations and Playmobil crib etc come out

Yes, it’s World AIDS Day so we wear red ribbons and donated to AIDS charities usually.

I feel like every year Christmas turns into a bigger and bigger dear, and thus actually loses any hope of actually being special.

We put the tree up on the 12th. We make some crafts starting from then, might start eating some Christmassy things like mince pies, but I'm not spending months (or even a month) of the year thinking about one day.

We put up our tree and watch Christmas movies while we do it!

Usually just put the tree and decorations up.

This year DS is 2 (literally a few days before) so 1st December he'll get his happyland advent calendar, maybe a Thornton's chocolate one. We'll get his nativity set out and talk about all the characters.

The Christmas books come out and the Christmas dvds will get put into circulation. Festive bedding will go on and we'll probably do some baking with jazzy sprinkles.

We'll go to church for the first Sunday in advent and then I'm planning to go to a paint your own pottery place to make some gifts for various grandma's from DS.

I plan for Christmas from about July so most of DS shopping is done and the Christmas Eve Box complete.

Last year he was too young to understand but we still make Christmas cards, went to see father Christmas. Went to a garden centre (which does CHRISTMAS!) and showed him all the lights and decorations. Went for wintery walks (to see if we could spot the elves watching for kind behaviour) made cakes (DS didn't help much with that to be fair ). This year there will be more warm milk and gingerbread snowmen. More Christmas themed playgroups and classes so he'll have his Christmas outfits and lots of chance to wear them! we're going to a Christmas farm with reindeer and a Christmas day at a theme park. I'm so excited!

1st December Advent calendar goes up, Advent candle gets lit and first batch of bakewell mince pies baked.
First sunday of Advent, first candle on the blue peter style advent ring gets lit.
6th December St Nicholas's day - first play of the Christmas carols CD
15th December Tree and decs go up

We are obsessed with Christmas songs here but they are banned until Dec 1st. Then we go all out!

With my family we have a stupid thing where we try to be the first to make the others listen to 'In Dulci Jubilo' by Mike Oldfield in December. I used to win quite easily by phoning everyone at around 9am on the 1st and playing it at full volume down the phone. Now everyone has upped their game. My mum did well recently with a homemade Christmas card that played it when you opened it (didn't see that coming!) but then my sister smashed it last year when she sent a video of herself singing it covered in fairy lights as the clock turned midnight on the 1st. I need a plan for this year!

Some of these ideas are lovely

mumof2 I wasn't criticising you in any way, I just don't like Christmas being shoved down my throat from all the shops and Christmas people (the people who start going ONLY 30 WEEKENDS TIL XMAS in July or whatever).

Think there’s a few people on this thread who need to remember this...

I think everyone’s totally entitled to do things however they see fit. For the people who think Christmas is more special when it’s confined to a shorter period of time, great, do what makes you happiest. Same goes to the people who spread it out over the whole month! There’s no need to be rude about how other people choose to celebrate, it’s hardly having an impact on how you prefer to do things.

Personally I’m firmly in the second camp, I love Christmas and try and make December as fun and magical as possible for my DC while they’re small. In the blink of an eye they’ll be hulking teenagers who won’t want to visit Santa, make decorations and write letters to the North Pole so I don’t see the harm in enjoying it all while it lasts

robot It's not rude to state a preference.

Why not do the same cartoon with 'shh let people enjoy their lives without three months of Christmas talk, decorations, songs, crafts etc'. Not everyone wants to spend a quarter of their life focused on one day.