To think Christmas was better before it started mid October and there were beauty advent calenders etc?

[malificent7]

I love Christmas but it is becoming increasingly out of hand. Popped into Hungry Horse pub in September and they had a frickin Christmas tree up to advertise their December menu.
Why are there now £100 gin advent calenders and as much as i love decorations do we really need piles of tat everywhere?. I think it is more magic if it starts later and there is less pressure to spend squillions.
Aibu to think it has gone a bit crackers?

( pardon the pun.)

I think shops definitely get things in later nowadays because all the halloween stuff is out. It used to be out in Sept but now you only get a tiny bit before halloween is over.

Not just me then....i do love nany aspects of it but not all the spend spend spend...

Many

YANBU - the DC have started practising for their Christmas shows already and DD2 asks me about 20 times a day when it's going to be Christmas. I snapped today and said we'd discuss it when it got to December and not when it's not even the middle of November.

I can remember when chocolate advent calendars started coming out. Highly disapproved of in my house: we had the picture ones!

YANBU. I enjoy a bit of festive prep and getting in the mood, but it feels like such a commercial endurance race now.

There's a whole thing around Xmas bedding, new PJs, Xmas Eve 'boxes' - even seasonal cushion covers FFS! I did quite like the idea of the different advent calendars when they first started, but it feels like it's got completely out of hand. God only knows how much of it ends up in landfill.

Christmas should be about 'Peace on Earth, goodwill to all (wo)men' - Christian, atheist, Jew, Muslim, whatever. Count your blessings, give something to those less fortunate and indulge with good food with friends, family and visitors.

Instead it's a consumer fest of crap and people actully get in debt for it and hugely stressed.

YANBU. I hate it. Ruins any possible chance of feeling festive when it's rammed down your throat as soon as Halloween is over.

And Pikachus mum....a Halloween xmas tree...wtf!

YABU to go into hungry horse.

Seriously though, lots of people like to spread the cost of Christmas and so start their shopping earlier and shops take full advantage of it to get us to spend more. They are there to make money at the end of the day. I always book a specific restaurant for Christmas eve in October or I wouldn't get a table as it books up quickly.

It's definitely not getting earlier, as others have said. People have always booked Christmas works parties and meals in August/September so pubs and restaurants always have their displays up then. The advent calendar thing is just the latest fad of the past 5 or so years, that will probably fall out of fashion again soon enough.

I love Christmas anyway! Plus those of us with small incomes start thinking about budgeting in late summer because we have to.

I agree. I can't think of any of it till end of Nov. And I can't afford a fancy Advent 😩

We're all consumers, if no-one bought the stuff it would stop, market forces at work. I remember at work being asked to chose in March my Christmas meal for the night out.

YABU to go into hungry horse

Why's that?

I agree. It’s all far too early. Since having my youngest on Dec 20th we don’t put up our tree up until the 21st and that suits me just fine!

So I used to do the “no Christmas until 15th December” but I’ve relented this year as we’re a bit skint, so I’ve been buying bits in advance to spread the cost rather than buying all the presents, decorations and food and party outfits in the same week, and I’ve found I’m loving it, we’ve even put some decorations up and it feels quite freeing to just go with it rather than trying to avoid all the Christmas stuff!

I don't think it starts any earlier than it always did in the shops but it's the sheer volume of stuff, events and tat in every type of outlet be it a shop, cafe, playbarn, trust property etc it's in your face constantly and people obsessing and showing off about it on social media. End of moan and back to my Christmas free November

YABU to go into hungry horse

Why's that?

It’s home of boil in the bag meat isn’t it? That and Toby carvery

“Spend spend spend” is a choice. It’s actually not hard not to spend money on a gin calendar 🤷‍♀️

Xmas tree in pub - perfectly reasonable, it’s advertising, they want to get Xmas parties booked in.

I see decorations going up and Xmas aisles in shops and think “ooooh, Xmas is nice - it’s coming up in 2 months” - and then I carry on my day without spending any money at all.

People have to take personal responsibility. You don’t like it? Don’t buy it.

I do nothing Xmas related til December - don’t care if other people do though. Ditto gin calendars - not for me, but if someone wants them - go for it.

Yes, forget the 12 days of Christmas it's 3 months. Sucks the joy out of it.

It is meant to make you spend. It has had the reversed effect on me. I don't send cards, and only buy proper stuff rather than all those shite stocking fillers.

I'm trying to have a more environmentally friendly Christmas this year and it really is helping me cut back on a lot of the crap... extra tat to make their piles of presents look bigger, advent calendars with loads of plastic for the sake of only 1 chocolate per day, miniature beauty products in more packaging etc. Its all gone and I feel a sense of relief too.

YANBU. I went to the Card Factory last Wednesday (6th Nov!) for some wrapping paper for DDs birthday (11th Nov) and some other birthday gift bags etc. There were two bays of non Christmas gifts wrap right at the back, mostly A’s sheets which were nice but I needed quite a lot and the rolls were all really adult patterns, nothing for a 3yo. I said to a member of staff how disappointing I found it and obviously they couldn’t give a shit. Not that I really expect them to but still, it is disappointing.

What is wrong with taking the tree down on Boxing Day? I like mine up Dec 1st - 26th and then I like a nice big clean on the 27th! Then again, I love Christmas Eve boxes, wooden home-filled advent calendars and we even have an Elf on the Shelf so maybe I’m not your target audience.

I just think it is sad that some people focus so intently on Christmas Day and the time leading up to it that it is inevitably a let-down when the day comes. I love Christmas Eve - that still seems a bit magical - but hate the day itself and the in between week until New Year. Decorations go up 2nd or 3rd weekend in December and come down on 1st Jan for a fresh new start.

When I was a child, I had picture Advent calendars which I re-used every year!

DD wants to put the Christmas CD on in the car tomorrow since she is singing at a Christmas Fair in a couple of weeks. It wouldn't be so bad if there h ad been some decent new songs that I haven't had to listen to for the last 20 or 30 years (or perhaps even longer!)