AIBU to think that Christmas should be a four-yearly event?

[PineappleDanish]

A bit like the Olympics, or the World Cup.

For the overwhelming majority of people it's not a religious celebration. And of course if Christmas is about religion for you, you can still go to church. But AIBU to think the whole thing would be better if it was once every four years rather than annually, starting the first week in September?

Total ban on decorations, present buying, consumption and spending for the sake of it, no elves, no christmas jumper days, no cheesy music, no pantomimes, no trees, no stress, no works nights out, just none of it.

Would be amazing.

Could it be that your heart is two sizes too small?

Nothing to stop you celebrating every four years but don’t inflict your fun sponge on the rest of us.

Wow, bet you're a barrel of laughs on the 25th!

Christmas is as OTT as you allow it to be. If you don't like the consumerism, scale it back in your own household, but don't dictate to others that they shouldn't enjoy it every year.

I agree OP, but I'd go further and make it an every 10 yearly event. That way it would be extra special

Ah so it’s just general Scrooge “bah humbug” then. YADBU! You can pry my Christmas festivities out of my cold dead hands

I’m not that bothered about Christmas Day itself - but I absolutely love the Season. Christmas meals, drinks, “oh go on, it’s Christmas”. I was having a shit day last week and then some people started singing Christmas Carols in the lobby at work - instant mood lift!

I’m with you regarding pantomimes though - think even once we have DC I’ll be avoiding them like the plague!

There’s nothing wrong with not liking Christmas if there are other things that bring you joy. I have a friend who talks about Christmas like you, OP, and the same about every other annual celebration. She is very miserable to be around. I get very bored of hearing how Easter eggs are a waste of money, hallowe’en is pointless, Christmas is a waste of money, school plays are a personal affront to her spare time, school nativities were a waste of a half day of annual leave, sports day is pointless...so not liking Christmas is ok, but not liking anything that isn’t normal 9to5 life is maybe a sign of a deeper malaise.

If you don’t want to do it then don’t. Leave it to your dh who obviously does. Then don’t moan when the kids say what horrible times they had due to mums moaning, or they don’t bother inviting you to them for Xmas when they have family

Or you could just pick and choose the bits you want to do and not do the rest? Things we do:

Tree (15 years old, cost €12)
Decorations (mostly homemade from days of yore when we were broke as fuck)
Christmas lunch
Stockings and tree gifts
Christmas films
One visit to FC
Christmas cards (about 10 to those in different countries and family)
Christmas music
DS makes a table decoration for 25th, mostly painted loo rolls and googly eyes type stuff! But they're cheerful and damn sweet and he feels so involved.
Christmas tablecloth and napkins homemade (I'm a sewer so no biggy for me to run up)
DS has a polar bear mug, bowl and plate gifted when he was a baby, so that comes out when school breaks up, we have no other "just for Christmas' crockery, no best China, no solid silver cutlery etc.
Advent calendar, reusable, full of chocolate or sweets.
Knitivity with added Playmobil people and animals.

We don't do:
North pole breakfast
Elf
Christmas Eve boxes
Christmas bedding/towels/cushions
Big Xmas markets
Grottos
Santa train
Panto (going to our 1st and only this year as we have young DC and will be in the UK, also christingle in local church, again in UK)
Photos on social media
Wrapping paper (unless for friends' DC) is either folded fabric or fabric drawstring bags, been doing it for 5 years now.
Gifts for: DS, DH (something small plus a couple of second hand books), 2 godsons, 2 nieces abroad, my friend's miracle baby. That's it, no running round shops.
No work secret Santa
No Xmas jumpers at home/school/work

It is soooooo freeing! Christmas is low key, enjoyable, the tree, lights, music, the anticipation of Christmas holiday and time off, the little treats. The Christmas morning pancakes! Seeing ds' little face as he reads the letter FC wrote for him and left on top of the tree presents

Honestly, cut it RIGHT back. Grey rock the rest. Meditate, do yoga, breathe. Shop online. Play boardgames, play charades, have a laugh!

OP you are a genius. Absolute genius.

A winter festival celebrating the end of the year and looking forward to spring is I think very useful for human beings. We have done it well before Christianity. It gives something to do and look forward to at a time of year when many other activities are curtailed ( as an outdoor loving person). It helps us to reflect and take stock, reconnect with people who perhaps we don't much simply because we are just busy.

So you need a find a way to make it work for you. You don't have to do a tree, if dh and dc wants it, let them get on with it. Don't be a martyr.

why get fashed by the stuff appearing in shops early? If I let myself get upset by the amount of environment hurting tat that is on sale all year round, I would be very miserable.

Other people are different and like different things, unless they are really affecting you ( physically, not your eyes ) then let them get on with it and just ignore it

But can you imagine the pressure you would be under to make it a good one? The little irritations that happen every Christmas - insufficient gravy, second rate roasties or whatever - they would be magnified fourfold.

You are actually the grinch. I love Christmas. But only from 1st December not September. We don't crazy present but in our house despite being financially able to do so and keep things very simple.
People getting caught in that lunacy are most likely more than able to stop it if they really want to. And why every four years. Why not make it ten OP.

I'd love that, so long as I could still have the time off work.

Am totally with you op. And those of you calling "Scrooge", really it's nothing to do with that. It's to do with -

As pp mentioned, the idea of 'enforced merriment'
The extreme and very cynical commercialism
The fact that so many families put themselves into debt at Xmas
The sheer bloody extravagance and waste
People who start planning Xmas day in June and treat it like a military campaign
People who put their decorations up in November

I could go on!

I’d be fine with every other year.

I love Christmas and it helps me get through the winter. It’s so cold and dark and wet and Christmas cheers me up.
Also remember how long it felt waiting for Christmas as a child, and how lovely childhood Christmases were? Not fair on children to only have it once every 4 years.
If you feel like this only do the minimum?

I agree about the over-commercialisation, but the response should be to downscale that, not the event itself.

As pp mentioned, the idea of 'enforced merriment'
The extreme and very cynical commercialism
The fact that so many families put themselves into debt at Xmas
The sheer bloody extravagance and waste
People who start planning Xmas day in June and treat it like a military campaign
People who put their decorations up in November

But you don't need to participate in any of that. We do Christmas in a way that makes us happy and don't care what anyone else does.

But I do agree with pp that if it was any less often there’d be even more pressure for it to be “perfect”.

What would we do on the December bank holidays, or would they be cancelled for three years in a row?

Are you also proposing to ban New Year?

People putting themselves into debt for Christmas is neither my fault nor my business. We could put ourselves into debt, DS has been asking for a Switch - too expensive mate, not gonna happen. We have no debt, credit cards we just don't use. If we don't have the money, we don't buy it. DH and I are mid-40s, had similar upbringings, debt scares us - that knock on the door

As pp mentioned, the idea of 'enforced merriment'
The extreme and very cynical commercialism
The fact that so many families put themselves into debt at Xmas
The sheer bloody extravagance and waste
People who start planning Xmas day in June and treat it like a military campaign
People who put their decorations up in November

Surely making it once every 4 years would exacerbate these problems.

Brilliant suggestion...
I don't know why I get so overwhelmed with it every year?
Does everyone else?
I guess I get a little miserable because the family are just not around anymore.
No Grandparents for the DCs, not a huge amount of extended family - blended family so this year I won't see my DCs until 9am Boxing Day.
We will have DPs DCs on Xmas eve until 10am Xmas Day, then just the two of us.
Blah, sounds awful just thinking about it.

Merry Christmas!

I must have missed the part when a vindictive elf came round in September and put a gun to your head and forced you to participate. You don’t want to do it? Fine, don’t. Others do want to, and so they do.

I honestly don’t understand all of the angst around it. No one is legally compelled to put a tree up, or go to a pantomime for fucks sake