Things you don't like about Christmas

[lorettalemon]

I know lots of other people must find it a stressful time - family dramas, having to see in-laws if you don't like them, getting food in, feeling obliged to go to things, the extra expense. If you don't like Christmas what are the things that bother you/you dread?

Perfume and aftershave adverts.

However I find it amusing that people form queues outside Pandora and how lucky the recipient of yet another charm is.

Turkey

The consumerism and the waste.

The expense, the tiredness - I can not sleep Christmas eve. Kids take ages to go off to sleep and I just can't shut down to get any sleep and come the start of December and through out this awful month we are always poorly. This time next week it will be over thank God.

The length of time it goes on. When I'm in charge of the world and everything in it, it will be an offence to display anything christmassy in public before Dec 4th, and any decorations will have to be removed by midnight on Jan 2nd.

Cheesy Christmas music being played every-fucking-where. A few years ago I abandoned a trolley full of shopping in a supermarket and walked out when I heard Aled Fucking Jones walking in the fucking air for about the 95th time in 3 days. It could just as easily been Slade or any one of a few dozen god-awful Christmas singles.

The crowds.

The waste.

The screaming, over excited, grabby children.

Having to go to some shitty chain pub for a Christmas meal with DP's whole extended family. It's MILs "treat" for us all, the food's always crap, it's a fucking rip-off and I dread it more with every year. I've managed to get "a nasty cold" a few times and genuinely had flu one year, but I can't get a sick note every year. Tbh, flu is preferable to going for the bloody meal. I love MIL to bits, but really don't need this.

Going out to a chain restaurant for a shitty meal with work. We all really get on well, and enjoy each other's company, but I'd far rather just go to a pub and have a natter. Preferably around May or June, when it's nice enough to sit outside.

This year, we're home alone again and the engineer man can't fix my main oven, we're having lasagne for Xmas day lunch (proper, made entirely from scratch by DP). I love a traditional Christmas lunch, but I'm quite looking forward to not having to peel anything or make pigs in blankets.

The enforced happiness, being told it's the most wonderful time of the year.
Feeling lonely because I'm always single, not being with the person you want to be.

I don't like the break going on too long. I go back to work at the earliest opportunity, and use some of the days off I could have had to have a break in January or February.

I don't like the hype starting in November. I cannot feel festive for prolonged periods. I don't like people buying shite, even if I am not receiver of said shite. I worry my kids don't massively look forward to it the way I did. My husband works shifts and I am a SAHM, so there is no break from routine in our house.

The judginess of other people because we don’t want to spend Christmas Day with either of our sets of parents. We’ve tried it before, none of our houses are big enough to comfortably accommodate everyone, cooking for that many people is difficult in a small kitchen and it we all like different things and start to get on each other’s nerves after a couple of hours (or a couple of minutes of MIL is involved)

Forced jollity is a bummer. As pp @Notaparent1 said.

We siblings alternate a Christmas Morning Gathering each year, children, grandchildren, babies, bottles, buggies, bags, noisy presents and lots of prosecco. It is fkn wild and great fun.

Then we go separately to do our own thing. No pressure, no fuss.

It took a while to sort out admittedly, but works now.

Try not be overwhelmed by Fear, Obligation, Guilt. Who cares. If that's the way they think, time for the bye byes.

Wrapping presents, putting up decorations and writing cards. It's such a chore, and I've not written one card this year

It makes me claustrophobic. Being stuck in the house all day with the heating on and stuffing ourselves with food. I just want to escape!!

Having to justify not taking part in all the crap that hoes with it.

The combination of xmas with xmas birthdays =clutter and stress.
Try not to spend too much and generally succeed. Kind of excited today but often feels a bit much!

I feel like the older i've got, the more I can't be arsed with it all.
I don't do cards and stopped doing adult family gifts. I just ended up with shite I didn't want or need.

So much angst for one day really gets me. Boxing Day is largely forgotten apart from what to do with the leftovers.

Sorry for GRINCH post.

I do not like the Christmas hype at all. And the use of cash in an envelope for most does the trick. Even if they are babies, their parents can decide. I swerve all the Christmas stuff really. And am happy out.

So can stay relatively calm.

I dislike enforced fun with my in laws who I have been emotionally abused by for 10 years

Other than that it’s great!

@Blueshadow, I absolutely know the feeling. Not the easiest time of year for shy people like me.

The trying to find a parking space and traffic jams

Feeling lonely and under achieving
Been single for Years now and 98% I enjoy being single, but something about not having a partner for Christmas and new year really gets to me. I snap out of it by the first week of jan, but I dread those dark moments.

I'll put a brave face on, but to be honest, I really don't like Christmas at all. All the bloody pointless run up to one bloody day. It does my head in, but I'll go along with it.

The fact that it's supposed to be all about love and togetherness so if you're already solitary and lonely, life seems even worse.

This