To be thankful Christmas is over for another year....

[Oakenbeach]

Presents opened by 6am.... Dinner eaten and decorations RIPPED down and back in the loft. Roll on New Year.

Yep, thank you letter after each present before they open the next one. I thought that was standard

I know some people who write a list of who sent what when they open the presents.

It's the superiority and smugness that gets me. It's just so unattractive. I feel sorry for the children having to live this joyless event.

And as pps point out, it's not efficient going out to the sales on Boxing Day, when most of the retailers start their sales online on Christmas Eve.
The sales aren't like they used to be over Christmas, anyway. You could get real bargains then, but nowadays, with retailers increasing prices in the run up to Christmas, just so they can then claim to give a big discount in the sales, they're not really worth the bother. I just tend to pick up items like wrapping paper and decorations, to save on the costs next year.

But what’s wrong with a bit of organisation in life to make every moment productive.... If someone’s doing some ahead of you, it tends to mean they’re ahead of you, better organised and planned, and therefore more effective and productive. This is one of the worst things I have ever read. It’s a dreadful way to live, the sheer competitiveness of it. Have you read Hard Times?

awwww bless you OP - hope you and the kids enjoy slogging round hot shops buying shite tomorrow - magical!

I'm going for a long walk - then up to my parents 27th - more gifts, another dinner, walks, laughter, family time

Back home for NYE - out with my lovely mates - welcoming 2020

Tree will come down around the 2nd/3rd

I love the rest and the chilled out fun

It sounds very efficient....but I wonder if the rest of the family is on board with this level of efficiency?

Hahaha - no wonder you hate it - all that pressure to get it done and dusted!

Next year, try eating later, leaving the decs up til just before you go back to work after New Year, and spending the afternoon chilling with a wine and playing games with the kids.

It's a hell of a lot of faff if you only put the decs up for a short time - it makes more sense, if it pisses you off, to leave them up for longer. Or to never take them down.

Missing a trick OP, missing a trick.

Yep, thank you letter after each present before they open the next one. I thought that was standard. They’re not posted yet though.

Why the hell not?
Surely you have bought stamps already seeing as you are so ahead of the game?
What utter bull, those poor kids. Xmas is just one long chose! just write down who gave what and let them.actially play with thier presents!
Nobody can be this selfish surely?

Chore not chose!

Remember people... just because a poster is long standing, doesn’t mean they’re not being a goady twat 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh. Not a fan of Christmas then?

I wonder what tales your children will tell as adults to their partners and children about days of Christmas past...

Oh god , why bother ! Then out to the sales tomorrow 😳 no wonder Christmas is a let down . You are doing it all wrong .

How very weird. Why even bother in the first place?

It’s only the first day of Christmas!

Each to their own OP, but you seem sad... and this is sad. Imagine hating something so much yet frantically rushing on to post about it to the mainstream people who actually enjoy the day? Odd. Very, very odd.

I'm sorry for you and sorry for your children having to rush through their day because you don't like it.

... and why not take a sleeping bag and plonk yourself in front of your shop since that's the highlight for you?

Call yourself 'efficient'...

I celebrate Yule, and don't really like Christmas, but I celebrated Yule with my pagan friends at the weekend, simple ritual and lovely food round the fireside. It was lovely.

My daughter likes Christmas so we're having a lovely day with presents, roast beef for lunch, a walk, and now watching tv. Our decs will stay up til the 6th of January, it's a time to relax, not rip all the decorations down the minute Xmas lunch is over.

You can take the decorations down but ripping them down is plain awful and has fuck all to do with efficiency and everything to do with aggression.

Merry Christmas

I agree with Abraid2, although Christmas starts on Christmas Eve for us

I’ll be going to next in the morning, only because my son needs a new coat. I don’t want to go but needs must I couldn’t afford it full price and it had gone by the time I got my VIP slot. Spending Boxing Day evening with my husband having a CT scan to find out if he has a progressive lung disease. And even I’ve got more festive cheer.

That is the perfect example of “Christmas is cancelled”

Christmas wasn’t cancelled! It’s just that all the obligatory Xmas tasks had been ticked off by 1pm, so it’s “off with the old, and on with the new”! I’m actually very traditional - that’s why it simply has to be “Sales on Boxing Day” - that’s just what people do! None of this pre-Christmas malarkey!

Gosh how sad this all is. I can’t wait to finally relax with family for a few days.

Good lord, my Christmas is far from over!!

But life isn't a series of tick boxes and things to be checked off. It's about living in the moment, enjoying things, spending time with people, savouring experiences. It's not just 'done that, done that, done that. What next?' But I suppose you live in your way and I live in mine. As long as you're happy and your family are happy.

Prepping for sales... You know, choosing what to wear, planning out itinerary, working out what to buy, settling on route and car park, making sure I have the change for car park etc... If planned for properly I can be one of the first there, have it all done and be back in good time for lunch, all ticked off on my calendar for another year.

All this so you can go shopping?!