Has Christmas became too materialstic?

[stella139]

When you were younger, did you feel like Christmas had a different focus?
In my opinion, it seems like the main thing we focus on these days is buying presents etc, with people starting months ahead.

Do you think that buying lots of things has became the main focus of Christmas? Curious to know what you think.

Life in general has got more materialistic in the past 50 years, so for xmas to stand out it too has expanded. The pressure to conform has also increased with social media and the not-too subtle under current of competition still rumbles on as people try and out-do neighbours, friends or family.

I think it has for adults. Children don't actually expect loads of things when they are young, we build that expectation.

For me, the worst bit is the adults in our families who expect presents. I am not talking about a box of nice chocolates or a plant, I am talking a list of luxuries that they want to be divvied up to their relatives to buy for them. I am not prepared to buy for adults any more except a small Christmas related gift.

Yes

The posts referring to whether or not children have a big enough 'pile' (of presents) tell you all you need to know.

We're very laidback about Xmas in our house.

We've got a tree and I've bought a couple of festive candles but that's it.

Kids will get a big present each and then a couple of smaller items. DS1 has already had his big present (wanted money)

We are having a nice dinner with my mum and aunt. We might see a few friends out and about. Dh is working boxing day. I'm back in on the 28th.

When I see the fuss and expense on social media etc I think how can people be bothered. Plus the build up is ridiculous now. When I heard fucking Slade on the radio mid November, I just thought FFS.

"I think it’s just you seeing it as an adult rather than a child. Makes you appreciate what your parents did for you. Also lovely to see children enjoying it."

This ^

The childhood memories we all have of not just presents but also decorating the tree, settling down for Xmas dinner, seeing extended family etc all cost time and money just like it does now, it's just that we weren't aware of it back then.

This year the presents are more of a main event than usual.
I don't spend Xmas day with my brother usually, but we have a day over the school holidays, possibly an overnight when we get together usually at my house or my parents, have an excellent meal which all 3 households contribute to, and we give the kids and our parents gifts (my brother and I stopped buying for each other partners when we had a lot of small children, high childcare costs and reduced hours). This year that won't be happening. My children will see my parents on Xmas, but my parents are our childcare bubble as they do our afternoon school run once a week. We've minimised seeing them inside and have not had them round for meals as we would in non covid times, but from the kids pov, the only extended family they are seeing inside are the ones they see anyway. My children, like most others, prefer familiar food to unusual food so the meal itself isn't the highlight it is to adults. We haven't seen many friends in the run up.my good friend and I don't usually do presents between us or the children, we do a trip to a panto. Some years at a theatre, other years a cheap local production. This year we may see them briefly in the park.

Christingle is online and no singing in church services.
Once you take the people out of the equation, and the singing, and the getting together in church, the highlights are the baking and eating of sweet stuff, the decorations, and the presents. We've been doing the first two in the run up, so the part that will be special on Christmas is the presents.
People say every year that Christmas is becoming more materialistic but this year it feels true.

North Pole breakfasts are cringey IMO. It’s just another marketing strategy like matching PJs, constant presents and surprises, hot chocolate stations, Xmas bedding, Xmas Eve boxes.

You don’t need more material stuff and events with silly names to create a ‘magical’ build up to Xmas. As a child we used to have an Xmas Eve walk to the park, that was magical. And stories around the fireplace.

It’s like parents are trying to constantly entertain and excite kids in the run up rather than letting the build up occur naturally.

When you were younger, did you feel like Christmas had a different focus?

Of course it felt different: I was a child! I didn't have to do any of that planning or shopping or organising. But as an adult myself, I strongly suspect that those lovely warm family get-togethers with 20+ adults and children crammed into one house, with games, and singing and lots of lovely food, weren't something that just magically happened. Under the surface, I am sure, a military operation was going on.

I know for a fact that my mother started planning many months ahead- and budgeting as well, as she didn't have the kind of finances where you can just whisk up extra food without having had to save up for it. My mother took that in her stride: she was only one step away from a very traditional rural society and in that kind of society nothing happened without planning months in advance. What is different today is that we expect the kind of comfort and luxury every day that for them only came with feast days.

Compared to my mother, I do far less planning ahead, mainly because I have a busier job.

As for presents, we give the same amount of presents, and at similar relevant costs, to what we did then.