Christmas being “cancelled”.

[Stuckhere2021]

Disclaimer - my DCs are now young adults so we are past the “must have” toys for Christmas but have done the queuing in the rain for 4 hours to get a full set of telletubbies/Tweenies/Paul Smith bag etc.

Would it really be so bad if we had to go a bit more “basic” this year? Say we only eat food and veg produced locally/regionally. Everyone makes do with fewer gifts. More time spent playing games.

YABU - Christmas is special and after the shit 18 months we’ve had, we should have something to look forward to.
YANBU - Christmas is what you make it and shouldn’t be all about the gifts / spending.

We started using Christmas as a way of being different. We are Christian, some more than others so all thinking about it somewhat.
For the celebration we ate well. With different foods and recipes to usual. We did try some of the meals out in November and early December it added to the mood.

Mainly used better quality ingredients and better wines that we had read about.
Cooking for loved ones can be a wonderful experience. Now every one contributes something to the meals on the day.

Do what you want to do. It’s not up to anyone else how you choose to spend it. I want to make it magical for my 3 year old and spend quality time with my husband and close family (those of whom deserve our company!) eat them food I like (Turkey is vile!) and just relax and enjoy!

If I could get away with all the paraphernalia I would but I have fat chance of that since my 3year old grandson lives with me :) Maybe it's a good thing.

Speak to your family and see what kind of Christmas they would like, generally we buy too much food, spend too much money and stress ourselves out with shopping, wrapping etc.

Why not spend what you can afford and eat what you like and relax?

@RB68

Ours will be chilled out - we will pick a food theme likely morrocan, spanish or Italian as we are so over turkey beef and pork after 20 yrs of MIL. We do gifts but generally not masses and usually based on need with a book, bit of chocolate and daft bits like socks and pants or new pjs. We are not big on games and such but scrabble may come out, watch a few films etc few dog walks and some beers out and about. DD is 16 so far more chilled and prefers a lie in lol

That sounds perfect, can I come to yours!!

I just think that is all a lot of BS.
I enjoy the music, excitement with the lights etc, but I don’t get the whole “Tree up to the top of presents”, having to pick presents for each and everyone, the exorbitant spending on food, alcohol…I am happy with just a simple dinner and having my family around. You are not being unreasonable at all.
I’m your place I would be giving fucks and just chilling with a glass of wine :)

Ask your kids.

I'm 42 and I'd be mortified if my mum cancelled Xmas. (And she's a Jehovah witness 🤣)

Scale back by all means but keep some fun!

Christmas will be exactly the same this year for us - a family celebration of Christmas, not a mad commercialised extravaganza. We will exchange gifts and eat and drink well, but it will be stress free and easily adapted if their is a shortage of anything.

I love the idea of a locally sourced Christmas, and consumables as gifts. I'm
Going to adopt both and really look forward to it x

@Goldbar

My toddler is getting a lump of coal for Christmas. They can use it to do charcoal drawings on the patio. Cheaper than crayons and we can always burn it once they get bored of it. Can't wait to see their little face all excited on Christmas morning! And of course the joy of knowing that we're not contributing to the plastic mountain .

😂😂

@BendingSpoons

Boris is saying Christmas will be better this year. Considering last year, with a few days notice, we (where I live) were banned from seeing anyone out our household, I'm not too fussed if we can't get a turkey this year! Although if there is no petrol to visit loved ones, that would make me sad!

Boris is a pathological liar.

YANBU - my children are being bright up to appreciate family, company and have a good time together over food we make together and games we play. We do stockings and little hand made presents and they get their "big presents" on their birthdays. Christmas is a magical time that should not be overshadowed by sheer materialism.

I missed the Paul smith craze?

I’m dreading it. There will be shortages but instead of accepting them people will turn into massive twats. Again.

The rich poor divide will be massive by then. Shops rammed, queues, panic buying. Bad enough in a normal Christmas.

neverdropyourmooncup wins the internet tonight

There are loads of small food producers, both locally and online, I know we at Wicked Fudge are already gearing up for Christmas (Christmas markets and events all booked), Instead of the supermarket dash buying OK but not really fabulous food, try spoiling yourself with carefully selected small producer food. You will also have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to keep small local businesses going.

I plan on going low key this year and making most of the presents we give to family this year. I've just gotten back in to sewing again, so having fun experimenting with different patterns and techniques. 🙂
My DD will still get a few shop bought presents which will be from Santa, but is suspect this year may be the last year she believes in him so I'm just slowly winding things down in preparation. 🙁

Your "cancelled" Christmas sounds more Christmassy than your normal one!

I’ve realised why I’m so excited about Xmas this year; I won’t be working! The last few years I’ve worked either Xmas Day or Boxing Day plus Xmas Eve, always worked the run up to Xmas, the week in between Xmas and New Year.

I always did the decorating, planning etc in a rush, low on energy and frazzled from work.

This year (provided HG allows and I should have passed the peak by then) I want to take my son to Xmas fayres, make gingerbread, do crafts, go to a farm to see reindeer. All simple things but ones I’ve been unable to do in the past (or we’ve done them but I’ve been too tired to enjoy them and he was too young to appreciate them).

I was talking to a friend last week about the possible lack of turkeys and she said her family would be devastated if they didn't have turkey!

I was actually shocked at that and made me realise how spoilt and entitled lots of people have become.
So its actually made me want to dial down on Christmas, just have a nice day with a few treats not the massive overconsumption that we normally buy into.

We always have a quiet one. We have no children, just DH and I since the last of our parents died 4 years ago and we love it.

We alternate anyway between turkey, goose, pork and duck (the latter two being traditional in DK where I’m from) so we’ve not got any rules about what must be present in order for it to be right. We’d be perfectly happy with a beef rib joint or lamb if need be, so it’s all good. We keep the whole thing low key tbh - emphasis on being together with family and feasting. It’s so much nicer not to stress.

For us Christmas is about the traditions we have kept alive / created since having our own family and we won't be changing them this year.

I have collected Christmas decorations for the past 20 years and we use the same ones every year, adding a new bauble each year. They're like old friends when we take them down from the attic and decorate the tree!

We have an artificial tree we bought in a sale last thing on Christmas Eve 16 years ago now, it was really expensive but we got it 50% off and we mind it really well and it is as good as new. I doubt we'll ever buy another one!

We have a tradition of playing christmas music, lighting the fire and drinking baileys with ice as we decorate the house & tree. Teen dd helps.

we go out for a lovely lunch on Christmas Eve and then we cook the ham in the evening and have it hot with mustard and pickles and fresh bread and butter for supper. It's a tradition from my grandparents time, then my parents did it and now we have done it for 16 years.

We make the house very cosy with our traditional decorations and candles and over the past few years I have set up a hot chocolate station in the kitchen with those chocolate spoons, marshmallows and now we have the velvetizer. Teens love that and any visiting love to make themselves a hot chocolate.

I understand the dilemma of small dc not being interested in a traditional roast dinner and our dc was VERY fussy, but we weighed it up and felt that they would never form the tradition / association of that meal for christmas and dh didn't have any of it growing up so it was important to him.

We always set the table beautifully, with candles and decorations etc and we dress properly and we eat in the evening at around 7pm. It's dark outside and we have the fire lighting and candles and the meal is the event we look forward to. In the early years I would serve dc the parts of the meal they might eat and also have something on standby -pasta etc just in case.

Over the years dc now look froward to the ritual of the meal and they eat it all. We have a starter, main and desserts. We have good wines and champagne.

The focus of our Christmas evening is sitting around the Christmas table eating, drinking and chatting. Dc love it and would be most upset if we stopped that. One year when it was just going to be 3 of us I suggested we might eat off our laps and there was NO WAY dc was having that!

My dh grew up in a family where none of this was done, Christmas was not really celebrated and his mum was not interested in making any effort. He was very nonplussed about it all until we had a few of our own and then dc came along and he got it - now he's the biggest champion for decorating and gathering and making the house cozy and sparkly for spending time together.

Sometimes we have 3 , sometimes, 5, sometimes 9 depends on everyone else's plans but we no matter how many we do all the same things.

I think it is a source of comfort for teens when so much else is changing so rapidly.

@NumberNineTwo

I’ve bought all my Xmas presents and sweets and drinks already. Got pigs in blankets in the freezer. Waiting for frozen turkeys to come in stock and will buy one of those too. Xmas won’t be cancelled here. The only thing we might struggle with is fresh veg.

I think you’re deluded. Christmas is waay more than a turkey with veg and trimmings. You ( and everyone else) will be running round buying prawns, salad, extra pickles, cream, brandy butter, brandy cream, extra eggs, smoked salmon, extra bread, fancy cheese, bog standard cheese for the cauliflower/ leeks, the cailiflower/leeks, stuff to take round for drinks, drinks, stuff for a buffet, stuff in case you have a buffet, nibbles, nuts, cake, stiollen, chocolate log, something fancy for the buffet….

And then when you have all that you then need food for the but inbetween Christmas and New Year and then New Year.

And straight after New Year it’s a week worth of normal food and packed lunches as we go back to work.

How old are your DC OP?
My experience with a male teenager is that he wanted a lot less when he got older but the things were more expensive . I don't think he was at all fussed with having 'things to open' but money, or paying for festival tickets , PSN cards were
very much appreciated - so not cheap but less plastic . And also less effort traipsing round shops and wrapping .
If you are buying for family members you can simplify by one more expensive presents or money / voucher and a token present .