To be so f*cking over bloody Christmas.

[lifesabitchandthenyoudie]

Was already feeling like this, muting adverts etc; then yesterday I watched this: (Planet of the Humans by Jeff Gibbs) and I'm so done with the human race now I just want to hide in my little house and forget the world. I've been away from work and just know when I go back on Tuesday we'll already be overrun with fucking xmas music, decorations etc... I have gc and already feel angry about how much crap they have. I would buy them books but they literally don't even read or look after them. I get called scrooge because I only ever put up decorations (if I bother) in the week before, ffs! Is there anywhere on this planet that's xmas free, please?

I spent Christmas in Morocco one year. Genuinely, nobody in the small desert oasis town we were in had any idea that Christians celebrate a festival on 25th December, it was fucking ace.

You can take the train to southern Spain and get a ferry over if you don't want to fly.

I love the planet too. It’s genuinely not harming the planet for me to have a bit more chocolate than normal, to sing some songs, have the family round and cook them a special meal.

Having now watched the video I am conflicted about my solar panels!

We’re a bit over a month out and I’ve genuinely seen pretty much no signs of it yet. Costa had the mince pies available yesterday, and the local garden centre is advertising that they now have Christmas products in stock, but these are not really a sign of Christmas itself getting going.

We’ll probably get to the garden centre one evening this week to let the children each pick one tree decoration, but other than that the first sign for us will be starting opening the calendar for the first day of Advent.

And me

I’d be fed up if I were you. Sound thoroughly shit.

Unrecognisable to my Christmas. Hence I love . Love love love

Thank you for putting this film up. It's really opened my eyes ( after I stopped crying ) I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight thinking about it but that's the point of the film . 🙏

And really, that’s what’s important, I suppose, the saving of money.

I know that for some people it’s about spending time with family, reflecting on the last year, looking forward to the next one, and finding some cheer, with those we love most, at the darkest time of year, but I agree with you, the real spirit of the season is being a bit miserable and revelling in not spending anything.

I work in a supermarket and can’t wait until January.

You are being unreasonable for watching Michael Moore. And a little unreasonable for raging against Christmas. But I do believe in celebrating holidays in the month they occur.

The US has it a little easier because we have Thanksgiving between Halloween and Christmas. So while it does get a bit fuzzy there is a demarcation. In the next two weeks we’ll see some Christmas lights starting to go up (mainly because it gets flipping cold and snowy by Dec 1st. Generally they won’t be turned on until after Thanksgiving. Larger city displays are starting to go up, again there won’t be lighting ceremonies until after Thanksgiving. Generally Black Friday kicks off the season in earnest (although the ads are starting to go Christmas themed)

Celebrate how you want, but don’t get pissed off that others don’t share that same vision.

@Wildandallthatjazz I love the large family get togethers, the Christmas parties, Christmas drinks with friends...I love how the house looks when the tree and lights and decorations are up. I love ice skating outside, going to the theatre, carols services at church, etc.

It's one of the nice things about our Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November). Kinda delays the mad Xmas rush of ads, decorating, etc until afterwards. Mine starts about 2-5 days after Thanksgiving.

Although quite a few retailers here are starting the 'Xmas Creep' right after Halloween these days, sigh. Weird to see Pilgrims on a shelf next to Santa.

Please remember that Christmas is not a legal requirement. Since we decided only to do it every few years, and in a very minimal way then, it's bearable.

Just try to avoid shops as much as possible, tell people politely you are not doing it and then blithely carry on as normal.

A former colleague of mine once spent Christmas and New Year alone in a tent on a mountain in Argentina. He said it was the best thing he has ever done.

HeraldicBlazoning I completely agree. However hard you try, it is still so obtrusive. Tat in shops, music over the tannoys, adults wearing stupid jumpers and tinsel, adverts everywhere, people asking what you are doing, it's endless.

And when you say you don't do it, when you are not obviously from another culture eg Muslim, some people look at you as though you had murdered Santa or something.

Why does Christmas have such a monolopy? I don't see such a frenzy with festivals from other faiths.

Its been one hell of a shit show of a year so Ill be putting the decs up on December 1st and making the bloody most of it. Just for context, my sons best friend recently passed away aged 11, I think the parents would do anything they could to have one last christmas with her. Make the most of the one time of the year where people seem genuinely happy instead of absorbing all the bad. You can still shut yourself away and have a decent christmas, do it your way.

@FelicityFlops I hope you have a brilliant time. Will there be much kick back from (adult) children or parents? Where are you off to?

(presumably you didn't actually watch the video though??)

A monolopy you say?

And yes, it’s weird isn’t it in a country with such small numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims etc that the dominant and state religion is the one whose celebrations tend to be more visible.

@MotherOfPuffling

Does Henrietta come in her own pit, all ready to be decorated?

Where do you live that they do this? I'd love it.

I live alone and don't have the full use of my left arm, I can't deal with getting a real tree to settle into a pot or stand and I hate them being chopped down for Christmas. I don't have a garden so I can't keep a living tree here. My friends have homes several, but we all only have cars, not vans, so bring one back to me each year is a big drama.

Having one visit for Christmas would be Epic!!

Well we have 3 houses in the street already have Christmas lights on and Christmas trees in the windows 1 house still hasn't taken their Halloween decs down yet and there are still guy Fawkes fireworks parties going on tonight and went to the supermarket today and saw 8 people wearing shorts & flipflops! I'm so fucking confused 🤔

I hate Christmas. I have 13 birthdays between November 1 and Christmas Eve, I loathe the commercialism and if I had my way I would completely ignore it.
I hate car food and the gluttony that seems to take over everyone and yes, it’s bah humbug from now until New Year.
Yes I do Mayan effort for everyone else but after years of not getting a single present in return I have had enough.

As with anything, Christmas is what you make of it. Many of our decorations are handmade originals - felt, pine cones, straw-based, metal-based or wooden, and all of them get reused annually.

Advent calendars are reusable fabric and wooden ones.

Gifts are very limited to 1 thing they want, 1 thing they need, 1 thing to wear and 1 thing to read each, so mostly don't add to the crap they already have (and I don't count books as crap). Christmas bedding is reused every year and passed down from the older to the younger when they outgrow it.

Our meal is a essentially a glorified bird roast, which we don't have weekly on a Sunday, so it has novelty value.

And since I divorced my husband and I am NC my own family I don't even have the bloody stress of having to go out anywhere. So it's cosy, stress-free and none of the material shit that seems to be more and more important around me.

Santa doesn’t bring you any presents? That’s awful!

As it says in Elf, which we’re watching now, there’s room for everyone on the nice list.

Secret to happy Christmas is not being a martyr😇

Maybe Santa should come up with a solution to the mountains of discarded plastic coke cola bottles that have his face plastered all over ?

It's called recyling.
Before that it's up to parents to explain the purpose of public bins and recycling