People who pretend to hate Christmas

[MoaningMyrtle202]

Anyone else know one of these?

I know a couple of them. Say they hate Christmas for whatever reason, yet still kick off if they’re asked to work it, go all out with decorations and involve themselves in Christmas family dramas when they could just ignore the whole thing.

One Christmas hater I know, says they can’t stand it and doesn’t care a jot. Yet her house it lit up like Blackpool illuminations and has kicked up holy hell being asked to work Xmas eve. She has no kids or anything either so not for that.

Another Christmas hater I know says to him it’s just another day and it’s all capitalist bullshit, yet he’s just given his DP his Christmas list of what he wants.

Lastly a good friend of mine also claims she can’t stand Christmas yet today is the third time I’ve visited and she has Christmas films on. Not ones that just happened to be on the telly, but ones she’s purposely selected on Netflix.

Im starting to think it’s just people thinking it’s ‘cool’ to say they hate Christmas. I don’t get it. Why not just say you like it?

Anyone else know one of these? It’s bizarre!

I don't but if I did, I'd ask them why they do x, y, z if they hate Christmas.

The juxtaposition of these two threads really made me laugh 😂

I don’t know anyone who pretends to hate it. I do know some people who don’t like it.

The ones I know who say they hate Christmas don't really , they just hate the work of the festive season . The shopping for gifts , working out who would like what ,the wrapping , the decorating etc . Quite happy to sit back and enjoy the festivities once someone else has all the work is done though .

I really do hate Christmas. I hate the shopping, the expense, the decorations, having to schlep round various family who I don't even like and don't want to see.

I don't decorate my house (DD10 has a little fibre optic tree in her room which she puts up and takes down), I don't ask for any presents, and I go to work every Christmas morning to get away from it. Hate EVERY single Christmas song and movie with no exceptions.

I've also allowed DDs dad to have her every Xmas morning since we split 7 years ago because he's happy to make the effort. DD knows I'm a grinch and is cool with it 😎

Exactly. My DH and I are not big on Christmas either but we don’t mind buying gifts for nieces and nephews who we only see maybe three times a year if that. We have two sons and when they get old enough and ask to do Christmas things we will but at the moment, the several Christmas activities that their schools provide, seeing the decorations outside the house, then choosing to watch Christmas stuff on their tablets and soon playing with the toys that other family members have bought them works until then.

The most Christmassy thing we’ll likely do is watch Die Hard and a Muppets Christmas Carol. I love the Muppets so would watch the movie year round because of it.

I struggle with Christmas because DS is autistic and the build up is just so intense and overwhelming. It's very hard to watch all the happy families doing "normal" Christmas activities and having fun with their kids while mine is just a manic ball of stress.

I get why people hate Christmas. It can be lonely and isolating depending on your circumstances.
Lots of people are reminded of loved ones they’ve lost.

I think if you enjoy Christmas with no element of sadness at all you are one of the lucky ones.

I hate the consumerism, buying presents just for the sake of it and the enforced jollity. I like the lights and decorations and time off work. I can only relax once it's all over on the 27th and I love NYE when we stay in, watch a movie with lots of lovely nibbles and drinks.

@Tomorrowsgirl I get that but that’s completely different from declaring to everyone how much you hate Christmas which brings the mood down whilst simultaneously putting up a tree and writing Christmas lists. Its odd!
It’s like me saying I hate St Paddy’s day whilst buying the decorations, hooking the day off work and heading to the pub to celebrate.

I hate those aspects too and also the social obligations and expectations and people who put their trees and tacky decorations up in November and then declare on boxing day that they're 'sick of the sight of them'. I don't mind tasteful outside lights up all winter.
Basically I could be one of the people the op is talking about, but there are aspects I like such as, the baking, some decorations, christmas concerts, low key, unplanned type gatherings. Also hate doing (and being expected to do) the same thing EVERY BLOODY YEAR.

I hate Christmas, I hate the cheesy music being the same for the last 40 years, the shitty weather, the fuss, the enforced "fun", consumerist tat and all of it. I wish it was all over. Huge amount of fuss and stress for what is one very mediocre day. If It was up to me I'd be going to somewhere warm and sunny around 18 Dec and returning after it's all over.

However, I do have a christmas tree, and give presents, and even have LED lights on the bush outside. Because I do not live on my own and my kids and DH do like Christmas and all the nonsense which goes with it. Opting out completely is really not an option unless you live entirely alone.

Yabu. Christmas is a whole heap of stress and pressure. Consumerism and expense. That doesn’t mean I’m going to wreck it for my kids though - I put the decs up for them and do stuff for them. Neither would that mean I would be happy to work a shift on Christmas Day. Instead of the ridiculous festivities, I’d like to sit peacefully.

Oh yes and the same cheesy music as a pp says. I hate hearing it. It’s like being in a demented time warp.

And I don't like the idea either that if you don't like CHristmas, it's because you associate it with trauma/sadness. Like the poster who says "I get why people hate Christmas. It can be lonely and isolating depending on your circumstances.
Lots of people are reminded of loved ones they’ve lost."

And that's very sad for them. But I don't have that sort of associations with Christmas, I don't feel lonely, or isolated. I just hate it.

Never willingly watched a Christmas movie. Never seen Elf, or any of the Home Alone movies, or the Grinch, or anything else festive. Have seen Die Hard. Listen to podcasts on the radio so I can avoid Slade and the other shitey music which has been played non-stop every December since the 70s. Never owned a Christmas jumper, or Christmas bedding/pyjamas or anything else.

I have my tree down on Boxing Day or the day after. That’s when Christmas ends.

Having it up for two weeks is plenty.

Baffles me when people still have it up in January.

I don't know anyone like this. I can't be arsed with Christmas at all. I'm Jewish, i hate the cold and the dark, I hate Christmas songs and films, I've never eaten a Christmas dinner that wasn't really shit. (Even when cooked well, because let's be honest, turkey, sprouts, stuffing, potatoes and Christmas pudding are not very nice).

I'm not pretending to hate it though. I would love it if Christmas didn't happen at all. We mostly go abroad for the Christmas holidays if at all possible.

Why do you think people are pretending rather than actually dislike it?

I loathe it. It's too full of nostalgia ( all my family have died). It's a really painful time of year having family and fun and other shite rammed down your throat reminding you of what you've lost. Dragging up memories of happy times.

No one would know this cos I'm not a selfish grinch. I make the effort for others.

I hated Christmas for years because a family member used to go completely over the top about everything and get stroppy when over stimulated.

Now, I have micro managed it to suit me, so the outside world might think it’s something I actually enjoy. My presents were bought and wrapped weeks ago, so that I can make time to go for lots of walks over Christmas week.

I no longer host the family masses - we go out for an Indian meal, and the masses really enjoy joining us 😂.

I now tolerate the madness, but only because I’ve engineered it to suit my lifestyle. No excess, just friends, family and lots of walks!!

There is something about the sentimentality, emphasis on family and conventional obligations/duty associated with Christmas that makes it an emotionally difficult period for some people, and a labour-intensive one for others. All the decorating, buying and wrapping of presents and politics over who spends which time with who, can certainly make it harder work than any other holiday.

I tend to enjoy the more peaceful energy of the Winter solstice and Christmas Eve, and unrepentantly prefer the lightness, brightness and more laid-back vibe of the Easter break to all of it. That doesn't mean I'm not going to put up lights, trees, or cook turkey though.

No, I don't think people pretend to hate Christmas just to 'be cool'. Unless your hobby is pissing on other people's chips (there are a few of these on MN, I'll grant you, as evidenced every year on the 'Christmas Fridges' thread and elsewhere), why bother?

I hate it.

I usually do my tax return on boxing day.

2 years ago I spent a good portion of Boxing Day watching dishwasher videos and ordering pre-wash and working out the best way to get it performing at a high level.

I genuinely would be back at work as soon as I could be, and hate that week inbetween where everything goes weird.

I don't do Christmas decorations, parties, films or huge dinners. For years we had nachos for lunch with chilli for tea on Christmas day - these days I'll do a normal veggie roast but I do one a week on a Sunday anyway, so I'll just shift it to Christmas day because I feel we should.

Other than a tub of cream, some pannetone and some Baileys, little else changes in our house. Cannot stand it.

There's a lot about Christmas that I hate (especially the mainstream "ideal" we're all supposed to aim for, and the commercialisation, and the twee shit) but there are bits I love (the parties, mulled wine, the way DP and I have ended up doing a non-family Christmas) so yes, I say I hate most of it but also happily just do the bits I actually like.

I hate the rampant materialism, greed and commercialism of it. But I do like the season if you strip that away. And the decorations can be lovely!

I’m the real deal. A genuine Christmas hater. No tree, no Turkey, no decorations, no crackers. I don’t go the the work party, or send Christmas cards or go to church or own a Christmas jumper. And I definitely don’t become a self righteous martyr for the month of December like so many women.

Christmas should be like the World Cup. Once every four years.

The tree is pagan.

the thing I like about Christmas is that I don't have to join it with it, I feel like I'm having a sneaky extra holiday by hiding out & not seeing anyone, it feels a bit like sciving off school