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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ditch these bits of Christmas

156 replies

PupInAPram · 18/12/2022 10:30

This year, with the agreement of my adult children whom I'll spend Christmas with, we are ditching: presents, tree, decorations, home cooked Christmas dinner (we have booked dinner out), Christmas cake.

We are keeping, special food treats, booze, board games and party games, many many fairy lights.

YABU Christmas should not be meddled with
YANBU Grown up households should pick the bits they like.

OP posts:
whattodo1975 · 19/12/2022 09:21

Nobody under 70 ever wants christmas cake anyway.

BellePeppa · 22/12/2022 20:38

Babdoc · 18/12/2022 18:37

A lot of PPs seem to have misunderstood my earlier comment, and also are trying to claim that they celebrate a “non Christian” Christmas.
Let me clarify.
If you are Christian, you celebrate Christmas - the commemoration of the birth of our saviour.
If you are pagan, you celebrate Yule. And yes, it does go further back historically.
If you are atheist, you celebrate a winter bank holiday.
For those of us actually celebrating Christmas- aka the mass of Christ, the feast of the Nativity- only the religious components are essential. All the commercial crap is optional, and you only do whichever bits you like, enjoy or can be bothered with.
For atheists, the commercial stuff is all they have, plus the chance to spend time off with families, but again, don’t do the bits that exhaust you or you don’t enjoy. But I don’t see how you can call it Christmas, when for you it has nothing to do with Christ - the whole reason for the festival in the first place!

I’m an athiest. I call it Christmas because I’d sound like a twat saying happy bank holiday. I hate the commercial side of it and keep it fairly minimal. I wasn’t going to deprive my children of having christmases because I don’t believe. All the family get together (we actually get on pretty well), we have a nice time and lots of food etc. I’m not going to sit in a joyless household on Christmas Day because I’m not religious.

FourChimneys · 22/12/2022 23:13

babdoc What name would you approve of for atheists, humanists, people of non-Christian religions etc to use?

You seem keen to police our language so please let us know what we are allowed to say.

BellePeppa · 23/12/2022 08:15

Wishawisha · 19/12/2022 08:55

Oh I’m not sure that’s fair .. I’m just not really a foodie and could take or leave most meals really.

I enjoy the whole thing of course - sitting down together with carols in the background, pulling crackers, lighting the Christmas pudding .. I just will politely decline all the meat, the Christmas pudding, mince pies, Christmas cake.. etc. My DC actually quite like a lot of it though. DH doesn’t expect me to eat it.

In my dream Christmas on my own in my twenties that I never got I don’t think I would have served myself a single “meal” all day.

And it’s not even just Christmas Day. I’m at home then with DH and that’s fine - he doesn’t force feed me Turkey and bread sauce.. It’s all the visiting. Often you’re served up with a mini Christmas dinner or if not it’s mulled wine with mince pies and panetonne ..

Show quote history

I love food, I can’t relate at all to not wanting anything on Christmas Day. Even if I spent it alone I’d make myself a roast dinner of sorts.

OnceAgainWithFeeling · 23/12/2022 11:52

BellePeppa · 23/12/2022 08:15

I love food, I can’t relate at all to not wanting anything on Christmas Day. Even if I spent it alone I’d make myself a roast dinner of sorts.

Show quote history

That’s just conditioning though.

Fish pie Xmas was probably my favourite Xmas meal yet. Closely followed by the curry we had in Tenerife a few years back.

I didn’t eat a single mince pie last year. Nothing bad happened. 😂

Avalavalanche · 24/12/2022 22:43

FourChimneys · 22/12/2022 23:13

babdoc What name would you approve of for atheists, humanists, people of non-Christian religions etc to use?

You seem keen to police our language so please let us know what we are allowed to say.

Don't mind babdoc, she had a neep hatred and bitterness towards atheists. It's quite sad.

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