Do you actually enjoy it or do you fake it a bit?

[MerryChristmasyouarsehole]

Christmas…

I love about 75% of it. Had happy Christmases as a child and my mum was excellent at making them special. DD loves them and we have some new traditions which I love.

I do find the shopping stressful and although I like cooking I find the endless Groundhog Day feeling of generating meal after meal which then immediately needs cleaning up quite draining. I’m also not great at chilling and not doing much so after several days of eating and watching tv without a break I start climbing the walls.

Only in December, not someone that wants to think about buying gifts before then. I won't listen to Christmas music or watch movies about Christmas, I enjoy the day rather than all the build up, probably because of all the food involved.

I love carol singing round the village under the stars, with the congregation from church. It always gets me in festive mood. This year our minister brought along his tuba to accompany us, and fifteen tiny tots from the local rainbows group joined us to sing “Away in a manger”. They looked so sweet in their wee high vis tabards.
Then the Watchnight service on Christmas Eve is always my high point of the season.
The lovely words of the Nativity, read from the bible, the singing together in a packed church, and that mystical, wonderful moment when the clock strikes midnight and we celebrate the awe inspiring gift of God’s own self to the world - “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”.
The commercialised tinsel, tat, booze and overeating are nothing to do with Christmas itself, and really don’t matter, so people should only expend time and effort on them if they actually want to.

If I didn't have kids and family who cared, I can honestly say I would ignore the whole thing.

@Dogsinthecradle Im sorry you’ve been through so much.

I dislike Christmas, it was very stressful as a child. Miserable since DP died but I should get a bloody Oscar for my acting.

I don’t particularly like it (family stuff, commercialised, lasts too long, bored) but no longer have the energy to pretend I do (exhausted and sick, fed up with the same stuff). So this year I’m going away for Christmas and for the first time in years I’m actually looking forward to doing something I want.

The best thing about Christmas is that the shortest day is over and we’re on the upward trajectory to summer.

Ditto
when mum goes, it will not even be a blip on my radar.

Usually I love most of it, not every minute.

This year I am just not very into it at all. Failing at every bit of it. Can't find the decorations, sent hardly any cards, presents are a bit rubbish, stopped making an effort with some relatives. My mum is very frail and work is horrific and I just CBA.

At the moment I love it, Im a bit worried the spirit will go though once the kids no longer believe in Santa. I just think Christmas is all about the kids until they are older. It’s hard for me to grasp it changes once ‘Santa doesn’t visit anymore... I am looking forward to the lie ins though 😂
Santa has proverbially been in my life forever, my sister was born just after my bro stopped believing, then my son was born 4 years later and then dd. So we’ve always celebrated him.
im not looking forward to the change at all...

I enjoy the festive vibes in the run up then usually by about the 21st (😂), I’ve had enough.
We go away for Christmas week every year - DS is autistic and it’s a really stressful time for him so we prefer to just go away and chill for 5 days.
No cooking, no cleaning, no hosting.
A few nice presents for the kids and some dogs walking in the forest, swimming and other activities like bowling and badminton.

Just us 4.

Bloody hate it. Every minute.

Very mixed feelings, I have had some wonderful Christmases and some that have almost left mental scars due to family stuff that I would never talk about on a public forum. I always end up crying and exhausted at some stage in the run up as I find it stressful and expensive, I hate the food and I loathe wrapping presents and writing cards. Have cut cards down to a very small number now as it just seems yet another waste of money. As I have grown older I have of course had bereavements and now I tend to think a lot about these losses and wonder how many more Christmases I will personally see. I do love the lights and the peace that falls on Christmas Eve.

I love it, but for some reason it really sets off my anxiety so I normally feel overwhelmed- even if there's no obvious reason why

So I try and push through it, but it's always there! I'm the same before going on holiday..

I hate it. Really hate it.

I do the day for my elderly parents but that’s it and as it’s just the three of us for Christmas and Boxing Day, I find it depressing and to be endured but I slap a smile on and cook the meal for their sake.

I love them and it means so much to them (this is why some of us can’t just ‘do what you want’).

I LOVE the 27th onwards where I can forget all about it.

@weegiemum absolutely love the sound of your tradition on lighting candles and sharing what you're grateful for from the year... May have to steal that idea!

As for me, I love Christmas. I enjoy seeing my wider family - either my side or my DP's, lots of lovely food, games, excitement of small children, music/carols, walks and often a Boxing Day country pub pint.

I'm not so keen on the massive over commercialisation of Christmas - I do enjoy buying and receiving presents but don't go overboard. In the last few years I've learnt not to stuff my face quite so much (with food or booze) and feel better for this.
I wouldn't be keen to host for lots of people tho and can see how that might be stressful.

Not a fan, too much faffing around beforehand for me.

I’m glad things are better for you now . Hope you completely away from that awful violent man . I wish you a safe happy Christmas x

I love Christmas Day. I hate the run up, the stress, buying, wrapping, endless Christmas stuff for work and especially Christmas Eve (very bad experiences). Once Christmas Eve is over I'm generally better.

Knew this would be Christmas.

After two lovely Covid Christmases bubbling with my DBro (who lives alone and couldn't get back to Mums for Christmas so came to ours) I have the hell of DHs family and their ever changing plans. We invited lovely MIL months ago for December, she's here now and it is lovely but BIL (three weeks ago) and now SIL (yesterday) have announced they are coming as well for several days (in BILs case) and fuck knows how long, possibly into the New Year (in SILs case). Both have partners but are coming here rather than spending Christmas with them. DH and I have had a massive argument about their CFery and I am so pissed off with him and them.

Fake it.

Bits of it are OK but, honestly, if it was banned forever, I'd be delighted. I can, and do, spend time with my loved ones, eating nice food randomly throughout the year with less pressure and better weather. I'd rather just plod on doing the bare minimum and keeping warm in the middle of winter, thanks very much! The past few years, I've done as little as I can get away with and felt so much better about the whole thing but it does set off anxiety about years past when I ran myself ragged, hated the entire thing and felt guilty for not enjoying it more for my dc sake!

Love it!

Although I love the build up even more - the time off work, present shopping, putting the tree up, drinking every day... 😍

I love Christmas, but I love it when the first signs appear...when the Christmas adverts start on the TV and the weather begins to turn. So sort of end of November, early December.

When it gets to this point onwards it just feels like a train barrelling towards me, so much pressure to finish buying gifts, get everything wrapped, get food and drink etc.

I always think I'll have time to enjoy the build up, watch some Christmas films, have a nice evening of wrapping with some Christmas tunes etc...in the end it all just turns into chores to be done and no time for the films etc.

Same.