Your unpopular Christmas opinions

[LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet]

Yorkshire puddings belong on a Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner - other than Yorkshires and pigs in blankets - is fucking disgusting, and that goes for every course

Elf is a crap movie.

Too many parents get over invested in their child believing in Santa. The reason they love Santa is because he brings a shit load of toys. As long as they’re still getting the toys they’re happy.

Most people object to the commercialism of Christmas. I object much more to the perfectionism: the judgement of how good people are at cooking, hosting and present selection. Christmas should be fun, not an exam. It's usually much easier to say No to the commercialism than to escape the perfectionism.

I love cheesy footballs and cauliflower cheese!

Could do without mince pies, however.

'Fairytale of New York' is one of the very few modern Christmas songs that I do like.

I love the traditional carols, but if I never hear 'Having a Simply Wonderful Christmastime' or 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day' again, it will be too soon!

And most of all: I HATE sentimentality about 'white Christmas' and the idea that snow makes things 'Christmassy'. (I'm talking about England; not places where you routinely expect snow at this time of year; and where pavements are usually cleared regularly.) I hate snow, as I have some physical disabilities and the slippery dangerous stuff confines me to the house worse than lockdown did. But if you like snow, great- but it doesn't make things 'Christmassy'. I doubt that it was snowing in Bethlehem!

Dm does this. Buys for everyone because it’s the right thing to do. Eg my cousins new boyfriend. It’d upset duncle if she didn’t. No I’d wouldn’t.

I love the term "thingification!" Definitely applicable to matching PJs, Christmas Eve boxes, the bloody elf etc. None of these existed when I were a lass, and our Christmases were still wonderful.

Can't stand sprouts though.

And most people get their kids far too many presents.

Fucking elf and Christmas Eve boxes are a ruse to get me to do more work.
I told DS7 that I didn't sign up for them and the ones you get in shops aren't magic and the parents do them

I love January, every year at about this time I just wish I could wake up tomorrow and it was January.

I hate that we are expected to invite people we would rather not and just suck it up. I hate work nights and class nights out the most, the cliques stick together and spend their evening taking selfies with the boomerang filter on their Prosecco and posting they are having the best night. The expectation to have the most wonderful time weighs heavy when actually it can be a really tricky time of year for many. I do love a proper Christmas roast dinner and all the associated extras! I love saying bye to the people that visited and vowing never to invite them again!

Blue Christmas lights are weird
Secret Santa should be against the law- the whole idea of buying some useless tat for someone you don't know well is odd
Women should refuse to take on the emotional labour of managing the gifts for absolutely everybody -my husband can do his own side of the family in terms of deciding what to get
Morecambe and Wise is tired old drivel that does not need to be rescreened
Nobody makes you have turkey so if you don't like it, don't have it! We've had Peking Duck or Beef Wellington before and both felt very festive.

Me too. It’s shit.

Parsnips, red cabbage & sprouts are vile.
Mince pies & Christmas pudding are vile.

We just serve starters & desserts that people actually like which does mean we end up making several varieties of each but it’s better than serving crap food nobody even likes.

ALSO!! Just remembered. Parents who message me in a strop because the kids have discussed is Santa real at school and my kid says it’s all a lie. She’s just being honest, we shouldn’t have to pretend every year because other parents think lying to their kids is fun.

Brussels sprouts are delicious IF you cook them properly. The British obsession with boiling things is downright weird (I AM British and I don't get it!). Cook them in a wok with chestnuts and some chorizo and they're beautiful.

My 14 year old DD says you're never too old for a stocking!!

Only kids should get presents, and most should get fewer than they do. Most of it is useless junk they won’t remember, put the money towards holidays/experiences and just get a couple of things they really want. Adults should never get eachother presents and should spend all they money they would spend on other adults treating themselves to something nice. I can’t remember ever getting a present I truly like as an adult. Even if you think of the perfect gift for someone chances are they won’t like it as much as you think. Joke presents are the worst-not funny and a total waste. So stressful to think of presents for people. Adults should just enjoy the food and alcohol. I love all the Christmas food that people seem to hate.
crackers are also a waste of time and plastic. There’s no such thing as a tacky Christmas decoration

Sprouts - they taste of farts
Christmas cake and pudding - both minging
Christmas jumpers and tacky themed jewellery
Pantos - utter shite
Multi-coloured lights on Christmas trees

The songs:
• Fairytale of New York
• I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday
• Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade literally makes my ears bleed.

Christmas number 1's that aren't remotely Christmassy. Like E17's 'Stay Another Day'

My 38 year old husband still gets one from his mum! And we also do them for each other! I love them as it's fun finding all the little bits like different jams or chutneys, toiletries etc without the pressure that main presents have!

Oh, and people have the right to be 'miserable and joyless' at Christmas without being condemned for it. Seasonal affective disorder is common at the time, and the media often make people who aren't experiencing a perfect Hallmark Christmas (i.e. most of us) feel lonely and inferior. I'm not referring to myself here- snow depresses me if we have it, but I'm not that bothered by darkness and greyness; and I avoid the Hallmark-type media. But I know people who are depressed at this time, and if, as the saying goes, 'it's OK not to be OK', this isn't changed by the fact that 'IT'S CHRISTMAS!' As I said in my other post, Christmas is not an exam.

And children are not likely to be harmed either by believing or not believing in Father Christmas. Do what suits you and your family. Children who don't believe in him should be told not to disillusion others who do; but the children most likely to do so are usually not those who never believed in him, but those who once did and consider ceasing to believe as a sign of maturity.

I make my bestie (ex) a stocking and he's 59

Oh yes, and a few things that we do that are unpopular with a lot of people

Everyone in the house gets a stocking and gifts from Santa no matter their age.

Santa brings the biggest and most expensive gifts

Wow. 'Lying to your kids' that's quite a joyless and dramatic way to look at something that is quite magic for smaller children! Perhaps tell your daughter that she does have the option of keeping her opinion to herself and not spoiling it for others. Sometimes it's better to be kind than 'right'. Just as you don't want to 'lie' you also don't have to force your opinion on others that enjoy it!

Nativity plays are 90 minutes of torture especially if there are violins involved

Pigs are much nicer without blankets

The Elf and Xmas Eve boxes can fuck off

Pigs in blankets are overrated - it's a small sausage with a bit of fatty bacon on it! We never have them- I make a lovely herby sausage meat stuffing instead.

Yorkshire puddings are not part of Christmas dinner unless we are having beef.

FC delivered ALL dd's presents- she thought he was amazing, and she didn't grow up to be selfish and think we never gave her gifts.

Matching family pyjamas, Christmas eve boxes, Elfs on shelves and massively expensive advent calendars are all way over the top excessively commercialised tat!

Awful outdoor decorations like inflatable reindeers, masses of flashing fairy lights hung like manic icicles all round the building are just tacky.

I would ban all the Christmas presents for anyone over 18. A little something for the kids (not
the fucking atrocious piles of tat) is fine. I don’t want to be exchanging presents with DP’s whole extended family. It’s wasteful nonsense. Also, between the two of us we have over 20 nieces and nephews. The eldest 3 have children of their own. Where do we stop? I don’t want to be buying anything for anyone any more. Rant over.

My unpopular Christmas opinion (judging by this thread) is that I actually love Christmas. The food, the family, the presents, all the festive stuff. I just love it. But we never go mad with gifts (secret Santa for the adults) and we all like each other so we’re lucky in that respect!
Also…had never heard of cheese footballs before this thread so that’s been enlightening!

While people can invite who they want to theirs, it’s incredibly rude to host a christmas dinner and then not invite all the guests to the party afterwards. It’s a christmas dinner ffs not a wedding breakfast!

I love Turkey! Eat it all year round.
Pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings and whatever makes you happy belong on a Christmas dinner.
I love mince pies especially ones with lots of booze in.
I love Christmas cake and christmas pudding especially if there lots of booze in it.
I love to cover my tree in multi coloured lights, decorations and tinsel.
I love wrapping presents, I really do!
I love singing to the Christmas songs as I walk round the shops.
I love my children believing in Santa, it’s a short period of total innocence in their lives when they truly believe anything is possible! It doesn’t last long.

I don’t enjoy the pressure to spend more than you can afford in pursuit of a perfect day. It rarely is!

At the age if 51 I now actually like even the shit Christmas pop sings because I’ve listened to them for so many years. There meanings, lyrics and history just don’t matter. after so many years.

Carols have good tunes but the lyrics are poor.

Christmas would be easier and cheaper if you couldn’t buy anything Christmas related until a week before.