I can't cope with Christmas already

[treebranch123]

It's December 1 and I've already had enough. The trees, the boasting, every house has lights up, polar breakfasts, the elf, light trails, piles of gifts, multiple trees, giant nutcrackers, bannister decorations, bloody door decorations, children getting gift after gift and that's just to celebrate December 1.... I could cope with that just about but the social media boasting OMG it's awful this year.

We've lost it. We've lost what Xmas really is about. I'm not religious particularly but for me it's about family. A break from work, quality time with family and friends. It is not about how many likes I get on Facebook showing of my candy cane and holly front door surround!

Is it just me or is Christmas on steroids this year?! What is going on?

Your problem isn't Christmas, it's social media.

Put your phone down/turn the iPad off/close the laptop and do something else. You'll feel much better.

I think it's just escapism for most people- a little bit of joy in a world full of sadness. Some people go over the top but that shouldn't make pressure on anyone else! They either do it to make themselves or their kids happy.

It's just you.

I am religious and I am looking forward to the special church service for advent Sunday this weekend. Also looking forward to all of the services between now and Candlemas in February.

Happy to have my mum for one last Christmas before cancer takes her out next year.

Happy to spend time with loved ones and friends.

I have literally not seen one single post like that. Then again I look at social media about 10 minutes a day to catch up with a couple of groups I’m in.

put your phone down and do Something else.

Just say no. Don't hit like, don't comment, and if you can don't even look. It's a great time of year for a social media break.

I think when you accept that 99% of this is only done for social media it’s easier to feel ok about it.

People will argue with me I’m sure but if it wasn’t for Facebook/Insta half of this stuff wouldn’t be done. It’s tragic. I can think of one person in particular on my own social media who is just terrible for this.

Just roll your eyes and carry on enjoying your own Christmas, however that looks.

My advice would be to deactivate your socials and enjoy your own Christmas doing whatever makes you happy.

Not everyone gets a break from work, or have a big extended family they want to spend time with, so maybe going OTT on decorations, spoiling their children and being proud of it is how they spend their Christmas? December 1st is always the big one, it's exciting, kids are buzzing, advent calendars, special breakfasts but then things for back to normal for a while. It's just what it's like now, just don't look if that's not how you do it.

Its not just you.
Every year i decide to be positive about it.
Then bang...mid dec i want it over with.I used to work the majority of it so this yr my dd said can we have a Xmas with my dm who have been v ill.I reluctantly agreed now im kind of dreading it.
Lots of tv is about christmas,colleagues mentioning they done the santa visit or put the tree up already .Everything seems to be OTT.
I am the grinch though.🤣

This is all about your 'friends' on SM and nothing about Xmas. If you don't want to compete with their vacuous infantile insanity then just don't. You are a grown human with autonomy after all.

Take from, or make of christmas, whatever you want from it. Don't look at social media if it winds you up.

I haven’t seen any social media posts like that but that’s not really what my friends do! Just put your phone down and enjoy yourself.
we haven’t “lost” what Xmas is about .. for most people it is about friends and family

It's not just you. So many people I know feel exactly the same. And you only have to read so many threads on here to realise how materialistic, self centred, begrudging and competitive Christmas has become. Yes it's easy to preach at people to ignore the commercialism, do your own thing etc etc. But people who post like that are often quite cocooned or privileged, or living in a selfish bubble where they have their own 'perfect' Christmas by excluding others

I think peak for me was someone that had set up a nice breakfast with multiple advent calendars, elf, themed bowls etc. but had gone to social media to ask people to edit the background. I assume so she can get rid of the crap shown in the background of her kitchen and repost it all fake and nice on insta etc.

I guess my issue is with social media. Not Xmas. But I agree with previous poster. Half this stuff is for show... it's for the insta

Just do your Christmas the way you want to. It shouldn’t matter what other people do. I don’t spend much time on SM. I’ve seen a few Christmas trees up in our village and some people have lights up outside, I think it’s lovely. You shouldn’t feel any pressure to do anything but your family Christmas the way you want. I think the majority of people still do have a pretty normal low key family type Christmas it’s just the SM types that distort your view. Stay off SM and you’ll be fine.

I’m not on SM so that’s probably why my experience is nothing like yours.

Just ditch it! So liberating.

But they don’t hence the show-off photos and long gushing captions about how they do it because they love their kids so much etc

And once everyone else starts doing something it becomes harder and harder to ‘deprive’ your kids because of a principal or because you simply can’t be bothered and have enough to do.

I’m sick of all of it, the Christmas Eve boxes, the elf on a shelf, the bloody balloon arches. If we want an answer about why mums struggle so much now compared with our parents and grandparents then some of your answer is right here

This. I've experienced none of the things you seem to have experienced.

I'm enjoying a candle this evening.

Advent and Christmas are what you make them, OP.

Get off social media, it'll be the best Christmas present to yourself you've ever received.

I deleted Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc a couple of years ago and never looked back. Honestly it's so so liberating.

Agree with the stay off - or tune out - social media.

I set up a Christmassy breakfast for my kids this morning. Took a quick pic to send to my mum. Felt disappointed that it didn’t look like an Instagram set up. Kids thought it was amazing and I gave myself a talking to about what’s important!

Exactly. So far today mine have had one piece of chocolate from an advert calendar and DD has made some snowflakes out of paper. That's it. Oh and we enjoyed looking at houses that are lit up on drive home

Our tree and outside lights won't be up for a while (but I do love lit up houses, it lifts me up on the cold dark evenings)

All those boasty FB posts and photos are probably staged, to make the posters feel better about themselves. Don't take them too seriously. It's odd, but some people do feel a compulsion to photograph every tiny detail of their lives.

If it wears you down, just hide the post or "snooze the person" for 30 days. That should see you through the worst excesses of the Christmas period.

Switch off your phone and listen to some music instead - or watch a good film on the TV (just not a Christmas one! 🤣🎄).

It’s not just you. There is something a bit manic about it this year and I’m not sure why. So much on the shops - some people I know can’t seem to stop spending money they can’t afford. One of them says they’re not switching on the heat so that they can buy presents. And this sense of low key aggression in the air what with all the shoplifting etc. I want to hibernate and wait for it to be over.

No I get it OP.

A break from work, quality time with family and friends.
Last year I had had a particularly difficult year. Christmas was miserable - tho the days after I pulled myself together, got some stuff sorted, and it was fine.

I realised that despite knowing it was nuts, I was sucked into the unreality of 'Christmas' events, fairs, making everything 'special' ... I spent money I didn't have trying to get teens what they wanted but also have 'surprises'. It was all ridiculous.

I thought this year about what stressed me v what I wanted. Like you say, it's really about some time off with family - I want the house to be tidy, to get in some nice walks, have coffee / chat somewhere nice with the kids, that kind of thing.

I actively keep away from the Hallmark Christmas nonsense; I have kept gifts simple - teens got a set amount and whatever they wanted within that range; I've set a very small amount aside for some extras that will come from a list of suggestions of small gifts they made. Once I know they are sorted, I feel ok.

I was a big Christmas person in my younger years. It's not who I am / can be right now, but I'm really trying to keep expectations modest - and be happy with that.

I think you know yourself what you want, so focus on that and block out the other stuff.