Not really celebrating Christmas?

[rosesareredvioletsareblueaimverytiredandsoareyou]

Anyone else considering just 'not really doing' Christmas this year? We've always been pretty low key but done presents for DS and had a meal etc. I've never really enjoyed the whole experience that much, but liked to see DS happy. I had happy childhood Christmas times, mainly just with close family, but I realise how draining it was for mum looking back. DS is older now, he actually got his main present from us early last year (he was there to buy it to ensure it was the right one and so we just let him have it early), and has no issue not getting presents on 'the big day'. We're also in the process of decorating and hopefully upgrading the heating soon, so any 'extra' energy I have will be geared towards all that entails! I'm not expecting others to all agree with this approach - I am more interested in those who also do low key/no celebration, there's plenty of threads to talk about big Christmas celebrations elsewhere (feel free to vote though).
AIBU:
YABU - Bah Humbug, you sad eejit, you must celebrate!
YANBU - Low key/no celebration works for/appeals to me - there's better things to spend money on!

One thing I actually really love about Christmas is that nobody 'owns' it anymore (despite what some might say). Christmas welcomes everyone, they even sell halal turkey in Tesco in December. As much as I reject the consumerism of Christmas, I think it's this we actually have to thank for that. Without Father Christmas, Christmas films, lights, big meals pantomime, etc I think Christmas would be a minor religious festival hardly anyone noticed. I would argue Christmas isn't about religion anymore and I think that's to it's strength not detriment.

We,( me and adult children) decided after DH died that we would do exactly what we want at Christmas. Small present each, exactly what we want, we don't like turkey so just make something tasty we like. We don't do decorating, but just have a nice relaxing day. If my children want something they can't afford I help them during the year.
I think you should do whatever you want. A nice meal of what you actually like, a chance to relax, rest whatever.

I'm not a fan of Christmas, I'd happily skip it, no problem.
I work Christmas Eve and Boxing Day anyway, so it never feels special.

We have the traditional roast dinner and everything else. Just don't see the point of it as it feels rushed.

I think it was implied when you said

We're also in the process of decorating and hopefully upgrading the heating soon, so any 'extra' energy I have will be geared towards all that entails!

which suggested you felt Christmas celebrations consumed your energy,
and in offering one of your voting options as

YANBU - Low key/no celebration works for/appeals to me - there's better things to spend money on

Sorry for your loss.
I agree with doing what works for you. We've had a fair bit of loss in our family and that does make you reassess certain things, I think anyway.

Christmas celebrations use up some energy because everything uses up some energy - they don't consume it all though. I'm not sure why you're picking apart my language just to suggest I implied something I didn't.

Just us two. We leave the country around 17th December and don't come back until mid January. Where we go (Europe) is not Christmassy at all, well only if you want it. The shops, restaurants, public transport etc. all working just the same as any other day.

I will never (barring eventualities) spend Christmas at home again.

We see family regularly throughout the year and get on great, so it's not that, it's just escaping what can be a crazy, crowded, frenzied and pointless time of year.

We have a big family and a big Christmas. It doesn’t drain me, it’s my absolute favourite season! But we split tasks fairly equally (I decorate and choose kids presents, stockings etc, DH does the food shop and cooking etc) and the kids are little so it’s really magical for them. My mum did the same. There was an odd in-between phase where my siblings and I were teenagers/young adults and we went more low key and just enjoyed being together. Then we had kids of our own and it’s back to big Christmas again.

This appeals to me tbh.
I just need to decide where and wait until I can go alone! I like the idea of somewhere really warm! 🌞🌞🌞

Sounds like heaven. Escaping the most awful time of the year!

It's not for me but if it works for you family go for it!

Haha sadly no. It's the indoor carnival that is on in Glasgow SECC over Christmas and New Year, Irn Bru sponsor it! 😂

I've ignored Christmas for years, it's no big deal.

I'm someone who hates Christmas...if I had my way, I'd head off to the Carribbean, sit on a beach and forget about it.

However, I have kids! As do you op...so suck it up and give them some sort of special day.

Ah right, I went to the SECC carnival in my twenties, which was, ahem, a long time ago. I quite enjoyed it. I don't know who sponsored it then.

I have already posted that my child is at the upper range of teenager, so not a little child. What do you think I should 'suck up' exactly?

Absolutely no right or wrong way to celebrate Christmas, everyone will have their own ideas of the best Christmas.

We went on holiday last Christmas and it was a mixture of wonderful and stressful. We do have young children so different to you. One DC got sick with a typical winter bug at one point so had to rush to a shop for calpol and spend a couple of days inside. We were in an air BnB and struggled to cook Christmas dinner in an aga (first time using one and probably last, it took us about 8 hours to cook it).

Those were the only real stresses though, other than that it was a lowkey chilled Christmas. Didn’t decorate our house except for a few fairy lights and candles because we knew we wouldn’t be home. It felt weird not getting a Christmas tree and I did miss it. DC got far less presents than usual because we couldn’t transport them all but they didn’t mind.

I’d probably do it again but DH said he wouldn’t, he likes being at home.

Vote is interesting - it started with just over half saying YABU, but now it's just over half saying YANBU - a 50:50 split would possibly be an accurate summation?

Because everything is shut, the weather is probably terrible, and there is nothing else to do? What would be your ideal thing to do, on a random day stuck in the house? Do that, surely?

My only rule for Christmas is that I don't do anything that interferes with anyone else's (unless a completely unavoidable urgent health emergency etc. So I would never go away, go to a restaurant etc as that means other people have to work.

I don't get to spend much time with my partner so Christmas is really special for us, he cooks an amazing meal and we give each other a lot of great gifts. Not a religious thing for us. It's really nice for it to be just us time. Then in the evening or next day we have all our favourite people over, who are all wanting to escape their families by that point, and we hang out and play games and eat more food and be ourselves.

If I wasn't into Christmas I'd be volunteering at a food bank or something in the community. I wouldn't just do nothing, as there's a lot of people to help at that time of year. (Instead I plan a whole bunch of food bank runs and volunteering in January, as most people are too short of money and time to donate then).

May I suggest if you don't want to do Xmas, consider volunteering on the day at a shelter / refuge? They are always looking for those that have extra time to help on the day.

I'm not asking for suggestions of what to do, I'm asking if others have low key Christmas. 😁

I love Christmas and don't really understand how it's stressful, I'm about as far from a perfectionist as you could get though so I'm sure that helps.

I think that's the problem. Many people (especially mums) are perfectionists and the pressure is on to make Christmas "memorable"/perfect.

My mum sure was and it always resulted in fights and arguments with people spending at least a portion of the day in separate rooms avoiding each other. It made Christmas much worse than if we put much less of an effort in and actually enjoyed each other's company.

I like a low-key christmas myself. The most important thing is that we are all getting some rest and enjoy our time. That seems only possible if there is less pressure to make it "special", so to speak.

No, that's not for me.
I have volunteered with the homeless/folk with addiction issues in the past, in fact I used to fo it 3 times week. I don't want to do that at Christmas though, plus there are actually few opportunities where I live (rural island).

I used to really dislike Christmas as a child so I like to make an effort to enjoy it as an adult with my own household and make my own choices.

As a child I would be dragged away from toys to see my dad's elderly mum in the morning and she was really old fashioned so we had to sit quietly with the TV off during our visit so the adults could speak then we would either go to my aunts for dinner or they would come to ours and I would be forced to entertain my awfully behaved and horrible cousin who I have no relationship with now. She has since been diagnosed with a personality disorder and severe anxiety so that explains some of her behaviours but being round her really spoiled Christmas for me. I enjoyed boxing day more where I could just stay in my own house and calmly play with the nice things from santa.

These days, Christmas either goes one of two ways, if my husband is home, we host Christmas for both sets of parents and siblings and we do quite a lavish four course meal all made from scratch (we love cooking). They drinks flow, and the music is on loud with lots of dancing until late. My husband is also a very generous and thoughtful gift giver so he will normally spoil me with something expensive on the day.

In the years he is abroad for work and my stepson is at his mums, my mum has me and my brother who is single and we stay over in our old childhood bedrooms, eat and get drunk. We still open our presents in the morning and we do the silly tradition that stemmed from us as kids where I open one, then my brother opens one, then me again until our pile from santa is finished (much smaller now we are adults). It's light hearted and fun.

This Christmas will be the first with my new baby and my stepson both here so we will probably curb the partying element to accomodate the children but we will still do the big santa reveal in the morning, the indulgent dinner and the celebrations etc.