Worst time of the year

[SHxxxxx]

Christmas should stop. It's killing parents mental health and finances. I absolutely hate it. Kids being fed a fantasy of Santa whilst we all get in debt because capitalism is battering us senseless to the awful tunes of Mariah Carey, the Pogues and Wham! I loathe Christmas and are deeply depressed until January arrives.. if you love Christmas, there must be something seriously wrong with you.

But it is compulsory. That's the bloody problem. You cannot ignore Xmas in the uk. It's in every shop and pub, on the tv, in the advertising hoardings, on front doors and in gardens. It is simply not possible to live through sept Oct nov and Dec without being constantly reminded that iiiittss cwisssmaas.
I fucking loathe it

Dosent need to start in September.
It means we are only Xmas free 9 months of the year.
It's too big, too commercialized now.

You can't ignore the fact that the first sign of Christmas is the threads bemoaning it

Agreed. Christmas wasn’t on my radar at all until I read this thread! I happily ignore it every year until after my son’s birthday mid November.

Stupid Christmas radio station has launched so I now keep hearing Christmas songs when I flick through the stations when I am driving.
who is listening to this in September?

I enjoy Christmas! I’m never in debt for it though, or indeed at any time. There must be something seriously wrong with you OP 🤷🏼‍♀️

Me!!! I love it 😁 Not every day, but a few times a week.

My DH falls into the “not till December” group, but I’ve got enough enthusiasm for both of us 😂

That's partly the point though isn't it, it's September and the shops have already started with their bullshit, I don't mind Christmas, but it's a few days at the end of December, however it's turned into a three month gravy train that's really fkn annoying. My kids have well left home now,but I feel so sorry for younger mums with the relentless pressure to produce a fairytale of overpriced tat decorations and shit presents and ridiculous amounts of food, FFS, I'm getting wound up just typing this out, think I might just bugger off somewhere this year. On the bright side, at least nobodies called it winterval so far...yet!

Your words are there. You fail to acknowledge that people who don't enjoy it don't expect to curtail the enjoyment of others. I see the rudeness and aggression you employed to other posters earlier in the thread is something you're choosing to continue.

I hate Christmas too. All the happy family stuff in shops, tv etc etc. In reality it epitomises the things the things that have gone badly wrong; served up on a plate with all the trimmings. Heart aching for the person behind bars and the implications for many. Like alot of people, I paint a smile on my face.
All this followed by 'Did u have a nice xmas?' AHHHHHHHHHH

Given some of the posts here I feel a little bad about my post - I don't really care about the commercialism because I don't buy into it - and I like being with my small family and my friends.

The main reason I love having my mum here is that she's 78 with heart failure and COPD - so every special time together with the kids is precious

So I'm sorry if my post was glib - because I know there will be a time she wont be at the table and I will force myself to be 'Christmassy' - it must be so hard without the people you love.

I don't think your post was glib at all, and I hope you and the children enjoy every moment with your mum.

I said to colleagues recently that I'd be happy if Christmas only came around every four years, just like the Olympics.

Absolutely! Once a year is too much!

I absolutely adore Christmas, but I don't feel pressured to do all that stuff, I have decorations that I've had for 15+ years and we love going through them every year and finding our favourites. We see Santa in a shopping centre (and our town sends round santas on the back of a transit van to every street on Xmas eve for free) and maybe a couple of visits to garden centres to see the decorations. No excess amounts of food, just a Sunday dinner with pigs in blankets and sprouts. It really doesn't have to be overboard.

Love Xmas.

Feel free to be a grinch but don’t expect people to join you.

Same here! With the exception of visiting Santa! (No young kids in the family) the same tree/decorations have been getting used for years, although I don’t put a lot of decorations up, roast dinner, gifts for the 2 young teens and that’s it!

It's so arrogant to suggest that "non believers" base their Christmas around presents. I am most certainly a non believer and Christmas for me is about family, getting together, having a wonderful meal and enjoying the day.

Christians don't have a monopoly on quality family time and morality, much as they love to believe they do.

100%. I’m an atheist. We celebrate Christmas as a mid winter festival, concentrating on family time. We have nice food, play games and watch films. We’ve never gone overboard with gifts and there are no massive present piles.

You are going about it the wrong way.
Don't think about it until November, its the last thing on my mind in September!
Don't go to shoddy, cheapo shops full of tat. They are depressing.
Don't buy excessively, a few good quality gifts for your children, one for your spouse, one for your parents.
Don't listen to Mariah Carey! The traditional carols are lovely, in choral form and folk form.
Enjoy making/carrying on a few meaningful family traditions.
Make some lovely food that you like.

What about the annoying, are you ready for Christmas?

Asking people questions about Christmas or new years before and after is just small talk isn't it! I've done it to people and I'm not keen on the whole thing most of the time , but you're either a Christmas person or you're not plus it makes conversation ( and hard to avoid in the UK!) and just done out of politeness too as well

No different to “are you going abroad this year for your holidays?”

Some people may be upset with that question due to costs or other reasons in the same way as some are about Christmas, but as another pp said it’s just small talk

Yes, equally irritating😡