Christmas things not worth doing

[charlieinthehaystack]

you know the things you think you have to do then after you think why on earth did i bother?
many a time i have spent hours carefully putting the stickers on toys bikes etc to complete it then two minutes after kids open it all the stickers are ripped off!
you risk life and limb not to mention driving miles to get that toy that your youngster has begged for along with most of the kids in the UK but on Christmas day its played with for 2 minutes then discarded never to be seen again
similar to above you have that one guest you want to impress/who is awkward so you spend ages finding food you know they like at great expense then find out when they visit they no longer like it!

Christmas markets - Urgh. Haven't been to a good one in decades. They all suck and have the same stalls repeated every 5 vendors.

Manchester one has gone right down hill in the last 15 or so years. It's just dog food, stale chocolate, big granny knickers, wolf fleeces and too many people.

@3luckystars I hate all those too- thought it was just me

Christmas just makes me sad now, all the magic has gone since my parents died. Adult DD loves it though so I try to make it special for her. DH has always hated Christmas ( he had an unhappy childhood). I've always been the one to choose and buy all gifts, wrap and post or deliver everything.
I'm exhausted by it all. Every year it gets harder. I wish it wasn't so.

I like sending and receiving nice presents, doing nice food over say 3 days , putting a tree up and maybe the odd carol concert - not remotely interested in all the peripheries stuff that seems to be part of it these days -

Any kind of mealtime visited by Santa. We've done breakfast with Santa, afternoon tea with Santa and brunch with Santa, all were over priced, over populated and underwhelming.

Oh I used to love taking them to a proper Pantomime, a small theatre with a cosy feeling, not featuring a load of people off the TV. The Bolton Octagon used to be our favourite, daughter still recalls breaking the wooden spoon when she was called up on the stage to 'help'!

I love most of it but glitter and sequins especially the type the doesn't say where it's supposed to and gets everywhere else.

There was a glitter clad child in my house last weekend and I'm still finding it everywhere.

I'm a massive Christmas wanker, and love almost all of it from homemade Christmas cake and mince pies to matching pyjamas to advent boxes to elf on the shelf (no creepy fuckery or reporting to Santa though, that's just weird) to homemade dried orange slices for gift wrapping. Our tree is delivered by an elf every year, we have (tasteful) outdoor lights, and we go on various trips...

But those Christmas markets can 100% do one. Overpriced shite that you browse after spending a squillion quid getting everyone a hot drink and some mediocre food. Never again.

Christmas cards are a waste of money and effort, and we donate to Social Bite and send WhatsApp messages instead.

Secret Santa is invariably a disappointment and I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than shop for a colleague I only half know (although I still take part, I just silently begrudge it)

Good cheese like Lancashire, Wensleydale ruined by adding mincemeat, cranberries and so on. Have the cheese and a bit of the other stuff on the side if you must.

I also agree with others just like the 'light walks' I do not get the point of a 'Christmas market'. Hideously overpriced, foods usually crap and horribly crowded plus cold and just in the way usually (why are they on the high street).

I never got Christmas cards past school age, in school it felt fun (even though everyone got 30 of the same variations of cards basically) but as adults just why? writers cramp and unnecessary expense.

And yes I love the IDEA of Secret Santa but everyone I have ever been in was bloody awful and left me feeling like shite. I was part time and always got the person who couldn't be arsed to put in even basic effort (literally I was always the person that got 'forgotten' somehow) and it just reminds you no one there actually cares about you and you leave just feeling unwanted.

Panto at Hackney Empire.. haven’t been anywhere else but it’s sooo bad here.. I regret it, the jokes are too crude for an audience of children and too predictable for adults.

I only have a 1year old atm but I cannot wait to do elf on the shelf...... so glad I've seen the love on your post as I feel I'm in the minority!!

The Elf arrives in our house on the 1st Dec but promptly gets sat on a shelf to watch over for good behaviour, we don’t move him around, just use him as a threat 🤣

We’ve never done those full day Santa visits either, with the sleigh ride, light walk, etc, etc. Guarantee the weather will be awful, everyone will moan, the food will be rubbish and massively overpriced.

I’m pretty much head first into all things Christmas other than that!

Christmas shopping in actual shops.

All home baking, unless you enjoy it.

Ditto cooking - you can cut corners and buy in ready mades.

Presents for the pets - unless your kids get excited about it and in which case it's for them really.

Going out on Xmas eve to central London to a carol service. Dh is trying to make this "a thing". It's bloody miles away and an absolute pain in the arse.

😁

God, elf on the shelf. 🙄

Luckily my daughter admitted she had touched it, so it lost all its magic. 🤣

Only kidding. She did touch it though. And to preserve the myth we had to pretend it had lost its power. I then went through the rigmarole of "sending it back to Santa" for re-magicking. It reappeared on Xmas day. It made for an easier year. 🤣

Manchester Christmas markets. Just awful. Went on Saturday and the police had a dispersal order issued due to a hundreds of travellers congregating, loads of very young tween girls in mini skirts and the boys in gangs, you get the picture. The whole place felt unsafe, seedy and just not festive at all. The stalls themselves looked depressing, the food and drinks options were dire too.

I’d definitely avoid.

We cook the turkey Xmas eve. Means we can have turkey sandwich (better than the main meal in my opinion). Then Xmas day only needs the veg cooked.

And we eat at normal times is 6pm so rest of day isn’t ruined.

A dispersal order for a Christmas market? That’s insane.

I'm that grinch, lol!!!!.
This is going to be my first year not celebrating Christmas at all.
Have been working up to this for a few years now by downsizing Christmas for the past few years.
It's just my youngest son (20) & myself at home and he really isn't bothered about it.
Just feel a huge sense of relief.
I am going to make a donation to charity that will match what I would normally spend on presents/cards for my other adult children and extended family.

So are you not buying any presents at all? What will you do on Christmas Day? I think it's fine not to celebrate it & not waste money on gifts that people don't need

We always have some cat treats under the tree for our 2. Even though they sleep most of the time they somehow come alive when we're opening presents. They probably find it a but strange that the 4 of us are actually in the same room for any length of time. One year we got them a catnip advent calendar but they didn't realise you were supposed to eat the treats. They just played with them 🙄

Perhaps you could just cure a fillet - break yourself in gently?! The cheese is mor difficult, maybe just get one really lovely piece that everybody likes? {And that you can cook with if there is any left).

Christmas cake , elf on a dam shelf ,inviting everyone to every thing
oh and turning the house into a Christmas miracle of decoration