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!

Advent calendars for adults - especially the beauty ones, expensive and full of sample sized crap no one ever uses.
Family pyjamas
Christmas Eve boxes
secret Santas
Christmas work ‘do’s with organised fake fun
Christmas markets in UK

@TheKeatingFive looking at how often it's mentioned on this thread you are definitely one of the very few! I actually do recall one mum who was still doing it as her kids entered their teens, but it had morphed into doing good works, like 'bake cookies to gift to the care home on our street'. I did tell her the two times her dog 'killed' the elf by chewing it up was a good excuse to stop but she enjoyed it too much. Her kids on the other hand...

I like Christmas cards, presents, mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, carols. I no longer have young children and so Elf on the Shelf and Christmas boxes passed me by. But I truly loathe mulled wine and crackers.

I see them all the time on different people! They do look warm to be honest 😂

After Christmas you can buy packs of gift tags for 20p. My mum made gift tags from Christmas cards. She cut around the image (sometimes she could get two from the same card) using pinking shears. Holepunch a hole and loop some ribbon or sparkly string.

Actually one year I got a gift bag where it had 6 leaves of paper - tear the one for you and write on the gift tag. Why don’t they do this?

People who wear wolves fleeces around here, are either have many teeth missing or in mobility scooters. Think the latter as they are thick and cosy.

I use a mobility scooter and don't own a wolf fleece. Thank you .

We don't do:
Christmas Eve boxes
1st December boxes
Panto
Christmas cake
Elf on the shelf
Matching pyjamas
Christmas jumpers

We do pretty much everything else though. And we have some family traditions that we all love, even though my sons are adults (or very nearly so).

I am saying people who live around me.

OMG! The Xmas Eve boxes. Had customers running into my work asking if we sold any of these as card shop sold out.

My friend reuses the same box - her DD doesn't realise this.

Could they just use a Xmas gift bag instead?

Doing a gingerbread house. Those things never stay together, look shit and then sit on the side for weeks while they go stale before you can bring yourself to lob it in the bin. I don’t even like the taste of gingerbread. I’ve still bought one to do with the kids tho.

oh god, I absolutely hate secret Santa as well. Hate it. Luckily at an age now where I’m not afraid to say no, don’t involve me.

Oh I’d like to add Christmas cake/Christmas pud or any variation thereof (Xmas cake ice cream?). I really don’t enjoy fruity boozy flavours or marzipan so none of it appeals to me. And after a full Christmas meal it appeals even less!

Traditional dinner - gosh my kids would be so upset if we deviated from the usual Christmas menu ( I would be too).

Mine too @mondaytosunday

When they were early teens I asked what could make Christmas special, now that ‘santa’ wasn't such a thing. They asked for candles on the table and to get dressed up. So our Christmas meal is later in the day so that we can have candles on the table.

The Christmas meal has always been a special part of the day, music on, everyone helping. From being children, my DS’s had jobs each, one makes the cranberry sauce, the other shapes, flours and bakes the sausage meat balls.

They help with the greenery for the table and of course the candles.

We often eat and have table games ( musical crackers are fab for a laugh) It is a very special time in the day.

There used to be while ‘Wolof’ threads on here years ago. I once spotted a stag fleece in the wild. Worn with shorts

This sounds lovely, sounds like you’ve got it right!

I have to confess we have a photo of the four of us in matching jumpers, but we won them in a competition and the photo happened when we saw an opportunity on a family walk. It’s terribly cheesy and the kids hate it 😂

Argh the bloody elf.

Im divorced from my kids’ dad and he’s just broken up with his partner. They used to do the elf which I liked as the kids wouldn’t miss out but I didn’t need to bother. This year they’re so sad about the split I feel I need to do it..

Oh Lord I have twice won a family photo shoot in a raffle. The first we were made to bounce on space hoppers and lay down on our bellies with our chins in our hands grinning as we stuck our feet in the air. We looked like a bunch of total idiots and I didn’t even pick a free photo.

The second one was a forest walk and was much nicer but probably because I had a sty on my eye so we just had pictures taken of the kids.

Never again.

It's one fucking day
Bloody hate it
Glad my kids are grown up
All the stupid build up and adverts just to think on the 26th it's all over
Thank god 😂

Advent calendars for adults especially beauty products ones. All those plastic containers for the bin/ recycling process and the waste- what are the chances of 24 random products suiting somebody.

I also hate extortionate advent calendars for children. My nephew had a Pokémon cards advent calendar one year that cost £55. Ridiculous.

Think the Christmas creep is making the day a left down

I'm currently pregnant and have always said I will NOT be doing elf on the shelf, I think the elf itself is hideous. I survived back when it wasn't a thing so the Hobbitlett can survive without the bloody thing too 😂

Likewise Christmas Eve boxes/north pole breakfast/matching pyjamas. No. I feel it will take away some of the magic of waiting for santa as well, if they're getting so many other incentives etc throughout the month. Again I survived without 😂

I'd happily forgoe Christmas dinner

The other thing I consider a waste of time, but DH insists on having, is putting the Christmas tree up. It looks nice for about 2 days til the cats make the baubles into toys and I get so sick of crawling on my hands and knees retrieving the bloody things I just shove them back on any old way, and after boxing day I want to get stuff tidied up and clean the lounge before going back to work, and its just in the way and I want it gone. We don't even put presents under it as the cats will probably decide to investigate them

The nauseating adverts of happy families. I can’t believe they haven’t got the memo. You never see frazzled mothers, narc parents, kids smoking weed and rubbish dry food. The peddling of perfect Christmas which should be consigned to the same sack of shit as women ‘having it all’ shorthand for exploitation.

Christmas jumpers - I do not own one, they are disgusting. Likewise I dont get dressing up smartly Xmas day when you're about to eat a tonne of food. I couldn't be in pj's all day but love a pair of joggers. We have to go to OH family again, so will be expected to be smart...

Christmas films, so corny

Yes the price of stamps is mad now so I'm thinking of cutting back this year on cards too.