Annual call for validation for ABSOLUTELY HATING THIS TIME OF YEAR

[BurntThePastaAgain]

I issue the cry of the unhinged mother at Christmas time. I have three children, baby, nursery and school age. The absolute circus of this time of year has begun with shuttling people back and forth for multiple performances at different settings, rehearsals, services, Fayres, multiple times per week MULTIPLE WEEKS BEFORE Christmas. Road works is adding 45 mins to EACH way. Baby missing naps as is just sat in the car (crying), I am drowning in getting costumes, presents, teacher gifts, raffle tickets, tree, stockings, food ORGANISING A MAGICAL TIME OF YEAR. I’m not even back at work yet. How am I going to do it next year…

Absolute first world problem but honestly—I feel like you need a PA to manage at this sodding time of year. Bah humbug.

Feel ya sis!

I feel your pain. Mine are 9 & 5, I work full time & the amount emails I've received in the last 2 weeks about different events / rehearsals / money to bring in / certain colours needing to be worn on specific days. I've actually just checked and I've had 31 emails since the 20th November. I absolutely love Christmas but my head is in a complete spin at the moment! I also work 23 miles away from their school so absolutely love sitting in motorway traffic x 2 a day! 😞

YANBU but….. be mercenary and just stop doing it unless it’s essential.

👋 here! Bah humbug.

I hate this season of tat, expense, and over consumption of crap that people buy and don't need.

Aside from mulled wine and Krampus it can all fuck off.

Do you have a partner? What’s he doing? If you’re marshalling the pandemonium of childcare and school runs, he can organise a tree, decorations, teacher gifts, stockings and Christmas food.

Do you have to do multiple fayres? They’re all much of a muchness, just rein things in and go to one.

I feel like screaming I have more important things going on than Christmas to people who go on and on about it to me.

Stop doing things that you absolutely do not need to do, such as sourcing gifts for teachers, raffle tickets, etc.

This! I stopped doing this last year. In each of my daughters classes they had a teacher and 2 x LSA, couldn't justify getting 6 presents! I don't bother with raffle tickets either.

Signing in. One of mine is playing Amanda Holden in the school nativity and I think finding appropriate and yet totally worthless costume jewellery is going to be the straw that breaks this particular camel’s back.

I chuck things at my partner. But the reality of FT v PT work means that a hundred small irritating and important tasks fall to me.

The magic fades somewhat when you're the one making (all of) it.

Yep, I'll be glad when it's over. There's 3 weeks to go and I'm very poorly with really bad flu after having covid a couple of weeks ago.

To say I'm not in the festive spirit is an understatement.

My sympathies OP. Sounds like a nightmare. I don’t understand the extra journeys bit though. I have two children at different primary schools, which is a total PITA and a different matter entirely but I don’t have to do extra journeys for rehearsals etc. Thry do everything in school time, with one performance each for me to see, also in school time. What are the extra journeys? Can you say no?

One of mine is playing Amanda Holden in the school nativity

This just about sums it all up, doesn't? The lunacy, the forced jollity, the inappropriateness of melding an article of religious faith with tacky popular culture, the pressure to consume more tat on a planet that isn't even fit for our children to inherit, the pointless time pressures on women, and the misery of that looming sense of failure when there is fuck all joy on anybody's faces anyway.

But, as Mrs Doyle said, 'Maybe I like the misery'. So there's that, I suppose.

Meanwhile, DP injured his back last week and is is off his tits on prescription painkillers. I may well join him.

Totally get this. Mine are grown up now, but I remember one SUMMER chatting to a shopkeeper. Something hectic was happening in the town and she was commenting on it. I said something like "Yes, I know what you mean, I'm only just getting over Christmas". She looked a little bewildered and I thought "Oh, is this not normal, am I weird?" but I totally meant it. I am sooo glad Elf on a shelf wasn't around when they were young too ...

100%!!!! I have to laugh or I’ll just collapse and not get up again. Maybe I’ll just play chicken next year and see if anything happens…?! I’ve put a rocket up DH’s backside but it’s too late, as we’re in FULL FESTIVE SWING.

Extra runs are because of x2 nativity performances per child in the middle of the day, one on a non-nursery day…

Feel this. I'm four and a half years into recovery and you can't enter a single shop ATM without booze on sale everywhere you look. Xmas and new year seem to be synonymous with booze according to marketing.

Four years is amazing!

I noticed that Aldi have done away with almost a full aisle and replaced it with boxes of alcohol and then there’s more everywhere you turn. It’s ridiculous.

Urgh I feel you. Fortunately mine are both primary age and at the same school so there’s not a huge amount of out of school stuff for me to attend.

But the constant emails over the school panto and the school Christmas lunch and coffee morning and carol singing at the old people’s home and church service and raffle tickets and blue clothes and money for charity this day and they need wellies this day and can wear Christmas jumper this other day.

I’m in the pta too so then there’s all those emails with the school requesting this that and the other.

Plus various clubs/hobbies Christmas meals for me and DH, plus seeing family etc etc