To think that Christmas is just a nightmare for a lot of people.

[MrsSlocombesCat]

I have struggled this year to afford presents and as far as I am concerned Christmas is for children. I can’t be arsed with it all. I keep thinking about all of the people who can’t afford to buy presents for their kids and how it distressing it must be. I think parents on UC should get a decent bonus so they can buy presents for their kids. It really upsets me that there are children who might not get presents on the day. Everything is so expensive now that the cost of living crisis has caused. I thought life would be better under Labour but they’re doing nothing to help disabled people. I had never heard of a right wing government getting into people’s hearts and minds like they’re doing today. So many gullible people.

SKETHYLITA. sorry I meant 100 presents per child! You are right ,100 pounds doesn't go far.My DC are older now, but still spend upwards of 100 quid. DD has birthday on 28th Dec as well! When I was small we had nice gifts and food ,but not OTT like now .its such pressure on people

I'm lucky enough to be able to afford the gifts that I need to buy but I still hate Christmas, it's an emotional nightmare for me.

You do understand that UC is paid for by the taxpayer and not the government.
The common taxpayer is not a bottomless pit of money.

I agree that people should be able to pay their bills and for food.

Christmas isn't about expensive presents Wrapped second hand items will thrill a child. Everywhere I know has a present donation scheme too for children who come from poor families. I never got expensive gifts as a child, there were other issues too, but Christmas was still.magical and it was the little things that made it so the bright lights, the sense of anticipation etc.

Anyone moaning about Christmas please do something about it. The OP sounds very dependent on ‘someone doing something’.

Don’t be a mum/wife martyr.
Don’t get in to pointless extended present exchanges.
Don’t spend more than you can afford.

DS arrived with a wrapped gift to me from his girlfriend’s parents yesterday! I will not reciprocate. I don’t buy for adults except my DC. I will thank them kindly but not start some pointless exchange of boxes of chocolate.

I suggest making an announcement in about September that you’re planning a low key low consumption Christmas. Others will thank you for it.

Whilst I appreciate it is expensive the idea of a bonus for those on benefits is ludicrous. Adults can chose to spend a minimum on each other, a fiver, etc whilst focusing on gift for children. It is ok too to say no. We can't always have what we want, even if we are working.

Op it's hard with younger dc get them free stuff or charity shops loads do big clear outs before Xmas and they are full of stuff.
On local Facebook sites people do big clear outs for free or very little.
At our lowest point I was saving 2 pounds a week for Xmas.

That's for food and a Xmas trip.

I saved into those tins you can't open.

Older teens are old enough to know you have little money it's tye slightly younger tween but then I understand we didn't have any money at that age.

My dm wasn't a great present giver anyway but she decorated beautifully, lights, scents and music and created a wonderful atmosphere.

I don't enjoy it much either OP.
I hate buying, giving or receiving gifts - I'm generous enough but just hate the process.
I'm not a huge fan of roasts either.
I hate the expectation to socialise.
I hate having to entertain an older relative who doesn't take any interest in me all year.
I just do the minimum required.

One knows of one chappy whose Christmas Dinner may be a tad megre this year.

He's probably got himself a frozen pizza, as Pizza Express is closed on Christmas Day. Or maybe even a Chinese! (guffaw, gaffaw)

Happens in lots of countries as a matter of course, with extras for the CoL crisis. Just look at Ireland

I don't think many of us are having Xmas in the 1970s though.

You're very naive if you think that isn't still happening.

You can’t have the government giving people money to buy their kids toys. Plenty would go and buy alcohol and drugs with it.
Charities do help families who are genuinely in need. Parents who think Christmas is ruined because little Jimmy can’t get a PS5 don’t deserve handouts. Scale back, be realistic and remember it’s just one bloody day.

I didn't say it isn't happening, I know it is. But on mn, I don't think many of us live like that.
Certainly it doesn't at all reflect any of the women I know.

Did you read the whole post?

The thought of children not having presents does make me feel very sad, but I don't think people on UC should get a Xmas bonus. It's a nice thought but unfortunately, I know people who would use the money on a jolly time for the adults instead.

When my children are overcome with excitement about Christmas, I feel extremely grateful that they will have something to be excited for. It breaks my heart knowing others will not and the distress that will cause the parents too.

A lot of people here comfortably normalising poverty….

It affects lots of folk, many won't readily admit it though.

Agree with this to an extent. I went and did our shop for the week on Thursday and while the meat was relatively expensive the vegetables were ludicrously cheap. We are having:

Mixed roasted veg (potato, carrot, parsnip)
Sprouts
Mashed swede
Broccoli
Red cabbage with shallots & Apple

All above veg were 8p from Aldi/Lidl. Apples were £1.19. I got 2 lots of sprouts, broccoli, swede & parsnip so that’s £2.31 for all the veg for 10 people.

If you needed to keep overall spend low you could get something other than turkey (large chickens I think were £4 or so).

That said it’s not the cost of any one aspect of Christmas but more the cumulative expense of all the things in the run up, the gifts, the special food etc. So any one (or two) people can likely manage ok but not all of them in one go.

Are they?

I think avoiding social media would make Christmas more enjoyable. Seeing people argue over what they’ve spent is vulgar and takes away from what Christmas is supposed to be out. I have no doubt the same people will take their tree down Boxing Day and move onto the next thing.

It would avoid the pressure too. Just do what you can and ignore everyone else’s way.

Christmas has become over commercialised I agree. However, it is down to each individual how they chose to deal with it.
I can never understand why the shops are so busy. Lots of people are lucky enough to be invited out for dinner on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so why are they in the shops buying enough food to feed dozens of people?
I absolutely disagree that benefits of any kind should be increased. No wonder those who work to pay for it all are getting angrier. Why on earth should the tax payer ( who often are hardly any better off) work harder and receive less to pay for those who do not work ( or work minimal hours?)
If you can’t afford it you don’t get it was how I was raised.
We were poor and my mother worked full time all her working life, yet I still had wonderful Christmas’s.
Stop making it about material possessions. Try making it about spending time with those you care about.
I’m tired of people moaning about how they can’t afford this and that, yet they drive whack off gas guzzling new cars. They spend god knows how much on having their nails and eyelashes done, not to mention other treatments. Their kids where expensive designer clothes yet they moan about not having money left for essentials.
Christ, we didn’t even have a flaming house phone when I was a child. My mother worked full time and we didn’t have a phone. Never mind bloody take aways or the latest gadgets.
So what if you work and receive UC.
Doctor seriously think it’s the extremely wealthy who will be penalised to lay for your extra benefits? Get real. It’s the working population who are already squeezed.

We have stopped presents for anyone but the 2 young grandchildren.We don't buy presents for each other. We say yes to the group meals we want to attend and no to those we don't. Christmas day will be just the 2 of us. No roast dinner. We have bought lots of treats and cheese and nice things to eat. We'll see the grandchildren on Boxing Day. Absolute bliss. Light the fire ,enjoy Christmas telly. We aren't grinches. We've seen all the different bits of family in the run up to the day. The house is full of twinkly lights and Christmas trees. We take the bits we want . We are living our lives not an Instagram life.

Absolutely! As others have said Ireland do and I think pretty much always have, and I'm glad they do.

Bit of a weird post OP. Christmas is hard for lots of people for lots of reasons, but I don't know why you're putting that at Labour's door, they've been in about two minutes.

YABU to say the taxpayer should be funding should be giving out Christmas bonuses to people on benefits, but I agree with you that Christmas is a huge expense every year that I'm sure many people really struggle to afford.

My MP sent out an email yesterday asking for people to donate to the local food bank, because over the past year donations have dropped by 10 tonnes apparently! No doubt because the CoL crisis is biting harder and harder with each passing year and everyone's bills are going up and up with the end of the energy price cap, water bills going up, council tax going up, and wages for most people stuck at the same level they were 10 or 20 years ago.

I agree that the Labour govt has done nothing except make things worse. They're supposed to be the party of the poor, but all they've done is enrich train drivers and shaft everyone else.