To wonder why does Christmas start so early in the UK and are you happy with that

[TheFateofOphelia]

I was in John Lewis yesterday and a huge part of the ground floor was taken up with Christmas trees and decorations. My heart sank because, much as I enjoy the festive season, I want it to start mid Nov not end of August as it does in supermarkets.

Anyday now they'll be blasting out "Do they know it's Christmas." The what shall we do with Uncle Stanley on Christmas Day threads are popping up on MN. Do you like it starting in Autumn or will you join my pointless 'Let's keep Christmas in December' campaign?

I love it. I shop early so I can enjoy the christmas period with the kids.

Christmas makes me happy.

Lol. I used to live in the Philippines and Christmas starts round about July there.
And ends sometime in June…🤣
The UK approach is quite restrained in comparison.

I don't like it so early because I don't want to think about it yet, I like to enjoy the moment.

The supermarket has lots of confectionery in now & it just bores me.

Asda should be closed down they had advent calendars 2 weeks ago and now a section dedicated to Xmas chocolate. The day after Hallooeeen that side will e Xmas tinsel overkill
I love Xmas but bloody hell it’s early

But I’m early Sept I did buy mince pies from Sainsburys

If people need 'several pay days' to spread the cost then they could always save up.
Wow, should have thought about that? 🙄
Some people don't have extra to save each month, maybe the spare cash other months goes on winter shoes, coats, or a camping holiday over the summer, or worse the washing machine broke down, so they pull the belt tighter at Christmas, usually eat leftovers on January.
I am not well off, but I'll put 50 in the local food bank trolley.

I refuse to do anything involving Christmas until the beginning of December. It’s ridiculous. 🤷‍♀️

I don’t buy new decorations every year so the displays are wasted on me. They don’t annoy me, I just ignore them like I do the Halloween and Easter decorations.

In terms of presents, I like to have all that done by the end of November so that December is more enjoyable and we have more time for Christmassy stuff. And I always make the Christmas cake in October half term. So I do a lot of the prep early. The shops having stuff out just passes me by because I’ve no intention of buying a new set of baubles.

I hate it. I try not to engage as in I don't buy Christmas stuff till December but I've no choice with the constant adverts being shoved at me or the Christmas songs being played in shops from about the middle of October.

You definitely can ignore it. To me it's like it's happening in another world and I just go about my business.

Achieving that Nirvana is worth working at.

I'm with you!
Realistically I should start planning and prepping earlier than I do.
However buying early Christmas presents is one thing, having a Christmas aisle in the supermarket in. August is another.
I don't really start thinking of Christmas until after bonfire night.

Tbh I don’t engage with the celebration part of it - I wouldn’t arrange to visit a santas grotto until December for instance. But the older I get and the family is growing, I like that I can access things bit by bit over the course of the coming months and not have to pay everything out in one pay check.

I was also in John Lewis yesterday and thought exactly the same thing. Weird coincidence.

THIS

I am an early Christmas decorater, early present buyer, early festive planner. I like it, it makes me happy. Also means I can enjoy advent (busy as we're a practicing Christian family) and Christmas/aftermath.

It starts off early so people will spend more.

I'm not especially happy about it, no. I like Christmas but I don't want it in my face for months. December is fine.

This isn't a new thing.

When I was a kid in the 1970s everyone was in a Christmas club and you started paying into it in January.

The Christmas Radio Times used to advertise a hamper scheme - you paid a sum weekly and a hamper was delivered to your door the following Christmas.

People have been trying to make money from/afford Christmas for at least 60 years now.

I’m having surgery in late November and won’t be able to go out for a few weeks while recovering, I’m very much enjoying buying things for my DD now and seeing the displays before I’m stuck in the house. It also allows me to spread the cost

I love it! Makes me smile. We went to a garden center yesterday to pick up some fish food and the Christmas displays really cheered me up after a totally crappy few months. Life is bloody though and Christmas makes me happy 😃

I don’t massively mind, though I’d rather it was different. Tbh I just ignore the aisles until I’m ready. I also the think ‘but people need to spread the cost’ is both true but also a cop out - if it was less of a shop explosion for months people would buy less and not feel bad at managing maybe a selection box and new socks for their kids.

None of our supermarkets have started with Xmas. There’s a small section but they are going to town with Halloween currently. I haven’t been in any department stores but was disappointed that the garden centre Christmas World wasn’t open last week (it opened this weekend). So no I don’t think they are starting too early. I like to start thinking about Christmas now but I don’t do any decorating til December 1, and don’t quite understand people who put their tree up in early November- I’d be sick of it by the time Christmas rolled around and I’m a big Christmas fan! Plus must be using fake trees.
Of course it’s about the money - what do you think retail is? But I don’t know people who keep buying during the season; those who like to shop early shop early, those who wait wait.

Christmas has become a commercialised season in the UK. Sadly as we have lost religiosity over the years, this has become a huge opportunity for retailers, and the economy to boost their margins. I am originally from a strong Catholic country and Christmas definitely does not start in the shops this early. There is a bigger focus on the spiritual value of Christmas there.

We can fight back by returning to more wholesome ideologies around this time. Remind children and our families that Christmas is a time to be together in peace, to reflect and be grateful for what we have and not demand more and more.

it’s really sad to think of Christmas entirely in gift form.

I am far from being a Christmas hater. I love Christmas! It's one of my favourite times of the year. But I still roll my eyes when the shops start stocking up with Christmas things as soon as Back to School is out of the way. We went in Pizza Express yesterday and they had a Christmas train decoration set up!

However, i don't agree that you can ignore it completely until December as things need to be done and plans made. Puddings and cake need to be made weeks in advance, get togethers have to be arranged and I do like to have most of the presents bought or ordered before December. I got the first ones this week.

I suppose it is just the outward display and commercialism that feels like it starts too early.

I like Christmas.

I hate seeing Christmas 🎄 stuff in Aug/Sept and even October. Especially stuff like mince pies - they'll be out of date by Christmas Day. If you need one - make them or stock pile in Dec.

I purchase gifts for people throughout the year as I see them. I manage to post all the presents in time for Christmas.

Having shop stocked with stuff from Aug onwards makes me dread Christmas. It becomes a pressure of commerciality. It's not just about stuff.

And that itself is an indication that Christmas has gone out of control. People getting into debts/arguments about where to spend the day and who to invite/all the stress and anguish is not normal.

I've just come back from France where there was no sign of Christmas in any of the shops,including the enormous hypermarkets. Something has gone wrong in the UK.

I ignore it. Start my Christmas shopping some time in December and put my tree up around the end of school term. But then, it saddens me because it feels as though, just when I am starting to get into the Christmas spirit, everyone else is jaded and talking about not being able to wait until they get all that Christmas clutter cleared away. So yes, even though I am able to ignore it, I wish it started later, eg after November 11th maybe? certainly after November 5th, so that we could all enjoy it together.

No, I hate it. It feels wrong to have Christmas decorations up on Armistice Day.

It's as if the commercialism of it is the overarching element.

I was born in the 60s and Christmas was in it's proper place back then. We used to put all the decorations up on Yule and take them down on twelfth night.