To wish people would drop that annoying question are you ready for Christmas?

[Netcurtainnelly]

Are you ready for Christmas?
No. Please dont.. Im never ready for Christmas. I loathe and detest it. Stop being so boring and asking that.

Im ready for a holiday though or the Spring.
Funny how that never gets asked.🤔🙄😱

You start

I wish people would learn what small talk is and enter into the spirit of it.

OP, they really don't care if you are ready or not, just give whatever answer you want to and get on with your life.

A waitress in a restaurant asked me the other night was I ready for the big day.

My husband was howling afterwards as I had to pause for a minute and wonder what she meant. I nearly thought I was getting married again.

It’s inconsequential small talk, an attempt to get a conversation going. I have no idea why you’d have any problem with it.

Agree its annoying. Try to steer the small talk the way you want it to go. Eg

'Did you have a good November?'
'What telly do you plan to watch over xmas?'

People are trying to connect with you through a common shared experience. It doesn't seem that controversial to me.

It is a pretty brainless question. But its an icebreaker, like talking about the weather or where you ate going on holiday. Just go with it and see if it leads somewhere you actually want to talk about.

Not supposed to be overthought.

The people that ask you this don’t actually care, they are making light conversation..

Like when people you know say ‘alright?’in passing. No one ever actually replies no they are not alright,because the person asking is just being polite.

I'm never ready for Christmas and I don't understand how anyone could be so I also detest this question because it feels like a dig at my personal failings

I never know how to answer that question or why they would be interested 🤷‍♀️. Then when I answer honestly 'yes, all sorted' I've been told I'm being smug and making others feel bad. Wtf I just like to be organised okay.

Also, Christmas = time of mourning for many people. It’s the first thing I think of when people ask the question. Yes, I’ll be ready for Christmas, I mean, what choice do you have? It’s an autistic person’s nightmare question.

But are you ready though? 😆

Well this will do, surely.

Well, are you?

Guess it’s back to talking about the weather then! 🤣

I work with the bereaved. Many individuals I speak to wish the question “are you spending Christmas was your son/husband/mum? etc.” would F off!

I’m with posters above, I answer the question with a very generic answer. Maybe practice like this guy

It's just conversation. They don't give a shit about Christmas any more than you do. It's just an accepted conversational starter, keeps the wheels of social intercourse oiled.

It is a demented piece of small talk.

Are you ready for Christmas? No, because I don’t make grand preparations. I buy my teens things they need or want, I will put the tree up the week before and I’ll just walk into Tesco/coop and buy a chicken off the shelf and some vegetables two or three days beforehand. What’s to fucking prepare? To turn your house into a free hotel and restaurant? No fucking thanks.

I don't think folk mean any malice by it, it's just small talk and I appreciate that, however, I also hate the question. I'm not even ready for today, let alone tomorrow or a week from now or Christmas! It always reminds me how absolutely shit I am at organising, planning and preparing!

I admit, when I worked in retail and got asked this 65 times a day I got a little bit tired of it.

Now I don't mind so much because I only hear it a few times and I know it's just small talk.

It's just chat, @Netcurtainnelly. I got it today at the checkout in Aldi from an ex-colleague I hadn't seen for ages.

Since you didn't ask and don't want to know, I have everything bar the baguettes flown to Melbourne at ruinous air miles expense, and the fresh produce to be bought on Christmas Eve.

Small talk is so tedious

This is trite nonsense spouted by people who think they’re superior but have no idea of the sociological importance of small talk.

It's small talk, I get that. But what I actually want to scream is no I'm not!!!! My dad just died Christmas will never be the same again, we will have an incredibly empty chair this year. To rub salt into the wound I have a very big birthday in a couple of days, everyone is asking about my party plans. There aren't any.

People are massively overthinking and personalising this. Small talk is just to facilitate a brief moment of connection with basically a stranger over an experience in common. It makes life feel a bit nicer. Or apparently not if you’re a typical MN-er.

Im not miserable because I hate that question.

Whether your a.miserable person is not based on one saying you dislike.

I know its chit chat but its not something I would ever say to anyone.
I can think.of something better and more interesting to talk about it.😂

Small talk is an art form and I find it so difficult. Someone in Aldi asked me that today and I launched into a brag about the fact that I paid off the remainder of my council tax , today freeing up January - that's how ready I am 😳.
Probably not the response he was looking for, but thems the breaks.