Christmas has lots its sparkle, just seem to be buying shit all the time

[Willitgetanybetter]

All I feel is stressed, with a list that’s gradually getting ticked off, just spending a load of money, trying desperately to cut back. Used to love it all but it’s fading a bit. Dd is 7 now and it feels like the magic is leaving a little, she’s acting spoilt and moany and finds so many traditions I did with her babyish

Does anyone else have this? I’ve loved Christmas in years gone by

Christmas is overrated. I can't really be bothered with it either.

I think alot of peopls feel like this really . Try to keep it as low key and manageable as you can .

Agree. It's been gradually ramping up over the last 30 or 40 years and for many people it's not about spending time with people or having a great meal, it's about buying endless piles of stuff, as cheaply as possible.

No thought for the planet, no ideas about being sustainable, no stopping to think about the quantity of rubbish people are buying and then chucking out in the new year.

It's quite depressing. I am not religious in any way but I really don't like what it has become.

I like lots about it. But, I only exchange gifts with close family I see on, or near, the day. DC are teens so are beyond the avarice stage and the mountains of plastic tat - they have gifts they will (I hope!) love, but not all those "filler" presents. It's much harder when they're little!

It's always been the case. Christmas is a religious celebration. The moment you treat it as a consumerist spending spree and not a celebration of the birth of Christ, it's bound to feel souless and leave you empty.

I’m getting a bit sick of it. All about stuffing your face with awful food and buying as much shit as you can

What traditions does your daughter find babyish? A year for a seven year old is a very, very long time, while to you it feels like almost no time at all. It's very possible that you are trying to do stuff with her that feels like something she should love while to her, she hasn't been into it forever and she can't understand why you don't realise that now.

It sucks for us, when we've found Christmas traditions we love and they feel like something we'll do forever, but it's rarely like that. It's actually really fleeting, kids move on and we have to move on with them. The whole month long run up to Christmas is actually quite stressful for kids too, so maybe listen to her and dial it back on the stuff she's moved on from. And you never know, without the pressure she might find she wants to do more of it after all.

I love Christmas but we don't buy into most of the "stuff" that comes with it, and my parents didn't either.

For us, it's just time off work, peace, quiet, dog walks, good food, lots of rest and catching up with friends and family.

@MazeyP it's all sorts of things isn't it ,especially bringing cheer to the darkest days of the year. We humans all help each other out with pretty lights and displays to cheer us all up!
I am no longer religious but the story of the nativity is the perfect antidote to all the consumerist spending !! It's the heart and soul of Christmas.

Whether you believe in God or not one can't deny the sheer beauty of the nativity story jn every aspect and sense.
@SheinIsShite

Many of us have been using cat boots/frecyle /charity shops for gifts for young DC not everything has to be off a shelf in toys runs

It's harder now DC are older but they get nice bedding ,silk pillow cases ,clothes they want so more expensive but less waste.

The emphasis was never on the present in my house !

I’ve started doing Yule - go for a walk to collect some holly and ivy, light a candle, make a Yule log and be grateful for the lighter days coming 😊

I feel I’m constantly getting tat advertised to me through social media that is making me feel like I don’t want to do Xmas anymore which isn’t helping - crappy no bake bakes full of additives, fast fashion hauls of clothes to be worn once, Xmas makeup that costs a fortune and looks terrible in real life, ridiculous set ups to watch the grinch at home or whatever with £100s of themed clothes and decor - I feel sick with it all.

Now is the time to dial it back, otherwise you’ll be going bigger and bigger each year, trying to keep up or improve on the previous year. Think about what you actually loved from your childhood Christmas and just aim to do that.

I think so many people copy trends in trying to ‘create the magic’ and end up with piles and piles of tat, stressed out trying to think up funny things for the stupid Elf to have done overnight, creating hot chocolate ‘stations’, Christmas Eve boxes, matching sets of pjs. It’s endless.

My mum said her and her siblings used to get one present each from their parents, a pair of skates or a doll or something and they’d treasure it. It was about spending time with family, a nice meal, some homemade mince pies or a Christmas cake and that’s it.

Ask your daughter what she remembers from last Christmas and what was the best part and she might surprise you. Don’t stress yourself trying to do everything.

We’re atheist but 100% enjoy Christmas. It doesn’t have to be about spending a ridiculous amount or going to church. It’s time off work, with family, watching films, having lovely food and drinks.

I largely enjoy it but I know what you mean. I wish schools would have more thought and not pile the pressure on. I understand charities want to make money and sponsored runs are a good idea but not at Christmas when most people are already struggling. My DS had both a reindeer and Santa run this year so I had to find sponsorship money for both. And then there’s the Christmas fair to raise school funds which I get but that is also more pressure. Beavers do it too plus had tinsel camp a couple of weeks ago. It all adds up.

I enjoy the simpler things. Some Christmas days out we love the most are totally free or at least inexpensive. I don’t pay £££ for crazy grottos and ‘experiences’. Baking, making paper chains, homemade Xmas cards, watching films- all really fun and inexpensive.

I feel like the elf of the shelf, Xmas eve boxes, matching PJs, big gift expectations have made it all feel so much hard work. And I find there’s a lot less of the social stuff. People no longer host parties at home (cost?), there’s no afternoon off work for a paid for team meal, no big family gathering involving all the kids running around enjoying being together. I think a lot is to do with keeping cost low, but I feel like I’m spending a lot - just on physical bits of tat & too much food. I happily hosted Xmas drinks & nibbles for a wide circle of friends and family every year until Covid. I don’t now & I think people prefer to just stay home with their immediate family. For me the Xmas magic was socialising and celebrating with others.

What stops you from spending time with family any day of the year?

DT’s, DSis and my parents live on a different continent to DH and I. It’s a long haul flight to see each other.

Well I love Christmas even after 63 of them but I don't buy into the commercial aspect and definitely don't think I buy loads of shit. I do but a few well chosen and hopefully liked and useful gifts for my family members. It's the time together which we treasure as it's hard to come by these days.

I love Christmas, but you really have to do it your way so you don't get caught up in the stuff that means zilch to you

If your DD needs an update on activities, that should be pretty easy for a 7 year old

You could also start a thread on thrifty Christmas tips, I'm sure people will have plenty to say..

European midwinter celebrations far predate monotheism, never mind the idea of Christ. The celebration of Christ's birth was tacked onto older festivals, which is extremely well known. By all means celebrate your religion and the birth of Jesus at this time and find your deepest meaning in it. But don't pretend it's the only purpose to the festivities because it isn't. It's something we've been doing for many, many thousands of years and will still be doing in the far future, even if the religious beliefs around the season change.

I have Christmas Day off this year but it will be a very tame celebration… I’m lucky though as my husband was raised as a Muslim so I can celebrate in a way that suits me and don’t have the pressure of another person’s expectations and can set my own standards. I am choosing this year to celebrate in a low key way with small gifts and a nice meal and a bit of family chill time.
I’m finding that the winter solstice is much more meaningful to me nowadays and will have a bigger meal and make more fuss of that day with candles and a walk in the woods.

I spend time with family but there’s something nice about having no work or school pressures, cold days and cosy nights.

I think part of the answer is that traditions change as kids get older. We’re well past the stage of breakfast with Santa, more likely to be winter walks, pub lunch and baking at home. They’re old enough now for a midnight carol service and helping make a nice meal. Things are more low key but still lovely, just waiting now for school to dial it back a bit because December has been a bit frantic there.

It’s been a festival of overindulgence since the 1960s. That’s nothing new. I was a child in the 1980s and people were having this conversation back then.

I think possibly people are particularly feeling it this year because the economy is so awful and people are desperately struggling to hold onto their jobs.

But its what you make it. You don’t need to buy into all of it. No one had to do the fricking elf, for example. Choose the traditions and gifts you like and dump the rest.

Nothing, but most people have at least some time off over Christmas so it's easier to arrange visits.

DH and I are both self-employed and get little/no enquiries over the festive period so both take the opportunity to have some time off, even though we're both atheist and don't celebrate Christmas in any religious sense.

It's just practical for us to take time off when it's quiet as we don't lose much money and can enjoy some downtime together.

I've said it loads of times on here.
Its not special, its starts too early and people go along with it because its something they have always done from being a child.

Their parents did it for them, their parents did it for them etc.

People just need to stop it, cut it right back and start some new traditions.

We are not in the Victorian era anymore.
I look forward to the day people start thinking for themselves more and not feeling they have to do something because its what they've always done.

I was a child of the 80s, things have definitely changed with the advent of social media.

There was no elf on the shelf (with a balloon display heralding his arrival), advent calendars were picture based, no Christmas Eve box, breakfast with Santa, Santa train, winter woodland lighted walk, Christmas market, and a hundred other things to part you from your cash. We went into town to see the lights, usually with a bag of chips, no £8 hot chocolate, pretzels and stuff.

It’s gotten out of hand, if you let it. So much pressure on parents to do the latest thing.