Christmas should be every 5 years instead of annually.

[Isometimeswonder]

Obviously I'm being lighthearted.
But I think there's so much build up for Christmas, so many people trying to please everyone, so many stresses and expenditure, it would be better to have Christmas less frequently.
Like every 3, or 5, years.
Could use the money spent on Christmas on other things.
Would probably look forward to it more.
Fewer times I'd have to listen to Christmas music on repeat in shops.
Could avoid certain relatives for longer.
I'm not just kidding. 😀

🎄🎅🏻🎁🍾

Maybe every 2 years; but I agree, OP!

I absolutely agree. I'd understand all the excitement and knicker-wetting much more if it was every few years rather than annually.

I’ve managed to pretty much avoid it this year. It’s been most excellent.

I think the problem here is that once a year feels endless when you're a child, but rolls around all too quickly as an adult!

No, I would be so disappointed. It’s the thing that gets me through winter.

Omg can you imagine the pressure if it was 5 yearly though?!

Yes! You should be the Prime Minister.

In fact, why not make Christmas like a general election? It might be this year, it might not be, you never know until they announce in mid November whether it's a Christmas year.

People are too emotionally invested in it, that’s the trouble.

I think Xmas is mostly for children, yearly is a massive wait when your little let alone 5!

I love Christmas. Every year. As a family we agreed years ago not to go mad with stacks of presents, which was easier before social media. We do none of the activities often listed here. I'm putting the tree up this afternoon, then nothing much till Christmas Eve. We are happy doing it our way and if you think it's too much for you scale it back a bit.

Oh my Christmas hat. It’s enough of a build up annually. Can you imagine the frenzy if people had to wait for five years. 😵‍💫

There’s a reason people in the northern hemisphere need some relief/respite around the shortest day. A little bit of a festival of light.

I’m an empty nester and this is the first Christmas in three decades I have been able to savour the Christmas phase for what it really is, a cosy gentle time. Even though I resisted the hype previously, it was still stressful maintaining my resolve, and inevitable criticism. I am definitely not a Christmas Grinch. Love it and embrace it now. 🤶🏻

Though still don’t get why the need to bring a huge tree into the house when we’re at risk of developing cabin fever. Love them outside.

I think the attempts to push it earlier and earlier every year have had the effect of watering down the whole experience for me. That and I'm getting older, have lost loved ones, and just don't feel the same joy and fun for Christmas I once had. I still want it to be an annual thing, though. I just need to make some adjustments—and am doing so, a little at a time. I do less and have lowered standards and expectations to what feel like a reasonable level for our current situation. It's a bit sad, though, when compared to childhood Christmases.

Seconded but for me I’ve long advocated an Olympics-style, once every four years approach. And to declare a slight interest it’s my birthday too so doubly unfortunate and counting in Olympic years would put me back to being about fifteen years old again.

I like the Olympics thing, every 4 yrs.
I get Christmas is obviously more for kids, it's just the overwhelming too much-ness. And people get crazy!
To the person who said I should just scale it back if it's too much for me... you're missing my point.

It would be hard for me to see a friend struggling like that and I would have to check in but you don’t know how these things land with others. What their headspace is at the time, maybe they’re holding it together. These school events can be quite loaded with lots of dynamics to support. It’s challenging for a parent who isn’t struggling - overwhelming, emotional trying to work through it (I have two kids with SEN so these things are more about survival) and no one else to carry me.

I’ve tried to ask you a couple of times about the person who supported you when you went away from work - they will be back soon I hope and you can spend time with them and hopefully anchor yourself. Don’t give these other people so much of yourself and so then they don’t hold that power over you emotionally. They don’t deserve it.

Perhaps there could be events such as running the gauntlet for the last turkey on the shelf or the Christmas pudding shotputt 😁

Every 2 years would be good.

Nooooo I love Christmas. This time of year would be so depressing otherwise. Just miserable weather, darkness, with nothing to break it up.

I think that would increase the stress and need for it to be perfect.

I'd like to keep religious Christmas every year please? I'd miss the carols and the children's nativity service.

The work christmas parties could be every few years though.

People put the pressure on themselves though. No one else to blame. Our dc come first, we don’t run around house to house to please fully grown adults.

Disagree. Winter here would be so shit without Christmas.

For adults I agree. Receiving crap presents I'll never use, the stress and expense of buying gifts for adults they probably don't want and will never use.

The fact you can't go food shopping (just for normal non-Christmas food) without it being far too busy, same as trying to go anywhere at all during the Christmas hols, all 2 weeks of it.

And throw several extended family birthdays in for good measure. No, I can't cope!

Maybe every four years, in fact it could be aligned with leap years and Christmas Day moved to February 29th. That way it could ONLY occur every four years.