Will everyone please STOP the extremely tone deaf 'Christmas Fridge' threads

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I see these multiple threads every single year and they drive me bonkers. The four days leading up to Christmas Day my feed is inundated with all the stuffed fridges, it's a complete and utter disgrace. Not just a few posters but sometimes literally hundreds of you all joining in with these enormous overflowing fridges, it's barbaric and in incredibly poor taste. I have already seen THREE seperate fridge threads today alone, it's scandalous... please people just think about what you are doing by jumping on this bandwagon. Now I take this a bit personally and here is why.... There are people in this world who are starving and many families, mine included, are having to rely on food banks this year just to keep our children fed. As in dippy eggs and soldiers on Xmas eve. Many of us are in a dire state with finances and the pressures of Xmas. The fridge threads are incredibly upsetting and triggering. By all means have a nice christmas dinner with all the trimmings but why post it and rub it in the faces of those less fortunate? They will be very lucky to scrape together a very basic dinner for the family this year?

I so look forward to seeing everybody's gluttonous greed in full swing, fridges stuffed full of obscene amounts of food and alcohol that will most likely go to waste. (And waistlines. The greed of Christmas it's all totally out of control and I despair)
All the cheese boards, cheesecakes, cheeselets, and on and on and on.
Honestly I wish MNHQ would BAN the threads, they cause many people anguish and distress.
It is one day so please keep some perspective or even better, pop a selection pack or some small treats in a collection trolley to help all the fantastic homeless charities and food banks ensure more people can enjoy a sweet treat on christmas day.

(Thanks to my local foodbank and those who kindly donated, at least me and my children have a lovely box of celebrations that I will bring out on Christmas Day for us) 🙂

People likely wouldn’t have reacted in the way they did if the OP hadn’t gone so overboard. Talking about how distasteful threads about food are, about how MN should ban them. I mean come on.

The OP claims to be using food banks and to be struggling. And yet the OP can afford cosmetic dental surgery? Something which is probably out of the financial reach of most people, even the ones with full fridges once a year.

Personally I think it’s far more crass that someone is relying on a food bank while using money to pay for cosmetic treatment. That food should be going to someone far more deserving. If the OP can afford cosmetic surgery she doesn’t need to go to a food bank.

Interesting that the OP denied it.

Also interesting that she's claimed more than once she's being insulted on one of the fridge threads, when we can all clearly see that's untrue.

You are being very unreasonable. You have no idea how many people that full fridge its going to feed nor for how long. I highly doubt its one person for one day. On the years I had family over I had a chocabloc fridge and some of it was donated by other family members to 'muck in' with the cost so it wasn't a burden. The only photo I could see did indeed have a full fridge but a lot of packaging and they may have been putting a bit aside each month to have one special occasion.

Someone is always going to be in a less fortunate position though. It would mean mumsnet wouldn't exist.

My child spent last Christmas in hospital. I didn't start a thread demanding no one could post about their lovely family Christmas' at home just because we didn't have one or the Christmas tree that didn't even get put up because we never got home until after the new year or the Christmas dinner I never had because the majority of hospitals don't feed parents and that doesn't change just because it's Christmas.

OP, I’m sorry you are having a tough time of it this year. I do think all forms of social media make those of us not spending the picture postcard Christmas (for whatever reason) feel awful.

Unfortunately, it will continue regardless of what anyone thinks so I think the best solution would be to remove yourself from it for a while until it passes.

I hope your situation improves 🙏🏻

Lots of things are bizarre - doesn’t mean people can’t / shouldn’t do them if they enjoy it.

I won’t be posting or looking at fridge pictures, but they’re easy to avoid.

the salmon terrine thread was very funny

Oh I love the fridge thread every year!

There's something so joyful about it, people filling their fridges with once-a-year special treats to delight their loved ones. Seeing the varying things people think are Christmas essentials. Being reminded of something you've forgotten. It makes me strangely happy.

Many people are richer than me and spend much more but, well, that's life.

All the cheese boards, cheesecakes, cheeselets, and on and on and on.

Reminds me, I do need to get some more cheeses.

Really sorry you are having a hard time. Honestly hadn’t seen a single fridge thread till you mentioned it and posted the links. I think it would be quite common for those hosting to fill up the fridge as they need to feed a lot of people. If you think it will upset you maybe avoid mumsnet this week.

There are threads with people posting crazy amount of stuff they have bought for their kids. And then soon there will be threads with people ungratefully whining about the gifts they received. It can all seem unfair and upsetting.

Hopefully your situation improves next year. Maybe look into how you can improve your qualifications or job to improve your financial situation. Spend time on that instead of on mumsnet so atleast you are doing something to make things better for next year.

A simple search was taken, an no results. With 3 different wordings.

If people want to show their bulging fridges at Christmas, it’s not really any worse than showing off their houses (I saw a kitchen extension thread on here once 😍😍😍).

I’m neither on the breadline or obscenely rich, but I must admit I enjoy seeing inside other people’s houses/fridges. I think it’s just because they’re different to mine.

Threads don’t automatically open, so just don’t click on any threads you find triggering or upsetting OP.

I’m sorry you’re having a hard time at the minute OP. I hope things improve soon. Some posters on here are absolutely disgraceful in how they have responded and should be ashamed of themselves. Except we all know they aren’t.

As others have said, it’s probably best not to open those threads. There are loads of threads I try to avoid because of ableism or racism or some other type of bigotry. But also I’m not overly keen on threads where posters are, for example, trying to decide which £2000 handbag to buy. Or which cosmetic procedure to have. Or which posh school to send their child to. I’m not judging. It’s just a million miles away from my experience of life and I can’t relate at all. For my own sanity, I don’t open them.

People are posting all sorts of threads about unnecessary spending on presents, clothes etc. Why focus on the food ones? MN has a huge following and it’s one of the most commercially focussed times of year- people are bound to be posting about things they’re buying.

Or which cosmetic procedure to have

Yes. I’m a bit confused why the fridge threads are so offensive to OP but threads about Invisalign are absolutely fine. That costs more than a full Christmas shop, even at today’s prices.

To be 100% fair. She doesn't have to look at these threads, or comment on them to receive nasty replies

The MN fridge threads are the middle class equivalent of the pile of presents by the Christmas tree Facebook posts.

The comments on this thread have given me a right giggle tonight because it would have gone very differently if your thread had been about those OP….. (MN hates a pile of present Facebook post, so working class chav dontchya know!)

I love a fridge thread. Imagining all these people feeling so happy about their well stocked fridges makes me feel happy too.

I haven’t seen any or these threads, and even if I spent more time here I wouldn’t click on it because it is of no interest. So I feel for you in your current predicament of struggling, but the answer isn’t stopping other people posting stuff, it is learning not to look. The world is full of struggle and sadness. You don’t feel better by stripping joy from others due to envy.

But no one is forced to go in nor comment on them

I've been on here for years and I've never even noticed fridge threads. If you're looking at things that annoy and upset you, I feel there's a solution at hand. And maybe don't assume that no one posting there has contributed to a food bank.

I don't have a full fridge, but have never needed a food bankso far anyway
I've never seen fridge threads.
I read threads on property prices, I rent and will never buy.
Fashion- i rarely buy clothes and im not particularly attractive
Recipes- I'm a lousy cook
Holiday- rarely ever been abroad due to cost.
The reality is MN is diverse and huge numbers live different lives and others lie about them.
For your sanity OP, I'd get off SM. There is so much 'brag' material.

Agree it's usually the same people who post the piles of presents for their children which I also hate.

They’re on the Christmas board?

I’m sorry you’re having it hard.

But really the onus is on you to avoid these threads- it’s just harmless fun. And people on the “fridge” threads are no more greedy/ immoral than everyone in Tesco with a full trolley/ buying a 3 bird roast at the butcher/ eating a tub of celebrations in front of the TV.

Plus as much as you might not like it, having a feast at this time of the year is basically a large part of the point of the celebration- at the darkest time of year- to get us through to spring.

I think you might need to focus on your own techniques to avoid things that trigger you/ not take it personally.