To think Christmas has descended into a pile of landfill?

[TheLostMonopolyTopHat]

I’ll start by saying this way of thinking is getting me down. I find it overwhelming and depressing as it takes the magic away but I can’t unsee it.

Everywhere you look there’s Christmas tat. As I was shopping in the lead up all I could see was shelves and shelves of total shit: plastic stocking fillers that wouldn’t last two minutes, plastic toys that’ll sit in landfill long after the children who receive them have grown up, plastic polyester Christmas pyjamas for the whole family you’ll wear for one night, Temu shit, SHEIN shit, loads of shit. People buying ‘token gifts’ or secret Santa crap, new colour themed decorations every year, shelves full of cheap stuff, it never ends.

I used to get swept up in it but the past few years I’ve found myself struggling to buy toys children in the family ask for because it’s adding to the destruction of the planet. I, like everyone else, have been guilty of buying things for the sake of buying and I hate it.

Christmas has become a consumerist hellscape. How much worse will it get? We’re all full of microplastics yet very few people seem to stop and think before buying it all only to chuck it all away.

Totally agree 😥

Totally agree. It's plastic that will ultimately finish us off.

Agree. Hate giving tat for the sake of it

Are we the only mammals who destroy their own habitat? Or maybe, the only non-extinct ones..

No plastic tat and consumerism here. Just a couple of sensible gifts and lots of family fun. We have had a great few days.

I think that those that buy into consumerism are also the ones that are obsessed with social media so post the tacky photos of their kids with 100s of presents. Feels a bit like Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter book 1!

My kids have been raised to not be materialistic and appreciate what they were gifted.

I agree. Thankfully, after years of trying, I finally persuaded my family not to exchange gifts with me this year and then we all decided no gifts would be given for adults and we’d all just chip in a bit more for extra nice food instead. Least stressful Christmas ever.

Totally and utterly agree. All pointless crap. I know people who are constantly buying cheap tat from Temu. Everything smells, feels and looks cheap and tatty. Just why?

We are about to visit the local B and M for hay etc for the pets...its basically a whole store of delayed land fill....aisles of plastic tat....shops do seem quieter this year....maybe people have had enough of glitter cushions and polyester santa sacks and elf outfits...!!...a lot was on sale before xmas.

Agree, posted about this before Xmas and people came out in defence of tat.

sigh

It’s been like that for years.

I remember saying to my colleagues at work years ago (around 2006)that I was displeased with a pile of presents that I didn’t want or need and being called ungrateful as “somebody made an effort to go out and buy you something”

I still remember —not so— lovely set of pj’s with top barely reaching my waist and 3 buttons at the front the size of a saucer each.

Yanbu, but this is why I don’t even bother to recycle. It’s just so utterly pointless.

I keep asking for this, pleading even but no joy. I’ll keep trying. I don’t want to be part of the tat-off. I love perishable or useful gifts. Get me a jar of marmalade or a plant if you must! It’s the tys that upset me the most, I really don’t enjoy buying them which makes me feel like The Grinch.

You're not wrong OP

Totally agree with you OP and it depresses the hell out of me too. Only today I was in a shop which was selling huge pictures of sheep with Christmas string lights around their neck. I mean, what is that all about? Who would want that as part of their Christmas decorations? Needless to say it was in the sale.

The tat in the shops is awful. Members of my family buy it because they are of the opinion that more is more….why buy one quality item if you can buy five for the same price which will probably stop working within the week and go directly to landfill.

I hate it.

I used to post Christmas pics on SM but never to show off all my tat or tat piles, it was more fun a decade ago, little Christmas moments. I saw one house where the entire large lounge was full of gifts. How can the children not be utterly overwhelmed?

Society has gone very attention seeky and I’m not on board with it.

I now tend to buy edible gifts - things that are a bit of a treat, but will get eaten up and won’t end up either cluttering up the recipient’s house, or going to landfill, as you say, @TheLostMonopolyTopHat.

I asked for a specific gift a few years ago from John Lewis. It was less than £15 (perfectly within my sister and I’s limit) she bought me 3x the same thing from a tat shop, all bent or broke within a week, had to bin them. What a total waste of everyone’s money and the energy it took to produce and ship it over.

I agree OP.

Keep the people stupid about what is really going on in this world.

Building new houses, how are you going to do that when it's landfill ground...!

Let them eat cake so depressing. How to keep the poor people poor.

Ikwym but I think lots of the younger generations have a different attitude. I've seen so many posts about GPs going mad, but their children and grandchildren don't want it and being much more mindful. I've always felt we'll go full circle in this crazy life of ours and I think it's starting.

I have a relative who hit Temu big time this year. She was so proud that she'd given my (adult) kids watches, jewllery and wallets. All are tat and they won't use them, especially the watches as the hands don't even work properly, they're just toys really. My gifts from her were were similar, including a hideous clothing item and a pile of glittery plastic trinkets that I have no need of She waa so pleased that she'd provided a mountain of presents that I just can't tell her they won't be used at all. I can't even donate them as they'll clutter up a charty shop and no-one would ever want to buy them.
My secret sants gift from work was similar.
Luckily the rest of my family have similar views to me so our "less is more" approach worked really well this year for all of us.

YANBU but expect posters to be along shortly to tell you that:

1. Nobody buys new decorations/pyjamas/tat every year. Everyone on MN uses things for decades and it's always "everyone else" who is clearing out Home Bargains and buying the expensive tat in the Range.
2. You are being classist.
3. That unless you live in a cave, have no children, never buy any product ever and definitely don't have a car or fly then you have no room to talk.
4. That Shein and Temu stuff is amazing and it's not cheap tat made by slaves from awful fabric, that they have had some brilliant "bits" from there.
5. Similar to 3 - that Temu and Shein are just cutting out the middle men and their stuff is exactly the same as you'd get in M&S and unless you are weaving your clothing from grass and twigs you have no room to talk.
6. That it's all about the kiddies and Christmas = massive piles of tat.
7. If the Chinese slaves weren't working to make all this shite what would happen to them - so you're actually doing them a favour, in a roundabout sort of way.

^ this

I would like to ban novelty presents - office golf sets, fart machines etc. Funny for two seconds and then the bin. Christmas crackers - love the idea but the stuff ends up in the bin. It is awful come January seeing the utter shite in the charity shops that people just didn’t want. People get all het up about what to buy - it’s madness. I have refused to buy for adults this year except DH and the PIL. Would really like to not buy for them but they want the presents.

Hard agree on this one. Christmas has become a festival of consumerism.