I just thought I'd put my sixpence worth in. I hate Christmas in the way it is over commercialised, the enforced joviality, the visiting people you don't like and will never see during the year, the stupid cards that no one gives a s**t about. As a vegan, atheist who is estranged from most of my family and hardly see the others the typical Christmas portrayed in the ads and those awful Christmas films, I can't relate to. So in the run up to Christmas I always start to feel sad, bitter and angry.
BUT .... I do have a 10 yo DS who loves Christmas, so together with my equally Grinch-like DH, I have come to have our own type of Christmas that suits our Grinchyness but also keeps DS happy. The Christmas tree (bright red and artificial) goes up on the 20th and comes down on New Years Eve. Tinsel is banned as I find it too disturbing! I try and keep the rest of the decorations to a minimum, simple and natural materials like glass, wood, paper, fabric - and stuff that me and DS have made, like salt dough shapes.
We do all the things associated with the holiday season, but keep it as non-cliche, non-commercialised as possible. I try to see it as a week in the winter when we can all be cosy at home, we don't have to go anywhere, no-one is likely to pop round unexpectedly so we can spend the whole day in our pyjamas or onsies watching DVD's, playing games, eating our favourite foods, etc. Now that DS is older we have said we will start having Christmas abroad too.