A tatless Christmas?

[AlternativelyWired]

I'm trying to cut back this year and one way is less chocolate for the dc as we still have stuff from last Christmas. The other way is a ban on festive tat and items that are just for use at Christmas. They have festive pjs but I give those on December 1st and they are suitable for the whole of the colder months. They always wear them in the summer too and aren't fussy. I've been wearing my candy cane pjs all year too.
Has you successfully abolished tat?

We have cut back on some things but not on others because I remember as a child the things I loved the most were opening advent calendars and pulling crackers and seeing what was inside. Tat is only tat if the person doesn’t ever use it. If you know not all the chocolate wasn’t eatsn then it’s totally fair enough not to get as much but I do hate people saying they’re eg banning selection boxes- just get the ones with less packaging if it’s an environmental thing, or buy the bars and tie them together with a ribbon or something!

aldi fat quarters are cheap and big enough to wrap many gifts
tie with ribbon
reuse indefinitely

you have to keep looking though as the prints are variable- sometimes they are all superheroes/disney

Mine love advent calendars so I waste £5 x 4 on paper calendars every year.
Stockings - socks, pants, shower gel, deodorant, pens for school, beanie hats, replacement tech wires. Presents are similar - no games, toys or gadget/tv based tat. But one needs a laptop for school, that's ok. One is saving so will have cash.
In the past presents have included room redecoration, sports equipment, a bed in the garden to plant things of their choice, musical instruments etc.

I don't do Christmas Eve boxes, I don't buy christmas themed bedding, clothes and such like. I will waste money on crackers but use plain wrapping paper bought in bulk for the full year. And I will spend silly money on writing Christmas cards to old friends and family

I saw these in Aldi and didn't have a clue what they were for! Thank you x

A vote in favour of tat.
Tat that will break/ cease to function within a few days. So that it can go in the bin for the first collection in the new year and not clutter the house up for months.
Win win.

We've successfully banished tat that is purchased by ourselves, but failed miserably at banishing tat bought by others. My mother is queen of the tacky, loud, plastic toy sadly.

We have done no 'tat' for 10 years. It is far more expensive though as everything tends to be local/artisan/wooden/etc.

We stick to the much maligned poem which I love: want/need/wear/read. Plus stocking and one gift from Father Christmas. I try to buy second hand, if possible.

I have 2 DC aged 10 and 8. They are allowed to ask FC for 3 items and he will bring one. The 3 things need to be 'made' by elves - not Apple!

We observe Advent through using The Kindness Elves. https://theimaginationtree.store/pages/thekindnesselves

Basically, DC do the same 'stuff' every year. I try to build traditions rather than try or buy 'new' stuff. So far, they seem happy!

I saw these in Aldi and didn't have a clue what they were for! Thank you x

I think they are traditionally used for quilting but are really useful for wrapping/making small gift bags & other craft projects too.

As pp has mentioned, we minimise tat by FC being one practical mofo and bringing stuff I’d have to buy anyway like socks, pants, stationary and water bottles. Seeing as how it’s Christmas he will also bring upgrades on items I’d have to buy but am too tight to buy the branded one- mum buys decathlon shin pads, FC brings Nike…. you get the picture. He is also partial to retro pic n mix but that’s not tat as we all scoff that by Boxing Day. Not doing advent calendars as my evil dc ate the whole thing by 3 December last year. All that said I did walk around my dc’s bedrooms in April last year gathering up some stocking fillers that hadn’t been opened so I’m going to cut it back a bit more this year.

Well I don't buy tat, and all the threads about Secret Santa's and gifts for extended family with a £10 limit - just stop! A book is probably the only decent thing you can get for less than £10, but bet that's not what most people buy though.

Op I don't necessarily think Xmas theme stuff is Tat.
Pajamas, bedding, plates can all be used over the winter months..

I see it as extending the life of said duvet covers, usual plates..

Ideally, changing ornaments and such stuff freshen up house without deeper more radical make overs.

Tat to me is novelty stuff that's use last a few hours like make up Caldner stuff etc.

This year for stockings I'm going for hair towel wrap, cute wool winter hair band.
Other stuff Will be really nice food stuffs... stuff like that..

We also used to get loads of presents free from free cycle, especially good for the younger children and Disney stuff..

I will say I do not consider Christmas cards to be tat. I don’t give them to local friends or colleagues. But I do sit and write them and post to friends and family that live away and that I don’t see often. We have loads of family and friends abroad between Dh and I.

We don't have kids so it's easier to avoid tat, but last year we had a truly tatless Christmas:

• A real tree with sentimental baubles collected over the course of many years. -- Pared back, natural, scandi style decor (which comes out year after year) around the rest of the house.
• A small selection of gifts each - all good quality, a lot made in the UK etc.
• A foraged christmas wreath on the front door.
• An indulgent Christmas roast but not much extra.
• No Christmas crackers, advent calendars or other disposables.

My team at work is doing 'secret santa' this year and the first thing I thought when I heard was "great, unwanted tat that will go straight in the bin".

@mondaytosunday I find it a bit sad that you think anything under £10 wouldn't be a 'decent' gift.
There are 1000s of perfectly nice products out there for under £10.

I love books. There's no such thing as too many books in my erm, book 😁 My house is full of books and I won't charity shop any. I'll always make room for books.

When I say tat I mean plastic novelty stuff. I love Christmas/winter themed plates/cups etc and look forward to getting them out each year. We have a seasonal garden flag for various times of the year-a tradition from our beloved American godparent and wife.

Our tree decorations are decades old in some cases. I occasionally buy a new one or special ones as gifts. Fortnum and Mason has one this year that is a must due to it's connection to my late dad

As a child my favourite advent calendar was one with glitter and pictures. I did have a new one each year and I can still remember opening it as soon as I got up.

Our tree has always been a real one. It's my one single big expense at about £60. The tree becomes part of our family for the festive season and then we either recycle or try to reuse as something like a Halloween tree. It brings me such joy. Delivered by the garden centre too.

We don't drink beyond a bottle of wine shared with my mum on Christmas Day and a bottle of knock off baileys from Asda. We are veggie so the food costs are not much extra. So I suppose that allows for the tree 🎄

Im going into our (shit) town tomorrow with the dc and might be tempted by some tat but I will try to stay strong! Im a sucker for charity shop festive plates for mince pies and mugs and Christmas books.

Oooh a forage wreath for the door. We have a very old now John Lewis one that I will spruce up. We made an advent wreath last year with foraged holy and ivy. I also collected a shit ton of mud on my boots. It was snowing while we walked in the woods and was lovely. We got enough for two wreaths and went up to my mum's and she and Dd made one. It's a tradition my mum started that's lapsed in recent years but I have resurrected it. Tradition is important.

Lego for dd??

We have an advent house bought a good 20 years ago in JL - gets filled with chocolates but may give it a miss this year as we are empty nesters for the first time now dc4 has started university :(

Made my own wreath last year from local stuff we picked and have a plan to do the same again with a group of friends.

Sloe gin needs making (sloes picked and in the freezer so I don't need to prick them). Will make gingerbread or similar to take to people's houses.

Any cracker tut goes in my special prize box at school.

Ah so true!!! You can minimise as much as you like but if you have a deviant parent or relative it can all be lost with a single Barbie on a bright pink motorbike made of pure tat and was by far my dd's favourite gift at seven!! 😂🙄😏

I love Christmas ornaments but we normally have wood, glass, ceramic or fabric ones. I love unwrapping them each year and displaying them in the house. Several of them are decades old.

No Christmas Pjs here, neither bedding, towels, table clothes etc. I don't have the space to store them during the year.

Christmas Jumpers - when DD was smaller I got her a long-sleeve T-shirt beginning of December which she wore most weekends and then at school/dance club. The jumpers are far too warm to be worn indoors. They were then donated the next year.

Gifts - we ask people and don't assume. The grandparents ask as well and we normally gave 2-3 suggestions or now DD is providing ideas. If I have to give a gift to someone I don't know then I go with chocolate, that can always be gifted on.

A good idea for every year, but this one in particular would be to replace Work Secret Santa, with buying a gift for a child or person in need. If you look on your local area Facebook page I am sure appeals will start featuring.

Best Thing we ever did was buy smaller stockings. You really can’t fit much in them so it’s there’s never the pressure to fill them. Last year a DVD, chocolate orange, smarties tube and silly craft thing was struggle to get into DS’s stocking.
Since youngest one stopped believing in Santa they still get the stocking but instead of a pile of Santa presents and a pile of parent presents it’s only the parents pile (about 1/3 less stuff). Try to look in charity shops for interesting books instead of automatically paying £10/book unless specific requests.
Advent calendars no more than £5/person and always chocolate. Try to do 1 nice lunch on Christmas Eve but don’t do loads of Christmassy activities but obviously less pressure with older kids. Will do lots of NT walks and probably the Christmas market with DD.
I’ll do £20 Christmas lunch with colleagues. DH has no wish to go to Christmas do and neither does Secret Santa etc.
DH will eat any Christmassy choc/snacks etc so try to avoid buying it too early and it’s often gifted to us by clients. We only do lunch for the 5 of us and then bring a pudding and drinks to the extended family evening get together.
Re extended family we only buy for kids and our mums. About 10 years ago when my mum got her 9th grandchild and we watched 9 over excited kids get presents from 3 aunts plus their gran each we made a change. Imagine 36 gifts being opened nearly simultaneously and obviously things got overwhelming for everyone! I’m one of 4 and there’s 12 grandkids now. We each get assigned 3 kids (not own) and buy for them. So each kid now gets 2 instead of 4 as my mum still does a small gift for each of them. Saves so much time/ money and none of them miss it. There’s always the excitement about which auntie they got assigned.

At least twice workplace I've known secret Santas to be diverted!

A result for the tat mountain. One year there was a workplace collection for a local radio project to provide gifts for kids and teens who would otherwise go without, so you get to go and pick something out if that's your thing. Another year and a different workplace we just all donated money to a food bank. In both cases it just took one person having the nerve to say they didn't want to do secret Santa this year, and the majority agreed.

@Peach27 , yes, I regret getting big stockings now. If I get a book and a box of mochi balls in there that takes up a good bit of space without being tat.

Not great for the environment though….