A simpler Christmas

[upfucked]

I hate the stress and consumerism of Christmas. If you have cut back on things, how/what have you done?

Far less presents. Every year I get the twitch and buy some emergency ones in the week before, then on the day, feel a bit deflated as I see the excess presents in little piles around the room, as the DC focus only on the things they really want.

I have stood firm this year, and just to add to my nerves, all their presents are quite small in size this year, so it all looks a tiny pile, for all three!

Keep reminding myself that DM, DNan, rest of the family will buy them lots as well, plus they have a stocking each. It's plenty. I think whilst when you see those pics on social media of a tree with about 100 gifts piled waist high around it, the main feeling is "oh dear me" there is definitely a feeling of "but still, I wonder just how many people do this, is half the class talking about their 100 presents each at school....and my DC have got 6-7 things (even if they are good quality, the 100 presents can't all be crap) so am I stingy and there's a happy medium somewhere between?"

Also, making paperchains, lots of festive baking, walks with a bag of chips or a hot chocolate to see the lights. Doing things. Not buying things.

I have always done a simple Christmas. We hang the same decorations up each year, I make a table centrepiece and wreath from greenery. I make and cook just what we like from Christmas food. I don't overbuy, it's easy to over estimate how much food people will eat.

I also steer clear of SM, especially those with pictures of piles of presents :) I sometimes wonder how many are gift wrapped empty boxes

I appreciate Christmas means different things for different people, but I'm connecting more with the religious aspect this year. Going to church each week, I've bought an advent ring and bought a lovely book retelling the Christmas story in 25 sections, to read every day in December.

Less presents too!

We just use it as family time. We cook together and watch films. Wider family visits are before/ after Christmas day.
It works for us.
I have teens and they understand that it will be 2 presents each- one practical and one wanted. They will get something for each other and us, but it can't cost more than £20.-.
We have done this last year and everyone enjoyed themselves!

@TwinsAndTiramisu I tried to be organised earlier to ready the stress but I think all that happens is I start buying too early so haven’t made all my decision before starting to shop. This is changing next year.

@MissMarplesGoddaughter yes on my list of what to do different is to buy no snack food (crisps/chocolate) because I’m the one that eats it and I really don’t need anymore snacking. Definitely staying away from social media, it’s all the millions of aid for Christmas activities that I feel like we should do. We just do one Santa visit but I feel some kind of parental guilt.

@Ylvamoon my children are very young and have simple tastes. I think I need to reduce the number of gifts. We are reducing from the 10 each last year plus stocking but I have a feeling we are still going to have too many.

It’s Christmas. When some of the best memories are made around food.when some of the best choice of foods are out there.don’t stop yourself from enjoying that part of it.that restriction not simplified.

Thanks but the issue is I don’t really enjoy the snacks!

Definitely massive YES from me to my overspending being because I start too early and then dc tell me what they really want the week before xmas... I too don't want to do it this year, apart from having less spare cash it just also somehow suddenly feels really icky to be spoiling three kids who are basically over privileged anyway!

Kids are fully grown, one with child of their own. Won’t be bothering with a tree this year, hurrah. Lots of twinkly lights but just not on a tree.

@upfucked- I ask the kids what they want to eat, special treat/ dinner, then it's made or organised!
Last year, we had a "Full English Brunch" and Moroccan Lamb with couscous for dinner (= that's what we all agreed on!)

With little children, I'd do a budget each, and remind yourself, it's about quality not quantity!

Reminding yourself that most of what you buy will at some stage end up in landfill. That will quickly stop you wasting money on the absolute shite that can be found in the shops at this time of year.

Best gifts are edible/drinkable/usable (perfume etc). Or give an “experience” eg theatre trip.

Up until now I have insisted upon an 8 foot Xmas tree every year that we go to Xmas tree farm and I choose myself then DH cuts it down. This year I am going to get a small 5 foot one. I always make own Xmas wreath for door from offcuts from Xmas tree and Holly. I will also be making my own Xmas picks with leaves picked from garden and sprayed silver, plus I have a lot of Holly in my garden. I arrange them into a large basket. I will make mil Xmas picks too. This Xmas I am going to DS house. First time I won't have cooked since I married at 22 years. I am buying turkey crown and a small beef and he will cook. I am buying less this year, less chocolate, less biscuits, less gifts. That will mean less wrapping.

I think to an extent Christmas is supposed to be excessive.

To our ancestors facing a long dark winter they may or may not survive, it was time to press the fuck it button, slaughter the animals they couldn't afford to feed and get pissed by a fire.
The harvest is in, its too dark to work for much of the day. Your fate is sealed and thrift and self sacrifice will get you nowhere.

Having said that: I've simplified by ditching thr roadt dinner. I just set up a buffet of everyones favourite nibbles and we graze all day.

I recommend the Calm Christmas podcast to anyone looking for ways to keep it simple.

😂. I love this view and sort of agree. Yes, we should cut down on the plastic crap but there's clearly a happy medium somewhere.

My solution is to wrap everything in sight (with recyclable paper, of course 😉). It then looks like there are 100 presents under the tree, which makes my 4 year old deliriously happy and they have great fun stacking and re-stacking them. But actually the huge, exciting looking box is just the new rubbish bin for the kitchen and 48 toilet rolls and the new printer cartridges have also been wrapped as well and labelled as presents for daddy.

I just don't do it, you can't get any simpler than that!

kingtamponthefurred we are working towards not doing it either. We are doing less and less each year, by 2025 it just won't happen. I can't wait.

We have plenty of family gatherings during the year and celebrate other occasions, but not in a consumer frenzy sort of way.

Usually only get Christmas day off. Dh and me work opposite shifts so it's a day for the three of us to spend together on the sofa.
Noones invited round. Bacon buns for breakfast, pizza for dinner, snacky stuff for tea.
Buy one new tree decoration a year. Every thing else is years old.
Always kept it simple but special for us.

We've always done a simpler Christmas but this year we've just tried to spread the cost.

We've cut down on presents for everyone and they've already been bought and wrapped so we're not tempted to buy excess when the buzz gets the better of us.

We've been saving our Asda Reward points so we have about £90 to put towards our shopping so we can go a little bit over our general. I like to schedule a full 4-5 days of treats and really lovely food to indulge in as Christmas can be quite a bleak affair in the household.

We're not buying more decorations. We'll make them from what we have, some orange garlands, and use the ornaments we always use.

Rural here so a normal working day, adult DC and I will dress the house and tree the day after they arrive. Lots of movie watching, haven’t decided on a menu yet but it will probably be something I do each year after going through ideas and recipes for searching for something different!

DC are trying to buy a home so hopefully if that happens sooner rather than later we will contribute towards some furniture. Stocking fillers with something practical (new undies), something fun, skin care, books, just depends on what I see when browsing. I generally start around august to even out the cost.

We have lovely, special food and drink on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, NYE and NYD. I love cooking festive food so this is a huge part of Christmas for me. Make sure we don't buy loads of chocolate, cheese etc so we're not still ploughing through it at the end of January and it stops being a rare pleasure and becomes a chore.

We attend Advent services at the Cathedral and a couple of local Christmas craft fairs. Some local churches do tree festivals.

If the weather's right (cold and clear), we do some walking. If it's not, we choose some films and play monopoly and ticket to ride, and DH and I have a week long backgammon tournament. We also play charades when we have a houseful .

We're cutting right back on presents - 9 or 10 people, limit of £20 each and having fun sourcing stuff second hand where possible. No small children in the family so it's easy to move the focus away from presents.

We've had our decorations for 20 years plus (although replaced the tree a couple of years ago because the garage developed a leak and the tree got damp and smelled rather nasty), don't decorate the outside of the house.

One of my favourite memories of Christmas is shelling chestnuts with my Mum and Gran round the kitchen table on Christmas eve. Gran died some years ago and arthritis means Mum couldn't shell chestnuts any more. I enjoyed sitting all together and chatting and preparing food together but can't recall any of the presents.

Observe Advent.

The much hated poem (here anyway).

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas including Twelfth Night celebrations.

We have a policy of just giving a good book to adults, stocking fillers are very cheap or useful choosing a boxset to watch and a solid Christmas dinner. We would spend more on Birthdays but Christmas is about family time, good food and not presents!

I have a 5 present limit for kids. Only one of them is a higher value item, the rest are books, clothes, games etc. They do have a stocking but I add small things like fiddle toys, hair bands etc that I buy with weekly shop. Just treats really. I could buy less but we do small /cheap bdays as their bdays are all close to Xmas!

I don't buy new decorations anymore as I have way too many and I'm really into retro/vintage ones anyway so look out for those elsewhere like freebie fb sites or charity shops.

Ok not opposed to getting second hand presents, currently looking at eBay for something my daughter wants!

We just have our usual roast dinner for Xmas with a couple of extras like pigs in blankets.

We don't really drink so that's cheap!

I do baking and crafts with the kids and there's a house near me that has crazy lights and the week before Xmas they dress as Santa and have fake snow and collect for charity so we usually go there instead of paying a fortune to visit Santa!

Xmas fete Santa is cheap too!