Why do you look forward to Christmas?

[MoonshineandMagic]

I hear (or see on here) many people talking about starting to get excited for Xmas at this time of year and I don’t really understand it.

I find Xmas quite stressful - juggling all the family, pressure to overspend, too much food and drink and then just the winter to look forward to when it’s all over. I don’t get why other people enjoy it so much - I like the break from work but other than that it’s always a bit of an anti-climax.

I’m sure some smartarse will be along to say ‘surprise - people like different things’ but I’m well aware of that. I just can’t work out why they don’t find it as stressful and depressing as I do.

The lights
The music
The films
The food
The drink
The Christmas aisle in shops
The time off work
The being with family
The buying of presents

It's absolutely my favourite time of year.

The OP doesn't look forward to it. Did you read the OP?

The title of the thread is "Why do you look forward to Christmas." So you didn't read it properly.

The OP says why look forward to it as she doesnt.

It's funny because I am the most disorganised person you'll ever meet. But if it's Christmas (or planning a holiday) I just love the planning, research on what presents to buy, making lists, planning the Christmas shop, booking days out, cooking, wrapping ect ect. I can tell you what I've spent, what dates the Christmas shopping slots come out... you get the idea. Even though there's loads to do, I absolutely love it and I don't find it stressful. I find the build up and planning just as enjoyable as the actual day/week. Plus I love seeing the kids excitement and seeing family.

I look forward to it because I celebrate it in a way I enjoy.
I don't have dc so maybe it's a bit different, but once school break up (DH is a teacher) everything slows down so me and DH get to spend some relaxed time together.

I enjoy the run up because I love the cosy feeling of twinkly lights on dark evenings, we get to spend quality time with our families and friends and I watch Christmas films from my childhood which brings back the lovely feelings of my childhood Christmases.

We have learned our lesson about excess and now ensure we don't go overboard. I also don't get overwhelmed with jobs because we split them - I do presents and wrapping because I enjoy it and do it early.
DH does everything food related (planning, shopping, cooking).

Plus, every other year or so, we spend Christmas abroad. It means that when we do Christmas at home, we appreciate it more

I don't think there's a right and wrong about it to be honest - I know people who hate it and ignore it altogether, others who do something Christmas related every day in December. Each to their own - there aren't any rules to it!

For me it's not Christmas per se it's more the season. I love winter and I find the twinkly lights everywhere comforting and at home cosy especially when it's rubbish weather. It's more a feeling for me than a need to have a big Christmas dinner and stress about presents.

I don't put up lots of decorations and for the last 3 years we haven't had a traditional lunch, I plan presents in advance so when December arrives I'm ready to settle into winter.

I enjoy the run up and the week after probably more than the actual day. I love seeing all the lights and decorations, I love traditional carols, but don’t play any until 1st December, or the first day of Advent, whichever comes first. I like making mince pies (and eating them!) but again, not before December. Ditto mulled wine. I like making my Christmas puddings - old GH recipe, way nicer than anything from a shop. The smell when mixing them up is gorgeously Christmassy.

I love a real tree, but it doesn’t go up until around mid December.

I love Carols from King’s on Christmas Eve - with mulled wine and mince pies - the start of Christmas for me.
I even enjoy cooking Christmas dinner, but I do keep it fairly simple - no mass of different veg/side dishes.

Now I have young Gdcs I love their excitement - such a magical time when they still believe in Father Christmas.

I'm looking forward to it this year because I'm due Christmas eve 🥰

I don't get it either, especially not getting all excited in September. Chill.

I had abusive parents but at Christmas my grandparents would come so for 3 days I could relax and be happy and loved. My memories of Christmas are the happiest of my childhood. It probably also helps that we don’t have a massively stressful Christmas either. We don’t go round the country visiting people and usually just have BIL come and stay so it is nice and relaxed and quiet. I love carols and the lights and am blown away every year by the feeling in church on Christmas Eve. I buy Christmas dinner from M&S and then get the Christmas meals from Gousto for the days around. All my shopping is done online so no stress there. My absolute favourite moment of the year is when DS and I decorate the tree together. It fills my soul and heals me in a way nothing else can.

I love seeing the children so excited, it’s magical. December would be a pretty miserable month for me without it - it’s not just about the day, it’s the whole lead up to it too: Christmas lights cheering the streets up, crafts, decorations, special trips out to see Santa and the lights. I have fond memories of Christmas as a child and I hope my children will have too.

I like the decorating, the food and the small traditions we have as a family. I also really love buying presents for people. So it suits me down to the ground! Also I like that it brings light into the darkest part of the year -but that's the pagan in me I suppose
Fully get why people hate it though. The faff, the expense, the effort. Dh loathes it!

And as someone else said, I love the dead time between Christmas and new year where you can hibernate and loaf about in your pj's if you're lucky. We are a blended family and those days,in the aftermath of Christmas where the kids are with their other respective parents for a portion of it, are our favourite days of the year!

Apart from the obvious that it's lovely seeing the kids so excited and making things magical for them, I look forward to carving some time out for myself in December and treating myself a bit....having an afternoon with the twinkly tree lights on, watching Christmas movies with a camenbert and glass of red wine, walking round the shops looking at all the pretty ornaments, buying something sparkly to wear for the work party.

I start early with the presents etc (mostly home made for wider family as I'm skint!) so that I have time to relax on my day off when the kids are at school.

Plus seeing all the lights outside the houses and the shops and having my house decorated and smelling lovely just makes me happy!

I love Christmas & had some wonderful ones as a child but I absolutely get why some people don’t like it. It’s become very materialistic & I think folks have lost sight of the simple things about it. Plus it starts way too early. I work in retail & we were selling some Christmas bits in August! The tree hasn’t been put up yet but no doubt it will be this month.
There used to be 5 of us for Christmas lunch but DM can’t manage the stairs at our house now & it’s too much for her & DF to host. Last year we called in then had dinner just the 3 of us, which was lovely as DD14 never eats with us normally. I love buying & decorating the tree, writing cards ( although I sent a lot less last year because of postage costs), making present lists & all the sparkle everywhere. I’m just a big kid really!

I love all the festive food and drinks
Love the twinkling fairy lights and the decorations
Love my daughters excitement and delight in it all

Don't love shopping for gifts, not from the cost but i honestly can't think what to get people or what i want

I've always loved it since childhood. I know most kids love Christmas and my mum told me I wouldn't find it exciting as an adult - however she was wrong! I'm 48 and still find it magical.
Admittedly these days it's more hard work. We tend to host the family as we have the biggest house and I do find it quite exhausting but still magical.
It's hard to explain why. Just seeing the Christmas tree and decorations everywhere makes me happy. The soppy sentimental TV and adverts, just feeling cosy in the house with my loved ones when it's cold outside. I find it's a chance to relax and indulge - a real contrast to normal life of work and healthy eating! Also I love seeing my children so happy and excited. My family and in laws live far away so it's a real chance for us all to be together.

I like it but I make it as stress free as possible and don't get sucked into the commercialism of it all. In my family we don't buy gifts for each other - that went a few years ago and it makes life so much easier. OH and I just get ourselves theatre tickets (to go end of Jan when there's nothing much else to do!). I just need to buy the kids pressies but I start early.

The build up is fun especially as mine are older and there's less school stuff to fit in with everything else. I used to book lots of Christmas events but now I don't. I actually just enjoy simple things at Christmas like a London bus to see the lights and a hot chocolate afterwards rather than paying a fortune to get the same enjoyment.

Last year I was sober over the whole Christmas and found I enjoyed the whole thing much more - previous years I have been a stressed and exhausted mess by Christmas Day.

😂 you're very funny!

I mean pagan winter festivals that existed before Jesus and the adoption of Christianity as I'm sure you well know.

...and now you seem cross because people of no religion like to celebrate Christmas in ways that are meaningful to them. The joy of the season, expressing gratitude and spending time with people they care about. Isn't that what's really bizarre?

I love Xmas eve, watching a Xmas film with hot chocolate, sorting the stockings. On Xmas day I love watching my kids open their stockings on the bed with us in morning, going downstairs to see if Santa's been, them opening presents, I love Christmas dinner, eating chocs all evening while watching TV, etc. I just love the whole thing really! Twinkly lights and Santa stuff with the kids and decorating the Xmas tree and having the whole house smell of Christmassy smells. I can't say I've ever found it stressful, I really enjoy Christmas prep!

This is the first Xmas without my mum, so it will be very different as we almost always spent Christmas together, but I'm still looking forward to it. She loved Christmas and always made it special so I'm going to do the same.

I honestly love Christmas and especially the build up and don't really find it stressful so far.

Seeing my child's face when she opens all her presents

I love doing Christmassy days out - last year, we did the polar express train ride and the kids loved it.

All the Christmas films

Love having the smell of my Christmas tree

Love decorating and adding to my collection of Christmas decorations - I've had new furniture in the living room and literally said to my partner yesterday that I'm excited to have more space for decs to go up.

• more 🎄

Oh the only bit I don't like is wrapping but DH does all the wrapping so I just sit and supervise with a glass of mulled wine

I love Christmas, and the whole month of December. I love the lights, the music, the movies, the food and drinks, panto, Christmas light shows and seeing my dc faces when they open their gifts. After Boxing Day we go away for a few days to enjoy being off work. I appreciate I am very lucky and not everyone has these experiences.

Exactly this x

Haha this 100%

Exact same here! Had such lovely Christmases growing up and now I get to recreate that for my own children.