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.

I love Christmas. Mainly because I'm from a culture that doesn't celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense so this lets us celebrate it without any pressure.
We have a big family get together where everyone contributes with a couple of dishes, only kids get gifts and it's usually only 1 main item and then some stocking filler bits.
We'll make Christmas cookies, see a light trail somewhere, go ice skating and this is usually all with friends.
I love all the cheesy Christmas films and it's just a nice time to relax.

I have a very big family and Christmas is one of the only times everyone gets together, so I look forward to it all year.

I think my family Christmases would be some people's idea of hell though. Different strokes and all that, I love all the rushing around and list making and counting down myself!

I try to fake it for my daughter's sake.

But to me, Christmas just means expectations, costs, disappointments, debts and a massive faff for one day of the year.

I hate it, once my kid is 18, I'll never celebrate it again.

I would ask yourself, what things would make you enjoy it? And then I'd concentrate on doing those things.

Christmas is always so special to me, I LOVED it growing up and I get to recreate those memories with traditions for my own children.

I love the whole run up to Christmas more to be honest, the decorations, twinkly lights, I've already planned so many activities; theatre, panto, National trust light shows, Santa visits, wreath making. I've also got a lot of presents already as I buy early and spread the cost.

We have a rule to keep costs down and we don't buy for adults in our family, just the kids and this simplifies things lots!

We spend Christmas Day just our little family now and we have such a chilled day, just us and go for a walk on the beach Christmas Day with a laid back version of Christmas dinner.

I hate wrapping so last year I bought reusable bags for presents which was great.

I love Christmas films and tv, great food and baileys. Love to get the fire lit and light a Christmas candle 🕯️

Time off from work.

I start about November just picking up bits and pieces. I enjoy the cooking and just chilling with the family. Going for walks and coming back for more drinks and a bit more nibbles and all that. Presents are secondary to my husband and I. The DC still enjoy receiving and having a stocking although they're grown up now.
We put a tree up, lots lights and a few Christmas knickknacks. We do not buy gifts outside the immediate family. Stopped all that a long a time ago.
My MIL used to cause a lot of Christmas stress and would complain all day about how much work it all is.
Don't really let it stress me...although I usually say at least once that the next year we will go out for our Christmas dinner but the DC always talk me round with 'but we want your dinner mum'.
I've cooked dinners for 20 people in the past. Never charged anybody but others would bring starters and dessert, wine etc. to make sure everybody did and added their bit.

All this.

It's the small things for me...

I have older dc now, but they still go downstairs on Xmas morning torch in hand to "see if he's been" :)

I buy a new tree decoration every year, we watch Xmas films, listen to Xmas music, go to a Carol service, eat lovely food.

I try to keep it low key but usually mum is here for Xmas day and dhs family come on boxing day.

Can't wait to start hearing the Christmas tunes 🎼🎵🎶

@readbooksdrinktea
I'm perfectly chill- and look forward to Christmas from 1st September thank you!
We abide by the ethos of "Have yourself a merry little Christmas"- no stress, no overspending, just family and twinkly lights. Fabulous!

No need for the non believers to turn up to church though is there?

Christmas cake. I love the rich fruit cake soaked in brandy, with the marzipan and icing. I know I could make it during the year - I don’t have to wait for Christmas, but it seems like too much work - and too indulgent - for more than once a year.

I’m lolling at a Christian complaining about too many people in church. Think you’ve missed the point of it all.

I just love it. Always have. I love hearing carols, I love seeing trees all lit up, I love the lights in the towns, I love visiting national trust places when they are dressed up for Xmas, I love baking celebratory food, I love spending time with my family, love watching kids all excited, love panto, school nativities. I think it might be a nostalgia thing…

I would say adding in extended families and in laws etc has made it more complicated but to be honest I’m quite good at saying no to things I don’t like.

I love Christmas. Love seeing all my family together having fun. Enjoy all the gift buying, tree decorating, happy times on Christmas Eve when the kids are so excited . Going for a walk around the neighborhood to see the lit-up houses . Having hot chocolate and reading them all the Christmas stories before they go to bed in their new pj's. Seeing how thrilled they are to find that Santa has been in the morning.

I don't get stressed about it at all. I shop early - have started already. We buy for all the kids, and have a Secret Santa for the adults so it doesn't break the budget. We all cook one thing for dinner, so nobody feels overwhelmed by it all. We play silly games after eating, and nobody gets drunk so it never becomes messy. It's definitely my happy time of the year . ( And I live in Australia so we can also go to the beach for a picnic on Boxing Day, it's all good !)

& i think they're a big bunch of hypocrites.

Family, food, fun, time off work, nights out, Panto Lots of things.

Yes - I could have written many of the points in this post. Christmas is such a wonderful, magical time. I just love it.

Because it's my birthday

Two weeks of no school run
At least a week at home with my ds.
Proper relaxed breakfasts
I love treating my loved ones to gifts. I don't feel the pressure to spend oodles, but enjoy finding things that are unusual or unique.

I like having the time to cook decent food.

Open house.
The general friendliness of people dropping in for coffee & a mince pie.
Log fires, walking in the frost
Decorating the house and wrapping presents

I don't look forward to the following three months of cold though.

I just had to pause and say how much I loved this. We're a family of 5 too, no relatives to invite and 5 is a perfect number for Christmas! We play party games, the more competitive the better, and all the other things you mention. There's zero pressure and 100 per cent fun.

I also love the run up to Christmas and try to savour every moment. The Christmas tree and lights stay up until 12th Night ie January and I've booked a Christmas Lights Trail for the same date to extend Christmas as long as possible. I hate that nights will be getting shorter again, I get sick of long bright days and am deeply happy and at peace in the autumn and winter.

I'm also a Christian and feel joy in the services and if people only go to church for that one service, so what? It's evidence that they know baubles and presents isn't the whole meaning of Christmas

I absolutely love Christmas. It really is my favourite time of the year.

My happiest childhood memories are from Christmas. Sitting in the living room with my parents with just the tree lights on, walking in the woods with my dad to find the "yule log" for the fire, my grandparents visiting, the magic of seeing Father Christmas had been. I just love it all so I want those special memories for my children.

What helps is we've focused on the bits we really love and are important to us and we don't worry about the rest.

So yes to twinkly lights, Christmas music, cheesy films and having time together. No to buying stuff for the sake of it and being a martyr.

Our extended family just buys presents for the children so there's no overspending that way. We don't go overboard on presents for our DDs either, just a stocking and a few other presents and I start picking things up now or keeping an eye out in the charity shops for books they'd like.

We love the decorations and lights so that's a big part of our Christmas. I buy a new bauble every year so the tree is a right old mish-mash of decorations picked up on various holidays, salt dough decorations made by DDs and other meaningful ones. Classy it is not but our tree is extremely special to us and we like talking about where all of the different decorations have come from.

Food is as simple as possible. We go out with extended family for a big pub lunch on Christmas Eve so that's lovely and all sorted for us, Christmas Day is just the 4 of us so Christmas dinner is just a slightly fancier roast. On Boxing Day we have lots of family over but just do party food/nibbles and drinks so that keeps things really simple.

I think it's mainly about nostalgia and traditions. Memories from my own childhood and carrying on traditions or starting new ones for my own children. Listening to Carols from King's as I ice the Christmas cake and remembering my long departed lovely Nan as I do so as Carols from King's was always on her radio at Christmas time.

I absolutely adore Christmas. As far back as I can remember it was just the best day. My parents made the build up and the day itself just perfect.

I always ensured that I was at home for Christmas, so even with my gang we went to my parents house every year, everyone just really enjoyed it, we were squashed in, had little money, but there was always plenty of lovely food, treats and fun. Their home just had this warm, welcoming, cosy feeling.

I remember going to dhs family one year, it was just so different, it felt cold, physically and mentally. There was very little food and treats, even though money was no issue, there was routines/rules/way of doing things. I hated having to do things by a certain time, having to ask our wait to be asked if I wanted a drink, not having turkey and ham sambos Christmas night, and just not been able to relax.

When my parents died I tried re-creating similar to my parents, obviously my gang are older now but I really do enjoy creating that lovely feeling I always had at my parents, so I can tend to overspend, I do buy an awful lot of nice treats and nice foods, but I make sure that everyone knows it's help yourself, eat and enjoy. It has been commented to me that my house can look like a shop at Christmas but I just want enough for everyone, for unexpected callers and friends etc of the kids who call here. 🎄🎄🎄

@Worriednanof1 That's hardly a very Christian attitude, is it? What happened to Peace on earth and Goodwill to all men?

Aren't you supposed to welcome people into God's house. No wonder the church going in the UK is shrinking with a view like that.

@Worriednanof1 That's hardly a very Christian attitude, is it? What happened to Peace on earth and Goodwill to all men?

Aren't you supposed to welcome people into God's house. No wonder the church going in the UK is shrinking with a view like that.

For me, it's almost like a suspension of reality. Life is always seems so hectic, it's a chance to stay in the warm with my family and spend quality time with them. However, my DH and I make it about family time and not spending ridiculous amounts of money. Our son, of course, gets presents from Father Christmas but other than that we do not buy an awful lot. I think it can be easy to get caught up in what Christmas should look like and no what actually matters to you.