If you could eliminate one thing about Christmas what would it be?

[Nonplusultra]

I think if I could change one thing I’d eliminate the presents - just have a lovely season of coming together for meals and companionship, without the stress and expense of buying gifts for a certain day.

I quite like giving gifts - I’d just rather do it as and when, instead of trying to find something thoughtful by a certain date within a strict price range.

What one aspect of Christmas would you change?

The commercialism. The pressure to spend loads of money. And Christmas decorations and music before the 1st of December!

For me it would be the pressure of the actual 25th and 26th - the pressure to fit everyone in on those days and those days alone. The whole rotation thing, my family's turn this year, your family's turn next year.

I miss the days of living at home with my mum and dad and just doing whatever was planned - just having my nan over etc. I feel like so much of Christmas and Boxing Day is taken up with travel and anticipating where we've got to be next. I miss just chilling and enjoying the days.

The mass consumerism
The excesses. Budgetary, dietary, mentally

This is so sad and wrong. It’s morphed from a two day Christian festival into a weeks-long orgy of excess, consumerism, waste, greed and heaping excessive gifts and food onto children.

I know I’ve already had one moan up thread, but to answer the OPs question I vote to send shop bought marzipan to room 101. You know the stuff that tastes overpoweringly of almond essence and has been used to ruin a perfectly good Christmas cake.

I hear you Stickytreacle

Having to do a Christmas rota for work, hate having to allocate people to work Christmas Day!

If limited to one, I'd dump turkey, Plenty of far nicer things to eat than that!!

Threads about christmas .....

The aggressive marketing of an ideal that doesn't exist. It just makes people who don't have family feel lonely and people not spending fortunes on tiny kids feel like Scrooge. That would get rid of much pressure.

Christmas dinner

Would prefer the fried breakfast then chocolate for the rest of the day.

The only thing I don't like about Christmas is how early it starts. I'd much rather not start thinking about it (beyond working out who's hosting whom) until late November. I hate seeing Christmassy stuff in the shops etc in October!

I love everything else about Christmas, and don't like it being diluted by being dragged out for ages.

Or people who come onto the Christmas board and complain about Christmas maybe…

I would eliminate extended family and expectations, but that’s because we both have horrible extended family who only rear their heads at Christmas!
I love everything else about Christmas.

Why are you looking at the Christmas board then? You can hide it.

Definitely the shops starting Christmas in October/November. It spoils it.

Cold/Wet/Windy Winter Weather

I dont even mind the darkness around xmas with the twinkly lights but the cold can always fuck off... it causes to many health problems, costs a fortune in heating and its just miserable.

The air should not hurt.

I love presents though, buying present for my loved ones is a great joy.

Its a tiny piece of chocolate not a gram of crack cocaine... I'm perfectly happy for my kids to have a little chocolate treat per day.

Problem is I'm struggling to find just a simple cheap and cheerful chocolate advent this year.

They are all now really expensive ones with daily gifts in (like 24 fidget spinners or 24 mini bottle of hot sauce etc...) or those awful DIY 'fill your own' one (like I need more work to come up with and to have buy 24 more gift that have to fit into something the size of a teabag). Even when you can find just chocolate ones they are 'branded' chocolate and 10x more expensive than the old school ones.

I agree @housethatbuiltme! As kids we got a no frills Advent calendar - cheap and cheerful with just a small square of plain chocolate. Looked forward to opening that after dinner every night.

Advent calendars these days are over the top.

Forced family time! Can't stand doing the loop of relatives a day at a time I'm exhausted just in time to start work again! We actually enjoyed not having to travel and see family during Covid at Christmas it was way more chilled but the expectation is still on us.

We keep costs down but I was horrified about how much friends spent at Christmas when I know they struggle throughout the year it was the equivalent of a holiday abroad for 4!

Three things:
Christmas pudding
Christmas cake
Mince pies.

Everything else I love🎄

Presents & Michael Bublé

Panto. Hate it with a passion. Luckily it's easily avoided!

Religion.

I'd eliminate Fairytale of New York!