Anyone else wish christmas wasn't a thing anymore?

[Tacali]

I like christmas for my DC but I wish it wasn't a thing anymore.

Anyone else feel the same? I know I'm probably the minority.

I find it a bit much.

I think it’s gotten slightly out of hand.

Totally, 100% over it. Have been for years and years. The only reason I play along is because it's important to my parents and we do have a nice time together.

How on earth could it have "got out of hand" ? Everybody has the choice to celebrate how they choose. It's not one set of Christmas rules for all

I hate it, so much pressure - to spend money, to see family I don't want to see, to have a wonderful time. I look forward to it being over.

I'm with you, but it's not just Christmas. It's Easter, Halloween, everything that is now just a marketing opportunity. It's so overwhelming when you are already busy trying to keep up with work, kids, school etc.

I would be quite happy if Christmas disappeared. However, I do it for other people. I enjoyed it when I had young children to make the day for, and the lead up to it.

Why, though? I quite enjoy Christmas, but every time I see posts on here from posters who start preparations in June, and seem to be levitating with stress about dinner and presents and hosting by November, I realise that we have very different interpretations of Christmas. Surely you only buy into what aspects you want?

I remember my mum moaning that Christmas was just a lot of extra work for her. I thought she was miserable - but guess what I feel very similar now. So much work and all falls on the female of the species

I hate the fact it’s rammed down our necks earlier and earlier every year. There’s already Christmas tat out in the shops.

I wish it was every four years like the Olympics! A bit bored with it after several decades.

When my children were young, we did crafts and decorated the tree and baked and December was lots of fun. It was fun to make them happy with gifts and Christmas was great.

After the loss of a child and no longer having young kids to do all the fun things with, just call me Scrooge. I put up a tree and put on a nice lunch. Would be happy if it disappeared altogether.

Other than the fun with young kids I don't really care for holidays much anyway. When I was a kid, I loved Christmas. When I was a teen, meh. When I had young kids, I loved Christmas. Now it's all grown up stuff, meh.

Yep, I used to love Christmas, and still want to, but it’s all become too much. When I had DD I had visions of Christmas traditions and lovely walks and activities and so on, and when she was very small it was a bit more like that; but in recent years (upper primary), it’s been rushed, too much, I’m never organised and the house is a mess, it’s all too stressful and busy. I have a very busy work period too just before Christmas that I can’t move to any other time, so no matter how organised I am in October/November, I seem to be behind with everything come mid-December - not getting the tree until the 18th, rushing to hand deliver cards the day before, missing the last post, doing frantic last minute shopping, etc. etc.

I keep trying to think of ways of cutting it down and making it less stressful, but it doesn’t really seem to work. Every year now by Christmas I’m still rushing, and haven’t got everything done I wanted to, and I never really enjoy it any more. It’s massive overkill too by mid-December. Then I’m up late tidying the house and wrapping presents, which I used to enjoy years ago, but now feel I’ve started to hate!

I need to do something to make Christmas better again!

@PuppiesLove

I don't mind and we have some brilliant memories. We never hyped it before advent and the trees have never gone up before 15th (later if possible). However, it's crap now that DH and I have elderly, frail mothers, wondering of this Christmas will be their last. Both are too elderly to travel now (one 100 miles away, the other 240) so DH and I split and visit our own mothers. It's a bit grim.

We loved Christmas.

Why are you celebrating it if you arnt bothered by it? You're an adult....so you can easily choose to treat the whole month like a random month and don't put a tree up, don't buy presents etc.

I don't think Christmas is too much. It's exactly what you make it. I choose to see no family over christmas. I choose experience days more over presents. I choose coloured lights and tat on my tree over an instagram one.

Maybe you need re think new ways to enjoy it. Perhaps go away for christmas week instead. Have a curry. Just break a few rules.

I absolutely hate it. So expensive. So much waste. So much effort. I also hate the dark and cold. I only do it for my kids. If it was up to me, I'd head off to a Caribbean beach and forget it.

We love Christmas, we don’t bow down to all the pressures of traditions, spending a fortune, visiting everyone on the one day, pressures of buying lots of gifts or going overboard with food. For us it’s just a lovely family time, spending time together, making memories, giving and receiving gifts with a lovely toast dinner.

no pressure, no drama, just a relaxing day.

spend your day how you want to spend it !

I hate how hyped up and over commercialised all the yearly occasions have become. Its all got so out of hand. I choose to partake only very lightly. I just can't bear all the fucking Christmas music.

I'm not trying to be deliberately faux confused, but I genuinely don't understand. Christmas is the celebration to choose it to be, more secular, more religious, more commercial, less so- I really enjoy the time with family, and don't compare it/ judge it to anyone's, and neither do the kids. Ours is ours.

I don't agonise over the meal. I've cooked plenty of roast dinners. The presents I start buying in September, wrap and store. Decorations I'll do over a few days.

I love to see the grandchildren as I once loved to watch my children. We enjoy getting together.

Without Halloween and Christmas the winter would be unbearably grey and long.

I have been thinking about a post Christmas holiday somewhere warm though this evening.

Christmas is what you make of it.

I never understand the buying pigs in blankets in September brigade. It’s like those folk who stocked up on toilet roll for the pandemic 😂

It’s ONE day. The run up to it puts so much pressure on some families to visit light shows, lit up forests, Santa, etc etc especially if they have young children. The stress people put themselves under to have ‘the perfect’ day is crazy.

I totally understand if people buy a few bits a week to budget for it but it’s so over commercialised now Christmas starts in September. Summer is barely over and there’s Christmas stuff in the shops. I’m not a bah humbug person but our Christmas is from 22nd/23rd and it’s done by 27th. Fair enough enjoy the holidays but the amount of food I see people buying on here is pretty sickening at times. The let’s see your Christmas fridge threads I ignore.

Because my 18 year old daughter would be really disappointed if we didn't do Christmas. I think everyone else wouldn't care much.

I agree with others, you need to make it less stressful.
We just have it as us, not loads of extended family
Don't go overboard on presents
Dinner is easy, don't make anything from scratch
Decor takes an hour
No rushing round anywhere
Pick and choose the traditions you want

Pigs in blankets taste good in September though. I've already cracked open the celebrations.

@RosesAndHellebores agree that Xmas with elderly parents is pretty awful. Both of mine have dementia and spend the season even more bewildered than usual, while repeatedly demanding that family come to see them. I guess in years to come there will be increasingly more bewilderment and then finally fewer demands, as they won't even know what Xmas is.

Urk. Now that is really grim.

Enjoy Xmas while you can, people, please!

I've taken it back to its roots a bit. I decorate a tree and send a handful of cards to people I don't see but do still care about. I go to church on Christmas Eve. Take a walk, have some fancy food and watch Christmas films on the day itself. I may or may not invite someone I like who is at a loose end to spend the day or part of it with me. What I don't do any more is drive around to relatives homes who show no interest in being in touch the rest of the year, I never go to anyone for Christmas dinner because I like to eat when it suits me not when someone else decides and I don't buy presents for anyone. I like the comfort of knowing how the day will go and that it'll be good. I like not having to try to make small talk with people I don't care about and have nothing in common with or putting up with rude miserable people who sit in the corner sulking and refuse to chat to anyone or who fall asleep snoring loudly in the living room instead of going home. Christmas is peaceful now. Zero fuss, zero drama. I should have started doing it this way years earlier than I did. If I had I nicer family it might be different, but I don't.