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.

My Mum says that!

One easy way to avoid much of the stress - avoid the shops! We order Christmas presents online (DH and divide the list between us), preferably with a wrapping service and food (as much ready prepared as possible) and drinks also ordered online and then delivered.

@Velvetandgold Do you not have children?

I'd refuse to go. Or have them over to you?

Just don't do stuff you don't want to do.

I love Christmas, and we do it small, not big.

Do t buy into the commercialism.

I start shopping and planning early because I work full time and it would be stressful if I left it until the last minute where the shops and delivery services are really busy.

I want to enjoy Christmas myself, not spend it in a blind panic worrying about parcels arriving, running around the shops for something sold out or wrapping presents on Christmas Eve.

I have a small family and a partner who is not materialistic and dislikes shopping/Christmas music/Christmas films so it’s easy enough to keep it lowkey. It’s harder for people with demanding family members to “just say no” though, I get that. Or elderly parents who’d be isolated.

Everyone at my work - public sector so no party - is laid back too, there’s no secret Santa just drinks at a local pub on 13th for anyone who fancies it. There’ll be Pringles, Roses etc dotted around the office, bought by the senior leadership. Chilled.

Your experience of Christmas sounds heavenly! So chilled and low key!

I spend a few hours on Christmas Day/Boxing Day being a delivery driver for a fish and chip shop who open up to cook over 1000 portions of fish/pie/sausage and chips and give them, free of charge, to the homeless, emergency service workers, mental health in-patients etc to make their Christmas just a little bit nicer. That's the part I look forward to most. Otherwise it would just be December 25th for me.

I think that, as far as is practical, have the Christmas you and your family want. Mine (adult now) received gifts and a stocking, but not quantities of high value items. It's not worth it so often. They dumped things within a couple of weeks, so we rethought our approach. We did buy high value items one year, but for very good reason, and they were extremely useful in the longer term.

I wish it was bi-annual. I'm bored with it.

As a pp said (I think) - I'd happy make it 4 yearly just like the Olympics haha!!

I think Christmas evolves throughout your lifetime. For us now, it is revolves around the kids and making it magical. It's alot of effort and we buy for five so regardless of budget it's expensive, alot of work and planning. I don't always enjoy certain parts, such as wrapping or visiting family when a drunk family member and her partner are always there causing a drama, but i can limit the pain points by budgeting and buying early, asking for help with wrapping and limiting the visit time to a few hours for my own sanity.

I know when the kids grow up and have their own families and children they will want a Chrostmas at home on the Day, and we will meet up on Boxing Day instead which will allow us to have a chilled Christmas if we want to.

My childhood Christmases were lowkey and a bit miserable.

When I had my own family I set out my stall to make wonderful Christmases with traditions and effort.

By the time I'd done about 25 of them I was exhausted just thinking about it all - and ready to pare things back:
Fewer presents (eg three presents per each adult child plus half a dozen things in the stocking). My husband and I exchange one gift each - a special bottle of something for him and some posh bubble bath and body lotion or whatever for me
Smaller and smaller tree - I'm dabbling with the idea of a faux tree but not quite ready to do that quite yet
Fewer and fewer decorations - it's just the tree, some baubles and lights along the mantle piece and a fresh wreath on the front door now

My adult kids now alternate between coming to us and going to their in-laws and this is just perfect now for my age and stage. I get a year off (my husband and I can go out somewhere really fab for lunch on Christmas Day, the two of us) but I still get to make a festive family fuss every other year.

I haven't read all comments so don't know if anyone else has said one of the things that's bad about it is that it starts so early now. People putting decs up on 1st November, Christmas songs on the radio for ages, being asked in November if you've started your Christmas shopping. It bores me stupid. Bah Humbug

It’s way too much, over commercialised, impossible to ignore as it’s forced on us from now till it’s over, wish we could go back to a time when it was a genuinely magical experience with a build up starting in December, in my opinion it’s ruined by excess

Dishonourable mention for Sainsbury’s, who have had their mince pies piled up for sale right by the tills for weeks now..

Do your DC and their partners not help - shouldn’t be you doing all the planning, food prep and cooking.

Yes, they help on the day. But it's still me getting the house ready for visitors, planning, shopping, and head chef. This year I'd like to keep it small, and you'd think I'd have the right to do what I want in my own home, but I've had half the family tell me I'm ruining their Christmas by wanting to do this. It's ridiculous.

I understand. I want to opt out of Christmas this year for personal reasons, but I know it will upset some members of the family if I do.
It’s all very well other posters saying “it’s what you make it” or “opt out of the parts you want to opt out of” etc. But that depends on the people in our families really.

I can't stand it, home bargains has a whole Christmas aisle and all the kids walking past it all WTF. It's September!!
I love Christmas but come on, start mid nov maybe

Who is forcing you? Its so liberating to finally realise your life is YOUR life.

I love it, but I don’t give it any thought until December. I’d be bored rigid if I were one of those saddos that wanged on about it for months. Or put the tree up in November…

Never in mid November - Christmas is December. Tree up when schools break up

If you order online and are generally not in during the day, either have parcels delivered to your work address, a post office collection point or have somewhere for the postie to put the parcels.

@Disturbia81 I can't stand it, home bargains has a whole Christmas aisle and all the kids walking past it all WTF. It's September!!
I love Christmas but come on, start mid nov maybe

Shops only do this because people buy the Christmas stuff in September.