Christmas unpopular opinions.

[Kickinthenostalgia]

Can we try to keep this lighthearted as I know some people can pretty savage on this site.
I was on the bus earlier today and I overheard a conversation between 2 ladies about thier Christmas shopping they needed to get. One said she needed to get wrapping paper and another said she doesn’t wrap presents but uses gift bags instead, how it’s saves so much time etc. Now don’t get me wrong obviously everyone’s situation is different but for me gift bags are so anti climactic. For me opening presents isn’t even really about the actual present it’s the anticipation of what’s underneath the paper as your opening it. I couldn’t imagine giving my kids or anyone for that matter, an unwrapped gift. To watch kids faces opening thier present on birthdays or Christmas makes me feel excited for them, even if I know what’s under it.

People not letting thier kids help decorate the tree, this leaves a bitter taste, trust me, as someone whose dad would change the tree around after we went to bed and thought we never noticed. It’s actually a bit soul destroying.

I often see on social media people absolutely ripping into people about how much they do and don’t spend. Christmas isn’t a competition. You do what suits your family. You don’t have to break the bank but equally people should be free to spend whatever they want on thier friends and family. I’m not sorry my kids get more than thier friends. I work hard for my money. I’ll spend it how I want, on who I want.

It's not that I hate Christmas, but I really despise other people's performative "joy" being forced on me for a quarter of the year. If it were limited to the period from December 15th onward, I would probably be on board with it a lot more. I also think Christmas presents are meaningless after the age of 14.

That said, I do love Christmas cake, The Muppets Christmas Carol, and I may get an advent calendar of some description this year. I also don't mind a carol concert even though I am an atheist. I also don't mind a Christmas tree, but now that I live in NZ, it looks very, very wrong in the middle of summer. I also think it is lovely that families have some carved-out time together in the middle of winter.

I think it is possible to love Christmas AND accept that it is completely over the top and goes on for way too long.

Edit: I agree Turkey is awful

Christmas Eve is better than Christmas Day.

The competitiveness and commercialisation of it all.

Traditionally, December would have been a quiet and lean month. I read some that advent used to be for fasting. Then on Christmas Day the feasting and fun lasted for the 12 days.

I wish it was like that!

Advent calendars with magical little pictures are way better than chocolate ones.

Have felt this way since I was a child, despite being a major chocolate lover.

I think ‘Christmas’ is a month or so of celebrations (December), a bit like ‘Halloween’ has become ‘October.’

But I will not celebrate Christmas in November. No. November is AUTUMN!

My unpopular opinion is that I could easily not even think about Christmas. I don't care for it, never did except when I was a child. I enjoyed it when my children were young, doing crafts and activities. Now, if it wasn't for the rest of the family, I'd ignore it. My DH feels the same way. I don't mind giving gifts but I like it to be spontaneous and from the heart, not compulsory.

I hate all Christmas food and Christmas music.

With the exception of Fairytale of New York which is more of an “anti Christmas” classic.

I do like having a nice family day though with champagne & a lovely (non Turkey) roast dinner.

I hate the 'build up' that everyone else raves about. Over tired, over excited kids, stressed parents. Nothing is festive about it!

It used to be a quick visit to Santa at the pta fair. Now everyone's asking which over priced lantern show you're visiting, if you've booked Breakfast with Santa, what you're putting in Xmas eve boxes (why did we decide 10 years ago kids need more presents??), what your elf got up to this morning, can I get a new Xmas jumper as I wore that one to the Brownies party and the school disco and now its the carol concert, oh and the choir need a set on antlers too... , shall we spend £100 on pjs no one will wear again and everyone will have grown out of by next year so we can make a memory of this magical time for instagram??

Give me Boxing Day anyday. Dh goes back to work which means most of the family leave and the kids are briefly satisfied with their haul of presents. Turkey sandwich, wine and finally a good night's sleep!

I often see on social media people absolutely ripping into people about how much they do and don’t spend. Christmas isn’t a competition. You do what suits your family.

people who go on social media and discuss how much they spend, get into their family matching Christmas pjs and forcing their kids to pose next to their present piles when there are people out there with just about enough money to heat their house are tin-eared clueless jerks,

I like Elf on the Shelf! It's is just a bit of fun, you don't have to go crazy or follow the 'rules' and I don’t do it for the 'likes' (don't post it on SM). I really don't understand the hate i see for it on here.

Christmas displays/music etc shouldn't go up until after Remembrance Day/Sunday.

My DH is a grinch for not letting me put up our new Christmas lights yet.

I've never had an advent calendar but always knew what they were growing up. Times don't stand still but I was gobsmacked to hear advertised on the radio an advent calendar by Lovehoney. FFS. An egregiously horrible appropriation, and for once this much-misused word fits.

I'm a thoroughgoing atheist but always treat Christmas's religious nature respectfully. This one really pissed me off.

Not light-hearted, I know.

Agree about gift bags op.

Turkey is awful

And since having kids I hate Christmas. It’s exhausting and DC1 doesn’t massively care about Santa or getting ‘stuff’. He prefers to be out and about.

On a positive, winter would really suck without Christmas.

I do live on my own and yes half the time I don't bother 😂😂 it's not worth all that trouble for one person last year I got Chinese takeaway instead 💕

To add to the previous post - my dream Christmas day is actually a day alone, by myself.

Goose is the best meat for Christmas dinner.

Babies don't need loads of presents! I only got a few things for DS's first Christmas (a set of Nuby links, a rubber duck, a Paddington body wash and hairbrush set, and a little set of jojo maman bebe bubble baths and body washes, which I picked up in Tesco.) He was five months old at the time. Everything except the hairbrush has been well used (he has curly hair now) including the empty bottle from the Paddington body wash. His presents last year were a duvet and pillow, two quilt cover and pillowcase sets, some pajamas, and a book. I buy him things throughout the year anyway. This year he'll have something bigger, but still not much (although Christmas pajamas are a must.) My friends and family buy him more stuff than I do!

I feel the same way about kids missing out on the magic. My family didn’t have loads of money but my parents did so many things to get us all excited in the lead up, loads of little traditions that I remember so fondly. My husbands parents were the opposite and he said he hated Christmas because he knew he’d go back to school hearing about all the amazing stuff everyone got and he’d receive a duvet cover and have a day much like any other. Now we have kids I get so excited about Christmas from about August because I can’t wait to see their joy in it all. Even just a trip to the garden centre (where you don’t have to spend anything) with all their Christmas displays is exciting for a 4 year old.

I absolutely love Christmas and everything about it however if I was in charge of the country, I would make everybody start on 1st December. Nothing Christmassy in the shops throughout November at all and then everyone would wake up on 1st December to adventure calendars, decorations, lights etc -‘one festive month rather than a half arsed November where shops try and persuade you to get in the Christmas (spending) spirit early.

I also absolutely love the week in between Christmas and New Year - I love how slow it is and how even if you’re at work it doesn’t feel like a real work week (obviously not the case for every job - I’m sure A&E nurses wouldn’t agree with that for example).

I think Mumsnet is genuinely extremely miserable about Christmas. They hate everything on here unless it's a 500 year old tradition. Same with gifts, they don't want to buy for anyone and get outraged at the thought of anyone spending more than £100 per child.

I love Christmas eve boxes, elf on the shelf and all that jazz.

This has made smile and I agree with what you’re saying. I only like the build up in December not November. Christmas Eve boxes I think are ridiculous. Where has that come from?? And I don’t do the whole Christmas breakfast thingy. I think some people can make Christmas too stressful for themselves (and expensive), with going over the top with this sort of thing. I don’t even bother scrambling to buy fresh sprouts. Yes they taste better but we never use them all up so they go off. I just settle for frozen. And I definitely like the sound of a turkey sandwich, wine and a good nights sleep!

Not liking Christmas doesn't make you miserable. It just means you have a different style of giving maybe? I love it with my children when they're young. There is nothing we can do that is related to Christmas that we can't do all year round otherwise.

Christmas can be very painful and stressful for some people. That doesn't make them miserable.

Not liking Christmas is one thing, but it goes further on here. Moaning and calling everything stupid, pathetic and pointless.

I've seen threads where the thought of putting some PJ's and hot chocolate in a Christmas eve box has people outraged.

Is there a new one this year? I thought the gnome one was sublime. 'Neat and tidy' 😀

I absolutely hate office secret Santa, and I 'm glad my new work doesn't do this.

I'm glad I'm not in a house full of cake lovers. I can get a few months out of the cake that way.

I love when Christmas is over and all the ridiculous hype stops, but I still have cake and booze.