I've decided that Christmas is dreadful really for the following reasons...

[moondog]

house fills with crap people give to either you or your kids (my heart sinks when I watch the kids open another jigsaw or sticker book).

Overeating engenders feelings of misery and self loathing.

Tv is abominable.Neve watch it but thought I'd give it a whirl (because if it can't be good at Christmas, when can it?)

Royle Family- absolute shit.It used to be hilarious? What happened?
Gavin & Stacey- eh?
Nan's Christmas thing-toe curling in its awfulness

Just all round awful really.
The run up to it is noce,but the day itself.

Meh.

Overeating is the best bit.

You reckon?
It's fun for about half a day then it is unpleasant.

"Crap people"?Family are they?you sound miserable tbh

She meant "crap that people give you", niceshoes. Which is part of the Xmas experience unless you just say "DONT GIVE US ANYTHING, we are quite (yes, quite, not very) happy to see you for two hours and then we'd be very happy for you to vamoose home". And hope they ignore that but only bring flowers and fizz.

Mind you, I tried the old "don't get me anything" on DP, and the stupid fucker took me at my word. I got nothing. Which, to be honest, was a bit shit.

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that.
I am just depresses by mountain of tat that has ememrged from wrapping paper, all given by lovely people who mean the world to me.
Fact is though, we don't need any of it.

Oh, my DD has loads of that too. It's like the worst of both worlds- nothing for me and yet I still have a house full of plastic crap. Which makes noise.

And all she was interested in was the wrapping paper and an old raisin she found under the sofa.

Um, why don't you tell your family what you would like and need, so that they can give you things that would make you happy? My family has always done lists, and so crap is rarely under the tree unless specifically requested (except from dh's family, although as dh hasn't actually talked to them since Christmas last year we got and gave no presents to them at all, which I thought a little strange).

I had a really excellent Christmas, the best for years. But TV wasn't on the agenda, which maybe helped.

Watching Tv is a mistake, I think. Mediocre, horrible stuff, guaranteed to make you feel bad.

I packed everyone off to the local Therme (spa) for a swim in naturally hot water for the morning and we had dinner at about 4pm. (it is run by the town hall and subsidised in germany, so doesnt cost the earth). It went a bit titsup, but for another reason.

The crap presents, hmm, difficult to know what to do about that without hurting people's feelings. Lists are practical, its true. Or lots of preparatory telephone chats.
See, I barely speak to my family so we dont get presents - knew there was a silver lining to that particular cloud!

The best you can do, I think, is to organise the crap so that you dont feel that its overwhelming you, and make sure that it has a limited life in your house.

well we roared at jim royle's skid mark

i loved xmas this year. i got present i would enjoy/use. some are 'boring'; in terms of entertainment value but entirely practical and i love them. kids got a lot of stuff they would enjoy/use as well. dd4 who doesnt 'need' toys as such, got some lovely clothes and books. which are fab. and i got given some dairy-free chocolate as well.

it was just so well thought out this year, and no arguements either.

no overeating, as trying to lose weight still, but enjoyed some lovely food and a glass of wine.

Agree about lists - I made a list of things I knew the dcs would like or needed and that I had a feeling Father Christmas would not be providing. I suppose it depends on your relationship with the present giver - my siblings are always grateful for ideas as to what to get my dcs. So their presents from aunties & uncles were books/annuals, Wii game, board game, clothes, etc. My parents sent them new PJs and money which I used to buy panto tickets and some sledges which I gave them last weekend as we had lots of snow...

you misery

xmas is great

you don't have to overeat
my kids don't get given vast amounts and we didn't watch any telly last night

bah humbug. You sound VERY ungrateful.

Dr Who was fab.
Royle family was not - it was all cheap unfunny 'jokes' centered around crudeness and not the clever struff of previous years.

if expectations are too high then inevitably,it won't match up

i have kept it low key for a few years now.....focus more on a family meal together,chance to catch up with relatives,a rest and relaxing few days,some good food....oh,and a few presents thrown in too (one main and 5...no more than 5...stocking fillers each) this works very well

christmas is what you make it. toned down suits us better...

MD you sound sad today, I thinkyou should try to get 10 mins to yourself if you can and just sit quietly and empty your mind. concentrate on your breath and chase all those nasty thoughts away!!
audio

Then have a look at the 'crap', the thing is if you furtively secrete it in a cupboard or under the bed it will be a lifesaver for a long journey or one of those times when they are bored with everything on a rainy Saturday.

Go for a walk if you can, look around you and find something beautiful to admire. I do know how it feels to be out of tune with the expectations around you. TV is crap, if you watch Catherine 'hideous untalented'Tate what can you expect? I'd be sad too!!
I hope you have a better day today xx

Thank you girls, nice messages.
I am not well so doesn't help tis true.
I did have a nice day-spent the morning swimming and in the sauna and most of Christmas was spent cooking nice things en famille.

I don't have or keep lots of crap in my house and as I said, I don't watch tv as a rule but by God it was dire.

Just vulgar and puerile.
Ah well, sun out today, goose soup simmering, trifle to be amde and a long walk to do.
Thank you for putting it into perspective for me y'all.

moondog kind of agree actually. the first half of the day was lovely but after that I literally spent 7 hours in the kitchen cooking a stupid amount of food that we only ate about half of. then clearing up all the mess afterwards. Don't feel I had time to enjoy seeing everyone open the presents I spent ages choosing for them. Didn't have any 'real' conversations with a anyone. And yes, there was a lot of tat involved. DD was completely overwhelmed by the whole thing despite my efforts to limit what she was given (it's her birthday too, which is frankly a bit rubbish).

I spent the first couple of hour today crying. Have since stopped being so glum and self-pitying but I can definitely sympathise.

I am glad that we didn't even have time to think about turning the TV on though - sounds horrendous.

IloveTiffany like the sound of your xmas - that's what I had planned but somehow it never works out like that.

An excuse to slob out and drink in the daytime and absolutely stuff my face? god, it's the best time of year for me by far

by 4 oclock, even tho i had enjoyed it, i had had enough, and wanted to sleep until the next day!