Sick of it already

It Is November , and there are threads on and on about Christmas, and rightly so it's much more than just another day in the calendar .It can be as commercial as you want to make it and expectations are there to be managed.

It's a magnificent celebration of family and love and togetherness underpinned by our traditions and beliefs. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

I love it !

I don't think it unreasonable to start preparing for Christmas in November and in fact we always start with cake and pudding making in September unless we are going away. It is all part of the anticipation and excitement and helps the darkening days to seem not so bad.
More than anything I love the true meaning of Christmas and all that it can mean to everyone who hears the message. I loathe what big business has tried to turn it into and I say 'tried' because we, and many families we know, don't succumb to their ideas or get caught up in their nonsense.

We have our own traditions in that on Christmas Day we go to the Church service, have a good lunch and then a walk if possible. We all give each other nice (small) gifts and then, apart from enjoying each others' company, watching the Queen and playing games, that is it. It might seem boring in comparison to the adverts but we are happy and that is what counts and we also remain solvent thankfully!

Sadly, as many of us are aware, there are those that do get sucked into the excesses and land themselves in debt or over indulge in other things. Part of being human.

Each to their own, I say.

I love Christmas, time with my family and I work hard to make it fun. That doesn't necessarily mean vast sums of money. It's about the shared experience, the making of cakes/puds, which anyone who's around helps with, and decorating the tree, using some ornaments that are over 40 years old, preparing vegetables on Christmas Eve with carols playing and the scent of home made mince pies in the air.

It's the company of my nearest & dearest and the making of memories that's special to me. Christmas is what you make it, there are no rules.

Anyone can ignore threads that they find uninteresting, including threads about Christmas.

6 weeks isn't that long if you are planning a family get together. We do a secret santa so dont do masses of shopping, but if you are buying online, which many of us do, you need to do it a bit in advance. I love Christmas too, and you don't have to read any threads you're not interested in.

Plus some of us don't have a lot of money to prepare for such big events so have to do it in advance. Since being on benefits, I have never borrowed a penny for Christmas, unlike when I was married and we hammered the credit cards. It's amazing how you can do it with less and still have a great time. My children have never gone without neither, I have just budgeted really well.

Nanaandgrampy not everyone has the ideal family gathering that you love Christmas is the time of highest suicides and family fall outs
By the way I m not disagreeing with those saying don't read the threads I m just saying not everyone's world is ideal and it can be a VERY painful time for many

I agree. The cards and other media images can trigger much sadness and sometimes despair for some people, including those bereaved or socially deprived. I also agree with n&g that it can be a very special time if a family has a good and close relationship and practicalities allow. It has a deeper meaning for some, but not all. It's a polarising time like no other. I don't think anyone here assumes that Christmas time is the same for everyone, we just reflect on our own situation in awareness of our uniqueness.

For myself I love the lights, lifting the darkness, the traditional cake baking, the chance to eat food that I like but that is not necessarily traditional, the excitement of children, the potential for quiet and reflective space, choosing small, special things. I thoroughly dislike commercialism and the media pressure. Some close family work in retail, they are exhausted by it all and have just one day away from the workplace. It impacts on us all but we manage something lovely together at another time and plan what is possible. Our family traditions have evolved and are unlikely to ever reflect the traditional images, a bit of me is saddened but there is much to be grateful for.

*It is NOVEMBER, and already there are threads on and on about Christmas, for goodness sakes it is only another day on the calender^
So why have you started another one?

It is such a shame that Christmas has so many negative connotations now. A time that should be a happy celebration has in many cases become over commerialised and a picture built up of perfect family life at this time. As we all know the perfect life is life is not there for many people and the hype around Christmas exacerbates this. Wish we could go back to celebrating in a much more simple way.
I enjoy Christmas, the childrens excitement, traditional food, cards from old friends etc, and yes the gifts are good too don't let's spoil what we do enjoy by griping.

jane

I think you also tried to put the dampers on a recent thread about a lovely Christmas stay in a rural cottage by calling it a "nightmare" Shanma. Why not just accept that many people enjoy everything that Christmas has to offer, even the early preparations?

Keep your head down Shanma, their are poster who question the very meaning of life.

This is a public forum and you can ask whatever you like.

In our case we start Christmas shopping in November nice relaxed stroll around the shopping centers, arranging the menus and the entertainment for Christmas Day & Boxing Day.

It sets us up for the very boring January & February of the new year, and then in March we start planning our holidays.

Maybe you should start a 'Bah humbug!' thread, so that those who feel the same can have a good old grump together.

Ah yes Im68, holiday planning. We do that round the table at Christmas, so another plus for the festive occasion!

Oh Bluebell don't get me wrong there is NOTHING perfect about my family , far from it. And I appreciate that not everyone can be with loved ones or have some other issues - but that is true at any time of the year also.

But I shall not be curtailing my joy or enthusiasm because of that. I have the utmost sympathy for those people and in fact on my times through the years we have welcomed people into our home and at our table who otherwise might be alone.

My life is too short to not take every opportunity to celebrate ( quite frankly we'd celebrate the opening of a paper bag if it came to it )

I do know people who don't enjoy Christmas because of unhappy memories - a close relative died at that time, or parents were always bickering, etc. And I do feel sad for them, because it was always a magical time for me as a child, despite parents usually being hard up and not being able to afford much.

I do agree about over commercialisation and a load of unnecessary tat - however nobody is obliged to overdo everything. As for the 'perfect families' and the perfectly decorated houses in ads and on TV, I would imagine most of us are not fooled by them, any more than we think everybody else's kitchen is like something out of Homes and Gardens - acres of shiny, spotless, super-stylish cupboards and worktops in the latest must-have colour/material - with just a couple of sparkly wine glasses, a bottle of fizz, and an artistically arranged designer bowl of lemons and limes.

My kitchen certainly isn't! And our Christmases aren't Homes and Gardens, either. No artistic 'designer' tree - same old stuff, some of it ancient, goes on every year, and I have even been known to drape it in - shock horror! - coloured lights!

It is the mid winter celebration and goes back far further inn time than Christmas, people have had to support each other through times of cold and darkness. It is part of our primeval selves.

I loathe the commercialisation of it all and avoid that at all costs, but the follow on from harvest and all being safely gathered in is part of nature. It is wonderful to be able to stock up even on the smallest things, get the throws out and plump the cushions.

A flame of any sort log fire or candle is something we can all appreciate in the dark months AND once it is out of the way, the light starts to come back.

Follow what nature is doing not what the shops tell us and you will find bits to love, even if, like me you hate the hype.

Your mind creates your world. Change your mind, change your world. I could probably post this as an antidote to most posts on gransnet.

Why do you loathe it Shanma?

I have sad memories associated with Christmas. Is it the same for you or just the blatant commercialism? Yet, I love to see it through the eyes of my young grandchildren.

What a lot of condemnation. Personally I think the early arrival of Christmas is wrong on so many levels. Firstly it is purely commercial- the longer they give you the more you might spend, secondly it actually negates the religious timetable of Christmas-known as Advent, but thirdly (and most importantly) it dilutes the 'magic'.
If you want to shop early, cook early or plan anything there is nothing to stop you doing this without all the shops being full of stuff. I still remember the excitement in my house when we put the tree up somewhere about Dec 12th. There was then a short countdown to Christmas Eve. Now we are assailed by Santas and decorations in late October, people put their tree up in November and children have a great long wait, by the time it actually comes they are past it. I'd say nothing in shops until mid November and no trees up until early Dec.

Let's face it, Shanma enjoys agitating, we should just let her get on with hating Christmas!
Personally I love it, and this year will be my first with my DGS, so it's going to be wonderful!

Another one here who loves it and doesn't spend a fortune.
We have a traditional Christmas and yes I start in November - I kicked off yesterday by making the cake which needs weekly treatments with brandy before almond paste and icing goes on and then my ancient cheap and probably tacky cake decorations. DH and I love to go to Church - its starts here the first weekend in December with a massive Christmas Tree festival in the church, Christmas lights switch-on, fireworks on and Victorian Fair (see Gransnet Leicestershire local site for details). This weekend is very important for the economy of the town, local charities and livelihoods.

Its going to be lovely this year at my daughters house and for us its all about spending time together as a family, we think about absent family and friends but will absolutely enjoy every moment of it.

Two critical posts on here, "Anyone can ignore threads that they find uninteresting, including threads about Christmas." and "Your mind creates your world. Change your mind, change your world. I could probably post this as an antidote to most posts on gransnet."

The first is as true of those who post to admonish the OP as to the OP herself.

A bit of the second is sometimes true but I disagree with a lot of it. Mernice must be concentrating on the wrong threads if she would apply her opinion to most posts on Gransnet. Some people's world just can't be changed just like that.

I worked for a famous retailer I loved my job but it did a great job of putting me off Christmas altogether..... The stock starts to come in at the end of August and obviously by xmas eve well sick of it. People go into panic mode if a certain item were unavailable. Makes a laughing stock of the whole reason for the season.
Now I am retired I'm still not keen on shopping too early but have now started thinking about lists etc but will not start shopping just yet ? Sorry could not resist the santa emicom......??