I'm looking forward to all the bargains on Ebay etc of things that people need to seell because they've overdone the spending on Xmas and need to pay thier bills. January is a great time of year for the bargain hunter!

Christmas you say? Don't do it, it's not compulsory!

Easy for me to say that as my kids are adults but, yes, it will be terribly hard on many families.

Get rid of the telly? 😉

NOPE

I love it, Put my first decoration up today.

So bloody excited...

Yep absolutely dreading it, almost to the point of not knowing how I will cope.

First year without my wife and daughter.

Quite enjoy it tbh

It's better when you have kids

Edit: I just read the post above sorry if what I said sounds harsh I don't know your circumstances

Can't wait. Kids are 3 and 5 so it will be magical!

Got some friends round on Christmas Eve, Outlaws on Christmas Day and were having Boxing Day to ourselves.

Err...yes, but then again...no, as my hair gets a lot of work around now.

Oh I don't know. 😀

Totally and utterly indifferent.

My (extended) family just decided a few years back to only buy presents for the kids (nieces and nephews in my case), makes things a lot easier, cheaper and less stressful. Although apparently they want an iPad Mini to share this time so maybe not entirely cheap 🙁

Opt out.
Punch anyone who mentions it in the kisser.
Simples.

No, me n the fam are looking right forward to it.

Tree n decs go up this weekend in fact, can't wait, especially for the time off work and to see the kids reactions on the Day.

Bring it on!

Xmas = PITA.

Not really dreading it, but never really been a fan of Christmas since a young age, sadly all I can remember is arguments and shouting.

I'm with you binners. CBA with all the marketing bollocks surrounding it. No kids here so i suppose that is a factor. We were going to go abroad for it this year but I've just had a new car so we can't afford. Ah well, a week of lie ins booze and food with my wifey will do me nicely. I just need to avoid society for the next month or so!

We don't have kids so it's a lot easier, but I am indifferent. We're off to Scotland in the caravan over christmas to try and get some skiing in - if nowt else it should look pretty spectacular

Waitrose always have loads of free samples of booze, chocolates etc. Half an hour wandering round, and you're fed and watered. and oyu don't have to buy anything!

It's pretty easy to avoid the commercialisation though, just don't watch the plebby TV channels.

Every cloud, eh Mike?

We're too poor, and northern, an' that, to have Waitrose round here though 😉

I can't wait. Hopefully we'll be in our new house, and the kids are getting to a really exciting age.

I'm not looking forward to Xmas either all the hype and expense and stress that Mrs FH will no doubt lat at my door, Will be a quite Xmas this year without the inlaws etc so my plan is to go down the pub at 12 and come back at 2.30 with as many pints down me as possible.

Nick - Urgh - I don't watch any of those frightful Non-BBC Channels, but in the society we live in commercialisation seems to seep into everything

Right now I'm looking at a Singletrack advert with falling snow etc 🙁

I'm looking forward to 12 days off work!

Our daughter is 10 now and doesn't believe in Santa anymore - I still want my mince pies and whiskey on Xmas eve though!

Not looking forward to the expense though - her birthday is on the 20th so it all comes together and makes it a very few weeks.

Every cloud, eh Mike?

i'l say.Last year, I tried several different whiskeys, had some really nice wine, and the belgian chocs were to die for. wasn't too enamoured with the weird pastry/pie type thing though; some obscure poultry in some obscure fruit sauce. tasted like turkey in jam.

Looking forward to it, flying in on xmas morning and straight to my Mums for breakfast, a sleep, and then the dinner with all the trimmings.
Lucky I will not see all the usual commercial tat running up to the event as their into it here but not that much, probabley helps me enjoy it a little more.

I look at Christmas as a bit of time off, and quality time with my wife and son, and family

My sons only 2, so don't have the pressure of the commercial aspect of it, yet.

An entire day having to listen to and for the most part be polite to racist, homophobic and xenophobic relatives, eating over cooked nigh on mushy food and then having to suffer my sister in law drunkenly shouting utter nonsense and repeating it continually until she's acknowledged or until they have a fight and an awkward silence takes over.

It is ****ing purgatory and I can't wait for the 26th December.

An entire day having to listen to and for the most part be polite to racist, homophobic and xenophobic relatives, eating over cooked nigh on mushy food and then having to suffer my sister in law drunkenly shouting utter nonsense and repeating it continually until she's acknowledged or until they have a fight and an awkward silence takes over.

It is ****ing purgatory and I can't wait for the 26th December.

Maybe find somewhere else to go on christmas?

Yeah, hate it in its current form with a vengeance. All this false bonhomie and the overt commercialism really hacks me off. I get quite depressed this time of year and being 'forced' to have a good time does not help. I am a Christian so should enjoy it, but, for me, the message just gets drowned out by the noise of the marketplace.

Why can't you just ignore it all? Christmas has not impinged on my life at all yet, and it's already late Nov. I'll put some decorations up late Dec and go and see the folks for some social time. No problems that I can see.

An entire day having to listen to and for the most part be polite to racist, homophobic and xenophobic relatives, eating over cooked nigh on mushy food and then having to suffer my sister in law drunkenly shouting utter nonsense and repeating it continually until she's acknowledged or until they have a fight and an awkward silence takes over.

So you have a shitty family who can't cook and drink too much. How is that Christmas's fault?

It's all balls in my opinion unless you have young kids, which I don't, but that can also add to finacial pressure. Best part of it for me is that I get two weeks off of work. 😀

meh not too fussed

our 2 yr old is still too young to know what its all about yet

on the plus side i get 2 weeks off work and the inlaws are visiting so i can go off for plenty of bike rides with mates who are also off work

its an excuse to buy some nice cheeses too

of course being made redundant on 1st of jan is a bit pants

I get quite depressed this time of year and being 'forced' to have a good time does not help

That's another thing that gets me too. I've just been informed at work, that I need to shell out £35 for the privilege of going for a meal with the people I work with every day, plus drinks, plus taxi's home. Erm....Nothing personal, but I don't think I'll bother, thanks. In fact, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than go into Manchester City Centre in December. Its like a vision of hell!

Bah! Humbug!!!

Sadly, your post seemed to only be about the commercial and financial aspects of Christmas.
Why not think of it as a few extra days off work to spend with family and friends when they're off work and school as well? (Well, hopfully they are).

Think it's a bit of a shame that we don't have an equivalent of Thanksgiving here, where we can celebrate people a bit more easily than things- might take a bit of pressure off of Christmas

Many people forget that Xmas brings all sorts of difficulties for part of the population. KINGTUT is an example, his post is very sad.

Try not to judge those who don't share the enthusiasm, after all you really have no idea of the reasons behind it.

Here endeth the lesson. 😉

I doubt they are excited at the prospect of spending the evening with you either binners.

Detest the commercial side of Xmas.

Jr's reaction on the day will be the highlight.

Going out for lunch will be nice enough.

Those no longer with us will be missed, greatly.

Indeed! That's really my point! Yet, all in, they'll be shelling out £50-£60 each for the pleasure. Why? You wouldn't do it any other week

Right now I'm looking at a Singletrack advert with falling snow etc

Has no effect on me.

I will have some time off work, hopefully it will be cold and crisp for near perfect riding conditions.

Then on Christmas day I will be all alone sobbing into a bottle of whiskey dreaming of the family I never had.

What's not to love?

TBH - we don't do it much, the kids are grown up now though
Sometimes we're not at home but when we are it's fairly low key

I don't go to any works dos at all [I can't be trusted]
The family buy each other a token gift only, £5 max this year, nothing useful allowed.
We eat and drink a bit more but only to the tune of maybe another £100 or so.
I do enjoy it though.

It'll be the first Christmas for 24 years that me an Mrs TJD are home all day together with the kids,so looking forward to it.Money's tight, so the kids will get the presents,but what the hey.

I get sick of the commercialism and listening to how much some people at work spend on their kids, then complain they r skint!! Have one 6 yr old quite excited and the other one is 3 on christmas day, best bit is i finish work on the 12 and we fly to Nepal on the 13th and come back early Jan, sunshine, meeting old friends, visiting old work places, trekking, elephant rides should be a very enjoyable and memorable christmas holiday 😀

Binners, if it helps, I find the solution is an easy one. Remember Christmas is a religious festival and a time (hopefully) to be with family/friends. Lovely in that context 😉 If neither of those strike a chord, just ignore the whole razzamattaz that goes with it. Secular, bloody nonsense the rest of it!!

(Now where did I put the flame suit from the dog thread?)

I adore Christmas. I empathise with your sentiments on the commercial side of things. For us, with no kids, it's easy to filter out this aspect. We just enjoy the break, the atmosphere, exchanging (modest) gifts and seeing more of each other.

I bloody HATE New Year though.

Yup, dreading Christmas.

Sadly my Mum passed away last month and various other factors mean that this is not going to be a terribly jolly time of year! That said, I am looking forward to dividing my time between eating chocolate and mountain biking (to burn off the aforementioned chocolate) 😉

Unless you have a family or young kids christmas means very little to a lot of people,just a time of ill tempers, sadness, and drunks.

Limited parking in towns, idiots driving vehicles rushing to buy the next must have tat,and if you have a family possibly having the inlaws foisted on you for a day or more, with the clock stopped at 30 minutes after they arrive.

Oh and dont even get me started on those ignorant people who suddenly want to help out at the homeless shelter on christmas, and not the rest of the year, they totally ignore the plight of the homeless, homeless people dont just happen to be homeless for christmas and suddenly a few days latter go back to anice house and supportive family .

kids go mental. adults go mental. shops go mental. forced joviality.

i just want to go to the woods and hide but cant.

This thread's glass is half empty for sure.

Christmas is for Christians, (whether you have children or not.)

End of year hols are fine and dandy but why do we need to call it Christmas?

We don't.

Call it winterval or celebrate the solstice if you like. No Christian imagery in our house unless people send it to us.

End of year hols are fine and dandy but why do we need to call it Christmas?

Because "It's beginning to look a lot like end of year hols" would be a shite lyric?

Christmas = skiing. 🙂

OH is working so we're going from full on dinner for 11 last year to me walking the dog getting the bike out waiting for her return at 4pm then wander to my parents for some scran.

Xmas eve looks like family day, like all of them but it's a restaurant for 18 people for lunch the dog walking.

Roll on Jan 1st.

was dreading it... not any more though

flaky sister in law was determined to host it at her new gaff this year.. We were starting to get concerned about the possibility of beans on toast for xmas dinner again..

Luckily her fella left her this morning so she's asked if someone else can do it..

😀

(I'm not really that callous but if you don't laugh you cry and all that..)

I am skint, have a holiday to pay for and want a new carbon road frame next year for racing so Christmas is cancelled here.

No money and more important things to pay for. 🙁

It's just another holiday from work for me,but with tinsel & more beer & food,lots of it,oh & the my two lads come out for a drink with me on Xmas eve,& my daughter still loves Xmas morning...It's also probably the only time all 5 of us are in the house together these days... & we eat at the same time & even sit around the table together.....Boxing night we have family & friends round for beer & food.......

Actually,thinking about it..I f'kin love Christmas ! !

I'm not dreading it. I hate it so I ignore it completely and everyone who knows me knows I feel that way and allows me to ignore it. Bless 'em.

[quote=Edukator ]Christmas = skiing.

QFT

CG +1

[Many people forget that Xmas brings all sorts of difficulties for part of the population. KINGTUT is an example, his post is very sad.

Try not to judge those who don't share the enthusiasm, after all you really have no idea of the reasons behind it.

Here endeth the lesson.]

Well I am keen on not judging, but many of the people on here have given general scrooge type behaviour, in addition to the people in genuinely tragic situations, who have my sympathies always.

I am! Listening to Christmas tunes on heart while eating mince pies. Don't like Christmas day itself as it's the hype over but I like the build up to it! Weirdo

I love it, it's the only time of year kids cartoons are on covering most channels, for hat alone I'm in.

As for force feeding family members and expecting them to be happy about it, we'll I'm not so sure they really are. Not a huge fan of spending this holiday with family I do do the "bring everyone together" thingy, but

But has to be said..

Think more about those that are in situations far removed from a bloke with an expensive bike or two in the spare room.

For that reason I get a little reserved around this time of year.

It is about sharing time with loved ones, if you can I suggest that's a good place to start, and ignore tinsel mongers..

So far not feeling very enthusiastic about it!

My problems are tiny compared to many people's but thinking back 12 months my current "situation" is not what I was hoping for/anticipating when I was looking forward.

But, I am spending the festive period with my family, we're lucky enough to be able to spend the week on holiday in Yorkshire so I shouldn't complain. I'm sure the idea will grow on me...!

I wasn't looking forward to Xmas last year as I was worried about money, but this year the wife is working and I've decided that life's too short to worry about some stuff so there will be some money coming out of the savings and we're going for it.
Luckily my three girls (12, 10 & 10) have had big presents for their birthdays this year so the pressure is off on that front. They love Xmas and I think it's important that they enjoy it.
I do dislike all the adverts though.

My mind subconsciously is still waiting for Summer to arrive, so in no way do I feel ready for Christmas.

It somehow feels wrong to ignore all the festivities, but Christmas is all about enjoying yourself I ain't feeling it this year so why force it, I'll save time and money and have a good Crimbo next year.

OP-- my turkey would be dreading crimbo, but it is unaware

Don't believe in JC and quite like buying gifts when I want not when I am told .

So its humbug from me..

Nope. We're on a plane out of here to somewhere hot and sunny. Same as last year 8)

For most women its a time of trying to shop for people that you maybe don't like (talking mainly family).
Loads of cooking, cleaning, clearing up and getting upset when you're not appreciated.
This is not me btw, just an observation.

I'm looking forward to it as I get nearly 3 weeks off work. Me and the wife have booked a cottage in Exmoor so the week will be spent walking the hills. We've no kids either, so don't have the financial pressure of some others. Saying that I'm looking forward to it,I hate all the build up to it.

Christmas is what you make it.

When i were a nipper it was ace, a large family meant Christmas was effectively split into 3 parts, Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and Boxing Day. Each day was a trip to different relatives and meant a deluge of pressies.

Got into my twenties and rejected the whole thing completely, refused to buy presents, tried to refuse presents, refused to visit etc - yeah, i was a real joy at this time of year!
A while later i slowly came to realise that i was actually suffering from a combination of SAD and depression and was deliberately pushing people away.

Now, me & MsD have made our own traditions. A nice meal on Xmas Eve followed by a walk up to the pub and a few drinks whilst listening to the brass band playing carols etc.
Xmas morning is smoked salmon and cream cheese blini's whilst drinking bucks fizz and opening pressies, a nice walk then off to the local Indian restaraunt for a slap-up curry.
We only have Xmas Day together so that's it, just us.

I love it
family, kids, booze, eating
the shortest day has passed
ski season starts

I find out if I keep my foot just before Christmas. Please can I wait to know that before I answer. 😉

Now, me & MsD have made our own traditions. A nice meal on Xmas Eve followed by a walk up to the pub and a few drinks whilst listening to the brass band playing carols etc.
Xmas morning is smoked salmon and cream cheese blini's whilst drinking bucks fizz and opening pressies, a nice walk then off to the local Indian restaraunt for a slap-up curry.
We only have Xmas Day together so that's it, just us.

That's actually quite sweet... Still hate Christmas.

I love Christmas and the whole build up to it.

We are going on the Polar Express, going to a panto, making mince pies and christmas cakes and decorations.
But we also do free stuff such as making the Portable North Pole video messages, free christmas phone call from Mickey Mouse, track Santa on christmas Eve on Norad, sprinkle reindeer dust in the garden.

Ohhh, even thinking about it is making me feel all christmasy. 😆

Christmas morning after the turkey's gone in is a great time for mountain biking, the Earth is deserted.

Hate it with a passion . Double busy with work up to xmas eve. Lots of days off and increased work load = unhappy brewer.
Trudging round the shops to buy a load of unwanted useless tat whilst being sneezed and coughed on by the great unwashed. Everyone becomes self absorbed and rude , no 'Thanks' if you hold open a door, or wait at the bottom of a set of stairs for someone to come down.

Then the big day itself, with the horrible unveiling of the 'gift' which is immediatly valued and pretty much discarded .
I have my own money and if i really want some freckin sox with reindeer on them i will go to the shop and buy them ,or not...

Singletrackminds guide to a good xmas . Spend more on yourself then the sum of what you spend on everyone else. Result .