The commercialisation of Christmas

First topic message reminder :

Uh  HUH!!!

No Kiddin'

We got a chrismas tree up in our street already.

Is this the first?  Or have some been put up elsewhere?


(now where's the Purdy and Purdy?)

Hi I get classed as even worse than that!! the only thing that goes up my flat is the xmas cards I recieve. My ex-partner who has my daughter living with her can put 2 xmas trees up and all the decorations she wants. I only see my daughter on xmas eve, not xmas day when she opens her presents with me then. The ones that shes picked out in sept/oct. then she still believe that santa can deliver 2 places at different times bless her.(edit) which one out the two is you tony ahah

I'm on the keyboard stu.

Hi stu - aaw, I know what you mean, why fill your home with festive gaiety and fun when you're on your own? I used to go over the top with decorations when the kids were young, but this year its just the two of us. A few candles and some holly over the mantelpiece will do.

I've also stopped sending cards - yes I know its mean spirited, but I can't bear to think of all that wasted paper. I make phone calls and visit friends and family instead, and send e-cards.

What are we celebrating anyway, as atheists? We can make it whatever we want, ignore the tat and commercialism, and enjoy some good food, drink, and friends.

Hi Kazza, it is not mean spirited to myself, because on xmas day I will get up and take my medication, then the usual bits you do on any other day. I live on my own apart from my pooch a golden retriever cross, I will take her for longer walks than normal and hope that we do not bump into too many people full of xmas spirit and too cheerful. xmas dinner might be a chilli or a curry or whatever takes my fancy,lifes great eh ahah

It's only for the kids, otherwise we hypocrites wouldn't bother.

(Damn that auto-complete!)

tony you have got me laughing til i'm nearly crying, brill one mate

stu wrote:tony you have got me laughing til i'm nearly crying, brill one mate

Glad to hear it stu. It certainly made me laugh when I first saw it. And when oftenwrong made his comment, it immediately came to mind.

Tony I couldn't get your you tube and stuff before but I can now it's brill

stu wrote:Tony I couldn't get your you tube and stuff before but I can now it's brill

Finally sorted now, stu?  
emoticons and all?  

Hi Bellatori, the only thing that i've got left to sort is those emoticons, tried just about everything but aint worked yet, but will keep trying every now and again.

this is a test

Well you passed Heretic, great to see you on board

moonbeam wrote:I despise the holidays. Not so much for religious (or anti religious) reasons, but because I hate having to put up a front for everyone and act like life is wonderful.

And, it just makes me all that much more irritated because the stores (and one particular coworker!) just have to shove it down our collective throats as soon as they possibly can. It's all about the money, really. I won't be hypocritical and say I don't like receiving presents, but if I got none, that'd be ok too.

It is like the two ronnies sketch above... "If it weren't for the kids I would not bother" which is, of course a load of old cobblers...  

As you say

Heretic wrote:this is a test

You passed, welcome aboard.

Hi Sheldon, are you getting emails to tell you to answer questions in a thread you have posted an opinion in?

moonbeam wrote:I won't be hypocritical and say I don't like receiving presents, but if I got none, that'd be ok too.

Christmas used to be a really great time for me, and I won't lie and say that I don't miss it ... because I do.

But my family doesn't really celebrate Christmas any more. We don't even get a tree. I suppose it wouldn't be so depressing if not for the memories of what it used to be like and knowing how much it's gone down hill. Now, no one gets together, no one bothers with decorations or feasts or presents. Christmas was also great for the vacation; in high school we had 10 days off and in college we had an entire month. As an adult, vacation time (holiday time for you Brits!) is either too much or too little. If I'm working, I'm lucky to get a three-day weekend out of Christmas, and if I'm not working (and I can't work b/c of a disability) you can't appreciate the vacation.

As for presents, yeah, I miss getting them, but moreso as a kid than now. After all, as an adult, I'm not going to wait around for Christmas to get something I want. I buy it now! By the time Christmas rolls around, there's nothing I want anyway.

I have a son who will be three years old next February, I've already started buying his presents.  

I can hardly wait for Christmas.  To see his face in the morning will be the best present (sorry if that is corny, it's also true) 

Hi Tony, as Shirina states though, like myself I only have the good memories as an adult. Christmas like you state, and it is not corny at all, is for children what the adults get out of it is if you are a parent of a young child, and that smile on their faces that will stay with you forever.

stu wrote:and that smile on their faces that will stay with you forever.

That's true stu. Giving is a privilege. But you also have now and a future stu, however much better the memories seem. Some people have less.

I know you won't forget, but you should go back to Amazon now and again and post to Peter, he will miss you if you don't.

Only thinking of him this morning tony, and when his daughters wedding was, as he had to see the specialist the day after.

Shirina wrote: ...

I read your post and thought it was rather sad. Christmas morning in my family was always a blast. Children get santa sacks until they have children of their own AND we have a large farmhouse bed which the whole family end up piling in to. Usually I get kicked out to make breakfast (Bucks fizz, scrambled egg on toast with smoked salmon, haggis, kedgeree...) whilst the 'children' and my wife unpack santa's goodies. This year there will be another partner (how embarassed will he be to get in to bed with prospective in-laws  ) as well as a two year old grandson who will probably run riot - no wonder I retreat to the kitchen with a bottle of champers. Bear in mind my children and their spouses/partners are around 30 - so the santa sacks are also very traditional in content. For the girls there are always hair bobbles, makeup removers and lots of silly things from Boots the Chemist plus always a pencil with a rubber on it (my mother in law always did one for me until I was in my 50s  ) an orange and a shiny red apple that I polish till they glow, a little note book, some nuts, some sweets and anything else I can find from the pound shop. Oh and this year I have included a pack of rubbers (english joke...) for my younger daughters partner. I cannot wait to see his face... dear Lord how cruel I am    

Eventually we get up and have breakfast then I (with my son-in-law the chef... no kidding  ) prepare lunch whilst the rest get dressed. No Xmas presents until he and I have finished, showered and dressed and then its coffee, sherry, more champers and real presents. Everyone knows exactly (well not 2 year old Henry) what they are getting. In my case I go out and buy my presents so I get the right thing. However we enjoy the unpacking as does the dog who loves ripping paper to get at his present which is always one of those oven baked bones he loves.

Xmas is as much fun as you make it. Every year we buy a new board game for all to play and every year we have huge arguments because someone (usually me) is cheating. That is the cue for Xmas cake.

I love Xmas but as I have got older I find my stamina is not quite as up to it as it used to be

Bellatori wrote:Xmas is as much fun as you make it.

I wish that were true, but sometimes, there's just nothing to work with. Not only do people need to cooperate, they have to WANT to celebrate Christmas. If it is forced upon them, the whole atmosphere becomes rather oppressive, and people make excuses to up and leave at the first opportunity. Unfortunately, there are no kids in my family. I'm essentially the last of my generation on BOTH sides of my family. I have no brothers, no sisters, no nieces, no nephews, not even any 1st cousins. I do have a handful of 2nd cousins roughly my age, but none of them are right in the head. One is drug addict, another is a sado-massochist sociopath (seriously), and the other is so psychologically damaged that she retreats into her own little world at the first sign of adversity. Plus my grandfather died just a few months ago, all of my great aunts and uncles are now deceased; I only have one uncle now and he's a colonel in the US Army so I never see him and I have two aunts - one of which is psycho. I've gotten into two physical altercations with her because she just explodes and comes after me since I'm the youngest.

Yeah, all of this psychotic behavior I'm sure you're looking at me askance, wondering if I've inherited it LOL! No ... I'm originally from India. This is my adoptive family I'm talking about.

It sounds as if you have a lovely Christmas, though, and you appreciate it, which is so very important. I never thought I would ever be one of those lonely people on the outside looking in as families celebrate the holidays; it just goes to show you how so much can change.

Shirina wrote:

Bellatori wrote:Xmas is as much fun as you make it.

I wish that were true, but sometimes, there's just nothing to work with. Not only do people need to cooperate, they have to WANT to celebrate Christmas. ...

What can I say?   It makes my comment seem a bit thoughtless. Please accept a virtual hug.

Shirina please try the best you can, as there are a few of us in the same boat so to speak, will be thinking of you.

Bellatori - what a big kid you are!  In a good way, of course. My husband is the same, Christmas and birthdays are a good excuse to fill the house with booze and cheap boxes of Roses and Quality Street, mega Toblerone and anything on offer at the supermarket. All my efforts to be more restrained and sophisticated are thwarted. I'm accused of being boring. 

I love Christmas. I just wish people wouldn't spoil it with their attempts to bring a religious element into it.

Ah - I've found you all!
 
The commercialization of Christmas annoys me so much that this year, on Christmas day, my OH and I will be boarding a plane and flying off to somewhere warm. This is the second time we have done this. Last time we boarded a plane on Christmas eve, flew to Los Angeles for an hour, then boarded a second plane (still Christmas eve) and flew to New Zealand. Somewhere between the USA and NZ we crossed the international date line so that when we eventually landed, it was Boxing day, and we missed Christmas completely - it was bliss!

Kazza wrote:Bellatori - what a big kid you are!  In a good way, of course. My husband is the same, Christmas and birthdays are a good excuse to fill the house with booze and cheap boxes of Roses and Quality Street, mega Toblerone and anything on offer at the supermarket. All my efforts to be more restrained and sophisticated are thwarted. I'm accused of being boring. 

Restraint...   Sophisticated...  Hush yo' mouth ...   This is Christmas we are talking about...

Oh how I envy you! I might plan something similar for next year. 

 Its a great choice, especially on long haul flights as the price is vastly cheaper!

I know I know...but with the kids away, I thought there might be a small chance of being a grown up, romantic candlelight, music, champagne...in reality, my stepson will turn up with his big feet, and it'll be sports and war films on the telly... 

Kazza wrote:...I thought there might be a small chance of being a grown up, romantic candlelight, music, champagne...

You really are trying my patience here  ... my wife is eventually going to read something like this and then where will I be?  

Kazza wrote:...my stepson will turn up with his big feet, and it'll be sports and war films on the telly... 

You need to step up and make it clear to your stepson that Christmas Day    is for watching the Queens Speech  and then The Sound of Music   and not put up with anything else (unless you care to risk a board game of course  )

Kazza wrote:...I thought there might be a small chance of being a grown up, romantic candlelight, music, champagne...

You really are trying my patience here  ... my wife is eventually going to read something like this and then where will I be?  

Kazza wrote:...my stepson will turn up with his big feet, and it'll be sports and war films on the telly... 

You need to step up and make it clear to your stepson that Christmas Day    is for watching the Queens Speech  and then The Sound of Music   and not put up with anything else (unless you care to risk a board game of course  )

I am clearly not seeing something here... I cannot see how when I click on the edit/delete button opne then deletes a post... any ideas.

you can't do it can you, you have edit button but no nego or posi votes brill bella

Going a bit nostalgic here but my Gran always got a few things in for Xmas that you never seemed to see at any other time of the year: Poppycock (I think that's what it was called - like sweet popcorn with almonds etc), Matchstix (mint and orange), Terry's chocolate orange, Terry's Neapolitans (mini flavoured chocolate bars), Twiglets and Cheese Footballs to name a few.

hi dan nice to see you

What about the big boxes of Quality Street, those oval boxes of sticky dates, or the huge range of creams flavoured with different alcohols that all the supermarkets stock, only at Christmas.

Bellatori, I have the edit button on the post i post I just use that one and send again goes back to the place you wanted it to be