Anybody Else Not Like Christmas?

[Gregski]

maybe it's because it is a lot of work for me, drive out to cut down a perfectly good tree, load it up, (and we usually get a really big one, tall & heavy) then drag it into the house, prop it up and put it in the stand

I have to put the lights up on it, everyone else just does the ornaments, oh wait I have to do all the ornaments up high so 50% of the tree, I have to put up the star, sounds eay but have you mounted a star on top of a 15 footer and ensure it was perfectly straight and only then will it light up and spin, (don't ask)

then you have to take the ornaments down, and drag the tree out of the house, and pay the Boy Scouts to come take it out of your gutter, so you pay to get a tree for 2 weeks and you have to pay to get rid of it, why not not get one in the first place

put up christmas tree lights on the house, more hooks, more ladders, always need a new strand of lights cause the old one broke

forget the fact that Christmas is commercialized and has lost its true meaning if there ever was one, seems like every year the store christmas decorations and sales start earlier and earlier, now we see christmas stuff before thanksgiving, give it a rest

then you have to get presents for everyone, more people every year seems like it

then you get junk presents you never wanted or will use, ugly sweaters or ornaments you are supposed to hold on to and put up every year, everyone tells you what they want, but no one asks dad what he wants

then there's guests - so you have to bust your butt to clean the house - oh the guests are coming over

i just don't like any of it, and would love to sit out a Christmas - anybody agree?

[Hubscrub]

I respectfully disagree. I love this time of year the tree and decorations plays at church, Christmas songs, Christmas movies etc. I love it all, makes me fell good. And getting time off from work that I hate and spend to much time at anyways. I hung lights on the house and soon as I got done my 18 month old come running up to me and said daddy lights pretty, made it all worth it. I love the family time get together too. This time of year stresses alot of people out but I look at it for the true meaning it has and not the commerical racket some make it.

[Grumpy old man]

If you have small kids you better do it with a smile on your face and enjoy every single second that you can absorb , Mine are in their 30's now and jet setting all over the world , Time spent with them are precious moments you will never get back , NOTHING is more important .

[midniteblues]

Our wally world was taking the Halloween stuff off the shelves and putting xmas stuff in place the day after halloween.

I truly despise shopping for Christmas gifts though it's the time of year every store inflates prices of their useless junk.

The shopping center parking lots around here most are one way in and one way out, you could get trapped for a good while right after the long wait at the register.

If you can shopping online is the only way to go.

The kids make christmas all worthwhile though.
I remember the anticipation and I see it in them ,even the 27yr old

The wife came up with a great idea a few years ago,buy a fakey tree with lights already on it, that rocks. She got tired of me dragging her out in the cold to go cut one down.

Same lights outside every year so the hooks stay and anyone can put them up.ezpz
But i will take them down and put each set in a plastic shopping bag and sharpie on it where they go, plus they don't get all tangled up. Put'em all in a tote till next yr.

My luck the past few years has been detrimemtal failure of a appliance or something.
Nothing like having too replace your frigerator or the well pump the week before or during your christmas break.

[70STOVEBOLT]

I don’t like the commercial aspect of it but I love everything else about it.

[95 S_Trucker]

Christmas lets us celebrate he birth of Christ(I am not going to say anymore, I know the rules). It lets us slow down, spend some time with our families, and it lets us think more about others. We should be doing things like this all year long.

I enjoy getting a tree every year, and decorating it with my family. You should look into a smaller tree or an artificial one. You should enjoy spending time with your family, not resenting them for making you get a big tree when you don't want to.

Small hand made trinkets make the best gifts. There is no need to spend a fortune on gifts. It really is the thought that counts. It's best to be thrifty and to be a good steward.

I agree with others, it has become to commercialized. It's become a social holiday instead of a religious holiday.

[Coley]

Gregski....lol, I think I see the problem.
You are being taken for a commercial ride by others around you...which isn't uncommon.....particularly with wives/women who are easily caught up in shopping, unfortunately.
Take control.
Put your foot down and move the family away from the commercial b.s for starters....always a good place to start.
More people are doing that these days...staying away from 'shopping' and the general, ridiculous commercialization of Christmas.
Christmas originally was mostly about family, giving thanks on many levels including religious levels... and celebrating with a good feast.....not visa.

Next up....put your feet up and get a nice rum and eggnog and 'download' the chores and tasks to those around you so they learn to appreciate how much work it can be.

Remember there is absolutely nothing wrong with breaking with tradition...if it is a bad or 'go nowhere' tradition.
Sometimes tho' you have to have something new and better and hopefully more genuine to replace it.

So take control...and if there is work to be done, put the kids to work....definitely not enough of that going on these days, lol.

All good
Coley

[joeydurango]

I'm somewhat with you, Gregski. Not religious in the slightest so Christmas doesn't mean anything to me that way. I absolutely hate seeing living trees get chopped down for such a trivial purpose (coming from a guy who spent much of his life cutting and splitting firewood for heat). The commercialization really gets me, as does the prescribed gift-giving; I'm the type of person who gets a gift for someone when I see they need it or it's something they'll like, regardless of the time of year (plus, I don't need more *things*). Finally, the schmaltzy music is generally terrible (although I do like older traditional carols, and Christmas metal covers ).

I never miss a chance to see my family, though, far-flung as they are, but I don't give a crap if they don't like my housekeeping.

And I personally spend this time of year reflecting on my last trip around the sun, being appreciative that the days will begin growing longer again, and catching up on all the sleep I seem to lose each summer.

Merry Everything to everyone - Christmas, Festivus, Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Just Another Day Alive, whatever.

[MailManX2]

I work for the post office as a rural mail carrier. Need I say more?

[mongocanfly]

I respect the reason for the season...i hate everything else about it..

[joeydurango]

Originally Posted by MailManX2

I work for the post office as a rural mail carrier. Need I say more?

Haha! Nope.

[Popcorn W]

I HATE Christmas.
I LOVE Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday. You get together with family and friends, give thanks for your blessings in life, eat a meal with those family and friends, watch football, eat too much.
And you don't worry about who gave what gift to who and maybe you didn't spend as much on someone than they spent on you.
Give me Thanksgiving once a month and let's just skip Christmas all together.
Back in 2008 Andy Rooney said it best on CBS's 60 Minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ejZweJKGI

[PanelDeland]

Not a commercial part of the deal. My wife and I give each other stocking stuffer type gifts and because we differ on style and such, buy ourselves a gift, usually during the post Christmas sales. I do some lights on the house and we have a small tree for when it's just the two of us but a larger one for when family comes. It takes me about 3-4 hours for tree, lights and all and I usually have half of her stocking stuffers before Halloween. I usually make a trip to the mall because watching all those idiots really reminds me of what Christmas is supposed to be and I'm a people watcher. We'll take a cruise one weeknight before schools out to look at lights (GSO has some great displays) and usually stop for ice cream while we're out (one of the few nights we are out after dark). I like the season but enjoyed it much more when I lived in a small town and it was more about people than things.

[leddzepp]

I like Christmas. I hate all of the crap that accompanies it.

[el_fantasma]

Very cool

[CG]

I used to get all worked up over the bs that used to be Christmas and then I realized it was my bs not Christmasas. We calmed down the whole holiday. People make lists, we set money limits. No gift cards. We don’t buy electronics for the grand kids. We see who we can see and don’t get worked up over those that we can’t. We put out decorations when the grand kids come over. Every year we run in to town and they get a new ornament. We don’t go to the mall with them ... nightmare lol. When we set up the tree (fake) grandma makes us all cocoa in the mugs we got at a craft store and decorated. This year we watched the Santa clause one and two. Couldn’t remember where I put Elf.

Right now I’m sitting in the hospital. My wonderful mother in law of thirty years had a massive stroke early yesterday morning, she will not recover. Family has been in and out all day saying their goodbyes. Just me and her now, she’s sleeping calmly. I’m going to miss her this Christmas. It’s a time for family.

[68bowtie]

I agree with you 100% gregski. I am a total grinch. I don’t like any of it. Well maybe the eggnog. Unfortunately I have 3 young kids and a wife who love it all. So it all happens. I just play along.

[71meangreenc10]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

If you have small kids you better do it with a smile on your face and enjoy every single second that you can absorb , Mine are in their 30's now and jet setting all over the world , Time spent with them are precious moments you will never get back , NOTHING is more important .

Agreed

Smitty

[flashed]

Now that Im by myself it is not the same but I enjoy seeing the neices and nephews and the Great neices and Nephews ,they like it .

[special-K]

I find Christmas is most wonderful when you distance yourself from the commercialized aspect and all the hoopla it brings for those caught up in it. I realoze that is mostly what you see. So stop looking at it and the good will pour through. Getting down to the elements of Christmas makes this time of year a most wonderful time. It makes it how the world should be year round. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

[truckster]

My children and grandchildren, singing Christmas music in the church choir, finding little ways to do acts of service for my family and friends and neighbors, those are the things I focus on. I love Christmas.

[70STOVEBOLT]

Originally Posted by CG

I used to get all worked up over the bs that used to be Christmas and then I realized it was my bs not Christmasas. We calmed down the whole holiday. People make lists, we set money limits. No gift cards. We don’t buy electronics for the grand kids. We see who we can see and don’t get worked up over those that we can’t. We put out decorations when the grand kids come over. Every year we run in to town and they get a new ornament. We don’t go to the mall with them ... nightmare lol. When we set up the tree (fake) grandma makes us all cocoa in the mugs we got at a craft store and decorated. This year we watched the Santa clause one and two. Couldn’t remember where I put Elf.

Right now I’m sitting in the hospital. My wonderful mother in law of thirty years had a massive stroke early yesterday morning, she will not recover. Family has been in and out all day saying their goodbyes. Just me and her now, she’s sleeping calmly. I’m going to miss her this Christmas. It’s a time for family.

CG, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[alsriv2]

CG,

I am sorry for what you are going thru. My families thoughts and prayers are with you guys. Keep us up to date please.

[alsriv2]

I am a fairly grounded person who understands the real reason for the season and really dislike all the commercialism that brings the ugliness out in lots of people. My family and I used to be caught up deeply in all the "must buy" gifts and that used to really twist me up badly. I can still remember one year when we had less than $100 to our name and my wife spent every last penny buying gifts for long lost cousins that were going to show up at a family gathering for the first time in years. We ended up spending every penny for gifts to people we barely knew and hadn't had contact with in years. Since we are now in our 50's and are reflecting on the childhood past , we quickly realized we had gotten caught up in the commercialism and lost the whole meaning of Christmas. That has since been fixed and the Christmas season is a whole lot more fun and enjoyable.

[Gregski]

just wanted to say thank you all for replying I respect all of your view points and suggestions