What Christmas Trend you wish would go away?

jr86

Went up to Dublin for the day yesterday hoping to get some evening pints in after a day shopping and everywhere black with people doing 12 pubs and the likes from about 5pm!!

Queues for toilets, impossible get taxi, ages getting served - and this all early evening as I say!

I'm definitely getting crankier since my 20s days ( :pac: ) but honestly where is the enjoyment in that for people. I love Christmas but honestly I think I'll give up the Christmas nights out anymore, and sadly even an evening drink or two appears out of the question. That's just me though I guess, I know some people love the boisterousness and "atmosphere" that come with Christmas nights in the city

I really do think it has escalated so much since this 12 pubs trend really got going. Social media probably only exacerbates it too. Everyone has to be seen out nowadays

I do not envy poor bar staff and hospital staff this time of year

That said I'm looking forward to going home Christmas Eve going to our country local in the evening, open fire, good Guinness, nice catch ups, no music, straight up to counter and served, easy access to toilets. Bliss!

Graces7

Love the life I have now out here on a remote island …. Not been nearer a shop or any Christmas hype than ordering my supplies by email from Supervalu,,, and shopping at a few chosen shops online. And coming here to boards....So peaceful and makes it special.

Before I became all but housebound I enjoyed the occasional small town day out but am happier this way.

Doctors room ghost

Graces7 wrote: »

Love the life I have now out here on a remote island …. Not been nearer a shop or any Christmas hype than ordering my supplies by email from Supervalu,,, and shopping at a few chosen shops online. And coming here to boards....So peaceful and makes it special.

Before I became all but housebound I enjoyed the occasional small town day out but am happier this way.

Do you keep fowl graces for killing for the table and for a lock of eggs or do you buy meat

Graces7

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Do you keep fowl graces for killing for the table and for a lock of eggs or do you buy meat

No; I did for years in Orkney. well for eggs . and a goat for milk and cheese and ducks and geese and Jacobs sheep for their wool to spin and knit....grew all my own vegetables.... oh and peacocks! They were fun.

Any cockerels that hatched went to a farm to process as I cannot kill, and I eat almost no meat now.

I was 30 years younger then! Could not do all that now! It was a good way to live. It really was. But now I am old and enjoying different things out here in the peace.

Finding too that the " trimmings" of Christmas mean so much less. Catching some of the ads that interrupt youtube I wonder how folk cope out there.

Heroditas

Elf on the Shelf is something I wish would disappear. Ridiculous nonsense.

Funnily enough, when I was a student I used to work in a supermarket and would work all the hours under the sun coming up to Christmas including until 7pm on Christmas Eve and then have a few pints.
Back in in St Stephen's Day until 3 or 4pm and then home for the massive Stephen's Day dinner. Absolutely loved working that time of year because of the excitement leading up to Christmas and also because the 26th was an absolute doddle!

Tom Mann Centuria

Know its been said but backing it up. For retail workers I wish Boxing Day/Stephens Day sales would do one. Shops like Next making workers get up at 4 or 5 in the morning after Christmas Day. Horrible business practice. New Year's Day sales can jog on too.

Paddy Cow

Heroditas wrote: »

Elf on the Shelf is something I wish would disappear. Ridiculous nonsense.

I met someone today who was buying pyjamas for their Elf on the Shelf :P

Doctors room ghost

Paddy Cow wrote: »

I met someone today who was buying pyjamas for their Elf on the Shelf :P

They should be took out and shot for the greater good.
Imagine how good your life must be if all you had for doing for the day is getting fcukin pyjamas for a fcukin dolly.
That elf on the shelf boll1x boils my p1ss.
“It’s for the kids” says the parents posting stupid pictures of a fcukin dolly on Facebook and trying to outdo everyone else for ideas.
Anyone I see with an elf gets filed under “gobsh1te”.

CheerLouth

Some people take the Elf on the Shelf too far. We have one and the kids love him! Our eldest bounds up the hall every morning to see what mischief he has been up to. We don't do any gimmicks with him - no elf pjs in this house :P He literally just moves from one spot to another & every few nights, he does something a bit naughty. He's also great for blaming for things e.g. I ate a tin of Quality Street so just stuck in the elf in the tin with chocolate smeared over his mouth & hey presto, my guilt was absolved :P

Postgrad10

And do your kids really believe that the elf ate all those chocolates? That the elf is alive?

Sorry if I’m being intrusive , I was a very skeptical child.

Blaizes

Postgrad10 wrote: »

And do your kids really believe that the elf ate all those chocolates? That the elf is alive?

Sorry if I’m being intrusive , I was a very skeptical child.

One of my kids is very skeptical, moves the thing around herself then tells us and her younger brother that the elf has moved. I only bought it because she begged me to. Now I’m stuck with it ! I don’t mind doing the moving but when she’s fooling us it makes me wonder if she will doubt Santa too, an unnecessary fad this elf is imo.

CheerLouth

Postgrad10 wrote: »

And do your kids really believe that the elf ate all those chocolates? That the elf is alive?

Sorry if I’m being intrusive , I was a very skeptical child.

They do. I don't think they really think he's alive as in the same way a person is alive but they do think that he can move at nighttime by himself. But they are only small, both under 5 so so far, they've had no reason to believe otherwise. But we don't do the whole "he's reporting back to Santy" biz. He's just an addition to the fun of Christmas & they enjoy when he does "bold" things & me & their Dad get cross at him.

Princess Calla

goat2 wrote: »

As do I,
but it is up to people to not go in, also, it is totally unfair to expect people outside of the emergency service to be working, it is not a necessity

This reminds me of something that happened me 25 ish years ago.

I was working Part-Time in the local supermarket, as a cashier.

Working a Sunday (great as double time )..... Anyway I'm serving a customer I'd say she was around 30....she asks me do I not mind working on a Sunday?

No!

Oh I always thought working on a Sunday was too much, people deserve a day off.... That's why I became a pharmacist... They never open on a Sunday!!

Wonder how that theory is holding for her

Without customers shops won't open!

I have worked many many a Christmas in retail, it's a great buzz, long shifts that keep you busy.

Opening Stephens day is after my time, I probably would have worked it no bother. However I wouldn't go shopping on Stephens day either.

However, some customers may be putting the day in to get away from a Sh1tshow at home....not everyone has a happy Christmas.

Neyite

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

They should be took out and shot for the greater good.
Imagine how good your life must be if all you had for doing for the day is getting fcukin pyjamas for a fcukin dolly.
That elf on the shelf boll1x boils my p1ss.
“It’s for the kids” says the parents posting stupid pictures of a fcukin dolly on Facebook and trying to outdo everyone else for ideas.
Anyone I see with an elf gets filed under “gobsh1te”.

I'm in an Elf facebook group and honestly, there are some seriously crazy ones screaming about "THE RULESSSS."

It's highly entertaining though. Some parents have staged some adult-themed elf scenes for a laugh and currently some are losing their sh!t over it, there was a massive bunfight over the weekend, women flouncing claiming that their child sits beside them while they scroll FB and could have seen Elf doggy style on Barbie . Same parents are staging the elves doing sh!t protests with nutella in the bathroom for their kids. So Elf scat porn is grand but using a line of icing sugar and a dollar bill to simulate drugs for an adults-only photo gets them all riled up massively.



There are some parents who are definitely doing it for themselves or for facebook likes and they are freaking out and punishing little kids for touching a toy 'because it loses it's magic'. FFS Mary, calm down like. So what if your 3yo touches something that's aimed at their age group??

I see our elf as more of a Toy-Story toy - comes alive at night like Woody gets up to something funny and goes to sleep during the day.

CheerLouth wrote: »

They do. I don't think they really think he's alive as in the same way a person is alive but they do think that he can move at nighttime by himself. But they are only small, both under 5 so so far, they've had no reason to believe otherwise. But we don't do the whole "he's reporting back to Santy" biz. He's just an addition to the fun of Christmas & they enjoy when he does "bold" things & me & their Dad get cross at him.

We don't link it to behaviour and we threw the whole book out as we don't want to promote the elf as a spy for Santa either. I think most of our son's peers have similar touchable non spy elves.

Graces7

Heroditas wrote: »

Elf on the Shelf is something I wish would disappear. Ridiculous nonsense.

Never heard of this and don't think I have missed anything

Princess Calla

My mam bought us an elf.....we're too lazy for it so it's still in the attic

We do have magic elves though, that leave a chocolate Christmas tree decoration each night.

They love that!!

I love the adult themed pictures though

iamwhoiam

Graces7 wrote: »

Heroditas wrote: »

Elf on the Shelf is something I wish would disappear. Ridiculous nonsense.

Never heard of this and don't think I have missed anything

Absolute laugh out loud moments here with the elf . We have a family whatsapp and the elf pictures arrive at 10 pm .We love seeing what he has got up to
Its not for everyone but we love it and many others do too

Postgrad10

CheerLouth wrote: »

They do. I don't think they really think he's alive as in the same way a person is alive but they do think that he can move at nighttime by himself. But they are only small, both under 5 so so far, they've had no reason to believe otherwise. But we don't do the whole "he's reporting back to Santy" biz. He's just an addition to the fun of Christmas & they enjoy when he does "bold" things & me & their Dad get cross at him.

I have a young relative who is 3 and very inquisitive and wants to know how everything works. He’d immediately query how the fairy could eat the chocolate without teeth, how does he go to the toilet etc. I suppose all children are different.

Neyite

Graces7 wrote: »

Never heard of this and don't think I have missed anything

No you've not missed anything. It started with a storybook that accompanies an elf doll about the elf that comes from the north pole who returns every night to tell Santa how good or bad the child was that day. The book states that children mustn't touch the elf or it loses it's magic. The parents then would move the elf to a different spot every night after children are asleep.


But as with most things like this, it's evolved into the elves doing often very elaborate pranks or naughty things during the night. And some parents I've seen on the facebook group have gone way over the top. Or using the elf for the littlest infraction small children or even toddlers do.


I've kept the pranks simple (I may have years of these!) and they aren't messy - because I'd only have to clean it up! I don't see how parents can police children's behaviour using an elf that is really naughty but tells on the child to Santa?



I also prefer to leave out the no touch rule, but especially the references to good or bad behaviour and spying to Santa. In our house we say that all children are inherently good - because they mostly are. Bold ones often are a product of their environment or circumstances. And that Santa would only leave a child off his list if the child is deliberately cruel to another person or an animal. We tell him that Santa looks for kids showing kindness, thoughtfulness and caring about others.

TheAsYLuMkeY

Threads on forums bout christmas! :pac:

DSN

DSN wrote: »

Elf on the shelf.
Christmas being 'over' on Stephens day after weeks of massive build up.
Sales starting crack of dawn on Stephens day. Why why why.
Oh yeh Christmas Jumpers but to lesser extent than the above two I get they are a bit of crack & cute on the kids I just hate them on myself they not the most flattering & am too vain.

My sister hasn't been able to properly spend Christmas with her boyfriend in years because he has to be up at the crack of dawn on St Stephens Day because he's a store manager in a retail store. It really is a shame.

I don't mind a filling station or a convenience store opening on the 26th for cartons of milk, panadol or AA batteries, but when you think about all the personnel required to run the likes of Dundrum Town Centre who have to work on the 26th, it really shows you how many families get affected by it.

The subtle overtaking of themes by agendas loaded with political correctness. Children who visit Santa don't know the difference.


Are ye Woke for Christmas?

blueshade

Green Christmas tree lights, they are awful especially the minty green ones. Elf on the shelf, it's creepy and looks a bit pervy. If I'd had one when I was a child it would have terrified me. Think about it, you give a very young child a creepy looking pervy doll and put it in there room telling them that it's basically spying on them. In years to come some of these kids will be traumatised adults paying a fortune to therapists to deal with their childhoods.

blueshade

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Know its been said but backing it up. For retail workers I wish Boxing Day/Stephens Day sales would do one. Shops like Next making workers get up at 4 or 5 in the morning after Christmas Day. Horrible business practice. New Year's Day sales can jog on too.

So long as people keep buying they'll keep opening on those days. What are people buying though? The sales basically start in November now, between Black Friday fortnight and Cyber Monday what is possibly left to buy on December 26th that you couldn't already have bought?

Loughc

blueshade wrote: »

So long as people keep buying they'll keep opening on those days. What are people buying though? The sales basically start in November now, between Black Friday fortnight and Cyber Monday what is possibly left to buy on December 26th that you couldn't already have bought?

Actually blaming the customer isn't 100% accurate.

When Ireland moved from a 6 day treading week retail and moved to a 7 day trading week when we started opening Sundays there was a study done. The study found that customers spent on average the same amount over the 2 weekend days as they used to when there was only the Saturday.

Stores were no better off from opening the Sunday except for one thing, market share. Stores cant close if their competitor stays open.

Customers will still spend the same except now they have more times to pick from for when they do the shopping.

blueshade

Loughc wrote: »

Actually blaming the customer isn't 100% accurate.

When Ireland moved from a 6 day treading week retail and moved to a 7 day trading week when we started opening Sundays there was a study done. The study found that customers spent on average the same amount over the 2 weekend days as they used to when there was only the Saturday.

Stores were no better off from opening the Sunday except for one thing, market share. Stores cant close if their competitor stays open.

Customers will still spend the same except now they have more times to pick from for when they do the shopping.

My wife and I used to work in retail. We'd both be working up until Christmas Eve and be back to work on St Stephen's Day. No real time to enjoy Christmas as we'd be so worn out from the run up that all we'd want to do is just sleep and then Christmas day is exhausting so you're back to work before you know it and for what, so that people can spend more money on tat that nobody wanted to buy before Christmas. Still, I suppose for a lot of people it's a good excuse to escape from their relatives for a few hours, all that being cooped up with family can make the goodwill to all men dry up very fast.:D

Paddy Cow

Neyite wrote: »

I'm in an Elf facebook group and honestly, there are some seriously crazy ones screaming about "THE RULESSSS."

I'm off to search facebook for an elf group

blueshade

I gotta agree with people about the Christmas jumpers though, I really hate them. Maybe it's because so many people start wearing them in November, maybe it's the fact that the trend now includes that horrible American tradition of the whole family taking photos in matching Christmas jumpers, there are so many reasons to hate them.

smilerf

Every town seems to be doing Christmas tractor run.
I think it's stupid and would **** off

Acosta

It starting after Halloween