What Christmas Trend you wish would go away?

blueshade

Acosta wrote: »

It starting after Halloween

Most shops are putting the Christmas stuff out on the Halloween shelves by lunchtime on Halloween. Basically, as soon as the kids go back to school in September the tins of sweets and biscuits appear and it goes into overdrive from there. I think as you get older the fact that it's drawn out for so long just starts to grate on the nerves.

Acosta

blueshade wrote: »

Most shops are putting the Christmas stuff out on the Halloween shelves by lunchtime on Halloween. Basically, as soon as the kids go back to school in September the tins of sweets and biscuits appear and it goes into overdrive from there. I think as you get older the fact that it's drawn out for so long just starts to grate on the nerves.

Actually that's true. Aldi a lot of their christmas food like mince pies out before Halloween.

I do try to enjoy Christmas and after having a few awful ones in the past I'm grateful if it's just a quite, relaxing non eventful one but more than any other year previously this one already feels like it's gone on for too long and has done for a few weeks now.

Neyite

blueshade wrote: »

Most shops are putting the Christmas stuff out on the Halloween shelves by lunchtime on Halloween. Basically, as soon as the kids go back to school in September the tins of sweets and biscuits appear and it goes into overdrive from there. I think as you get older the fact that it's drawn out for so long just starts to grate on the nerves.

I'm not too bothered about long life foods being on display as a lot of families do try to spread the cost of things in the run up to Christmas. It was the norm when we were all growing up. The incessant adverts on the other hand though...

Antares35

Black Friday

Heroditas

Two my wife suggested:
Christmas Eve Box
12 Pubs of Christmas

Heroditas

Antares35 wrote: »

Black Friday

Technically speaking that's got nothing to do with Christmas. It's a Thanksgiving tradition. There is a big overlap between the two events though.

blueshade

Heroditas wrote: »

Two my wife suggested:
Christmas Eve Box
12 Pubs of Christmas

Absolutely agree 100%. This Christmas Eve Box stuff is just nonsense and an added financial pressure. Christmas Eve when I was a kid was a hot turkey or hot ham sandwich, that was the highlight and squabbling over who got more of the streaky bacon from the turkey. The only Christmas Eve box in our house was the big box of Tayto getting opened.

JustMe,K

Heroditas wrote: »

Two my wife suggested:
Christmas Eve Box
12 Pubs of Christmas

totally agree with these!

Also, I don't understand the need to flood social media with the mountains of presents people give or receive

seamusk84

What’s a Christmas Eve Box?

JustMe,K

seamusk84 wrote: »

What’s a Christmas Eve Box?

Can either be a wooden (for perpetual use, with the childs name etched into it) or cardboard box, filled with goodies for christmas eve. Most people put new pjs, christmas books, dvds, hot chocolate, some sweets into them.

iamwhoiam

JustMe,K wrote: »

Can either be a wooden (for perpetual use, with the childs name etched into it) or cardboard box, filled with goodies for christmas eve. Most people put new pjs, christmas books, dvds, hot chocolate, some sweets into them.

Where did it originate from ? I never hears of it ? More expense for people .

joe40

I wish parents would stop buying excessively expensive Christmas presents for their kids from Santa.
This must be horrible for kids seeing others get top of the range phones for example, while they get much lesser presents from Santa.

If you can afford to buy your children expensive things and that's the way you want to rear them, by all means feel free.

But leave the Santa tradition of the magical character that rewards all Children accessible to everyone.

JustMe,K

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Where did it originate from ? I never hears of it ? More expense for people .

No idea, seems to have become a thing in the last few years. We always got new pjs for Christmas, and I always got new pjs for my daughter for Christmas, which would be opened Christmas Eve - but they were wrapped up just like everything else under the tree and was the only present anyone was allowed to open before Christmas Day.

Its just another OTT display as far as I can see. Nice and all but yes, expense, pressure, expectation and feelings of inadequacy for parents who cant afford it.

jr86

JustMe,K wrote: »

totally agree with these!

Also, I don't understand the need to flood social media with the mountains of presents people give or receive

To be honest I'd say Social Media can be a tough ordeal for plenty this time of year

What with streams of instagram posts of fancy presents, nights out, catch ups etc. I'd say its tough viewing for anyone with anxiety or the likes.

And with all due respect so much of it so fake and insincere - "catch ups" with groups who will happily avoid each other any other day of the year but when a 'session' is involved, they're all up for the 12 pubs gatherings so they can be seen on social media and so on.

I know this isn't the case for everyone - and Christmas is an ideal means to catch up with genuine friends who may be overseas or whatever - but I do find it amusing when i see "re-unions" consisting of groups who may be still based in the same city and can't be bothered to meet up at any other time! :pac:

jr86

And while I'm on the subject of Social Media, we should create a nice narcissism drinking game over the festive season ( :pac: ) for example when anyone:

- Posts a night-out pic together with a hashtag "silly season" or something equally hilarious and/or creative. Or generally anything related to "need a new liver LOL", or the likes. Extra points when it is (it generally always is...) someone who will be without fail one of the soberest when they're out, home early, and probably out 2 nights tops

- Posts a pic of the Christmas Day swim, ensuring the lighting is on point, and that they're sufficiently inhaling enough so that their abdominal muscles are pronounced. If you don't have your top off in said pic , do you even Instagram?

- matching Christmas pyjamas...

- When a younger member of the public posts a picture of a drink in their hand from their living room Christmas Eve or Day in order to display to their friends how cool their household is, where the parents don't bat an eyelid to Johnny or Jasmine indulging in some festive tipples while Fair City is on in the background

- Anyone who posts an update of their mother/father/relative struggling with the turkey, and how hilarious it is to watch (extra points if there is a group struggling in the kitchen)


Ah yes, it ain't Christmas if it isn't up on Social Media

Princess Calla

Ah JR you forgot the engagement ring picture. I said /she said YES!!!

jr86

Princess Calla wrote: »

Ah JR you forgot the engagement ring picture. I said /she said YES!!!

hahaha so true!

JustMe,K

Princess Calla wrote: »

Ah JR you forgot the engagement ring picture. I said /she said YES!!!

Christmas engagements make me cringe! #theboydidgood

blueshade

JustMe,K wrote: »

Christmas engagements make me cringe! #theboydidgood

I'd say many a girl was disappointed when the lad had to explain that the Christmas present in the ring box wasn't an engagement ring.

Postgrad10

Glad I don’t bother with social media now!!this is the height of it for me.

Posy

blueshade wrote: »

I'd say many a girl was disappointed when the lad had to explain that the Christmas present in the ring box wasn't an engagement ring.

Ooooh, to be fair talk about setting yourself up for a fall!! :pac:

bmc58

This "Kris Kringle" craze.Where did this come from?

L1011

bmc58 wrote: »

This "Kris Kringle" craze.Where did this come from?

Germany via the US and it'd easily be two decades since I first became aware of it being done in Ireland, others might have even older memories of it. Pretty much the bulk of our Christmas traditions here are German in origin really!

We did it in my family almost that long ago to cut down on everyone getting heaps of low/mid range presents from everyone else. People doing it with groups of friends might be a bit newer and offices doing maybe newer again.

iamwhoiam

bmc58 wrote: »

This "Kris Kringle" craze.Where did this come from?

It came from Germany , The Krist Kindl is the Christ Child . He brings presents on the 24th to the children . Santa is a very new phenomenon in Germany it was always the Krist Kindl who brought presents .

NewbridgeIR

The long shutdown for certain businesses. I get three days off as the office closes 25th, 26th, 27th. If those days fall at weekend then get the next working day(s) off. So always back to work by 30th December at latest. If I want any more time off I just use annual leave.

During that time it’s very difficult to get a mechanic, loads of small cafes shut down too.

freshpopcorn

bmc58 wrote: »

This "Kris Kringle" craze.Where did this come from?

I think there's being similar stuff there over the year but it was just called something else!

L1011

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

The long shutdown for certain businesses. I get three days off as the office closes 25th, 26th, 27th. If those days fall at weekend then get the next working day(s) off. So always back to work by 30th December at latest. If I want any more time off I just use annual leave.

During that time it’s very difficult to get a mechanic, loads of small cafes shut down too.

You'll probably find more people wanting your situation to trend away tbh - the near total shutdown from mid afternoon on the 24th through to NYD even was the norm for decades and decades and its only starting to become common to have places open in recent years.

monty_python

Buying presents.
I get very depressed every Xmas because there is always loads of presents under the tree but nothing for me. Literally nobody buys me a present

Heroditas

I like Kris Kindle/Kris Kringle (bloody Americanisation)/Secret Santa for larger families or workplaces. It's good fun in work and relieves the pressure of multiple gifts when it comes to larger families. It's something we should embrace if we're trying to rail as a society against consumerism.

The Christmas Eve Box is German apparently and only started here a few years ago. Seems a silly reason to shoehorn more stuff into an already packed Christmas when it comes to presents. Christmas Day is the Irish tradition, let's leave it at that. Else we'll be ending up in a few years giving out presents on Little Christmas too!!

Reputable Rog

I’d like to see the pubs open on Christmas Day.