Bah-hum-bug-ers unite!

[Murphy101]

Julie's thread makes me think there needs to be a place for folks like me.

 

So shall we share things we dislike about this money mob crazed season?

 

Gift exchanges of all kinds. White elephant being the worst. Non-immediate family ones runner up.

 

Stipulated cost of gifts.

 

Football

 

Gifts that double as subtle digs. (like makeup and a make over session for me who does not wear makeup. Bc she thought I just needed a professional to explain that I really need it.:glare:)

 

Annoying toys for the kids. (it now either gets left at the house of the giver or the batteries go dead in the night and are never replaced. Lots of money for a few hours of annoying as heck play. What a waste.)

 

Giving baked goods to a family with a diabetic. The last thing anyone, ESP a diabetic, needs this time of year is an extra pan of sugar to take home.

 

Anyone care to add?

[Daisy]

Guilt trips because you are not flying 3,000 miles to see the family over the holidays.

 

Okay, guilt trips in general.

 

People who assume that since you don't do anything for the holidays you are willing to watch all their pets with very little notice.

 

Santa Baby (I hate that song so much).

 

Our church never offering a Christmas Eve service because the staff says everyone wants to be with their family.:glare:

Edited November 24, 2010 by Daisy

[myfunnybunch]

Christmas decorations out before Halloween. Or in August. :glare:

 

I like the holidays (mostly) but, really, a month is plenty long.

 

Cat

[Julie in CA]

Shall I start with stipulated cost of gifts? :D

 

After that:

 

Making nice with family members (passing the bean dip) rather than enjoying each other sincerely.

 

The huge family meals where I'm assigned what to bring, and it's usually something like 6 different things, because my sils like to have ham *and* turkey, mashed potatoes *and* scalloped potatoes, rolls *and* garlic bread, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc......

 

The fact that I *don't* exchange gifts with the friends I'd most like to, because we make agreements not to do so, and then I'm obligated to give gifts to family members I'd prefer not to?

 

I have a beautiful Christmas advent cabinet with the little doors...I've never actually *used* it, and now my kids are too old. :crying:

 

I'm always too busy with school, job, church duties, and household chores to get around to making a special, elaborate gingerbread house. I've wanted to for years. :001_huh:

 

And lest you all think I'm a HUGE whiner, there are lots of things I *love* about Christmas, and in spite of how I probably sound here, I really am a reasonably kind & generous person who rarely complains about anything irl. ;)

[Murphy101]

The huge family meals where I'm assigned what to bring, and it's usually something like 6 different things, because my sils like to have ham *and* turkey, mashed potatoes *and* scalloped potatoes, rolls *and* garlic bread, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc......

 

The fact that I *don't* exchange gifts with the friends I'd most like to, because we make agreements not to do so, and then I'm obligated to give gifts to family members I'd prefer not to?

 

I have a beautiful Christmas advent cabinet with the little doors...I've never actually *used* it, and now my kids are too old. :crying:

 

I'm always too busy with school, job, church duties, and household chores to get around to making a special, elaborate gingerbread house. I've wanted to for years. :001_huh:

 

And lest you all think I'm a HUGE whiner, there are lots of things I *love* about Christmas, and in spite of how I probably sound here, I really am a reasonably kind & generous person who rarely complains about anything irl. ;)

 

Ug. I hate being told what to make for a meal too.

 

I wish we had decided to buy one ornament per person in the house when we first married. But I'm so glad we started later than never. That's the only trip into the he'll that is shopping we make on black Friday. We go to garden ridge and everyone selects one ornament for the tree. Then we go home and put it all up. The tree and nativity are pretty much our only holiday decorations and it's turned something I thought a waste into something very enjoyable for everyone.

[Murphy101]

The Nutcracker.

 

I hate ballet in general, but this play is just freaky weird IMO.

[LG Gone Wild]

Santa Baby! That's a good one, Daisy.

 

I'll say it..TSA

[BMW]

The traffic.

 

When it takes me more than twice as long because everyone is out shopping everywhere and all the lights are red... sigh. I am not patient with traffic.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Radio stations that play Christmas music all the time. In October.

So many Christmas lights I can read by them.

Children's gift exchanges.

Acting like shopping is a sport.

Everyone asking my kids what they want.

Being considered a Grinch because we have a 3 present rule for our kids.:rant:

[Lara in Colo]

Cooking all day so that we eat in 25 min and clean for 2 more hours.

 

Trying to buy presents for people I haven't really seen in a year.

 

Trying not to offend my mother and set her off on a 3 day pout where the rest of the family blames me.

 

not being able to afford to visit the people that live far away.

 

Having the work far outweigh the return

 

Lara

[lapsetmom]

So many Christmas parties and gatherings to which we're invited, but if we attended them all, we'd be tired, be baking too much, and spending to much on white-elephant gifts. And when we're too tired, who's going to be able to enjoy any of them?

 

Christmas music that is played non-stop on the radio, and they rarely play the ones I actually like.

 

So many gifts bought for my children many of which my children never play with long enough to make the money spent on them worth it. Then, they must be organized, I must get rid of old stuff to make room, and the new ones end up in the next garage sale.

 

All the talk about how it is a holiday to celebrate Christ and the little time actually devoted to focusing on Him.

 

The non-stop Christmas commercials aimed at getting you to buy the new "must-have" item.

 

I like many things about Christmas, but sadly, some of the above issues overshadow my enjoyment of the season.

[LibraryLover]

I am not a huge Christmas fan!

 

I am not a shopper, I avoid the whole entire mall thing -although I appreciate people who enjoy the hustle & bustle. I can see how it could be fun in the right frame of mind.

 

I don't over-buy, don't watch commercial TV, my kids love to wrap, my dh helps. The kids buy the tree with Dad (I hate doing that). The kids decorate (don't enjoy that either). I love to bake and cook certain things, so I do that. I enjoy being with family and nobody is insane (my dh's family doesn't even exchange presents, which is awesome!)

 

I think we've been able to keep the good & parts (baking & cooking, being together), and ignore what some see as the bad parts.

Edited November 25, 2010 by LibraryLover

[WTMCassandra]

I love Christmas, but I hate the shopping and the crowds. And this Black Friday thing has gotten waaaaay out of control. 2am? Seriously? Opening on Thanksgiving Day itself? Seriously?

 

I plan to stay gleefully at home on Friday and decorate my tree and make Christmas cookies.

 

ETA: And my Christmas shopping is DONE. I ordered it all online.

[LibraryLover]

I would imagine the 2 or 3am shopping would work quite well for folks who work odd hours, have insomnia, or who are already out. (The young crowd...not us parent geezers.)

[WTMCassandra]

I would imagine the 2 or 3am shopping would work quite well for folks who work odd hours, or who are already out. (The young crowd...not us parent geezers.)

 

Well, bless their hearts!

 

(I lived in the south for 25 years, so I can say that.)

[mcconnellboys]

I guess I wish I had a family who cared enough to share holidays with us and give us gifts at all (or not)....

[HRAAB]

I really love Christmas. I detest all the materialistic nonsense that goes on. I want to stay inside my house and not come out until it is over. I have no desire to compete with other people to see who can spend the most. Like I have anything to spend this year anyway.

[Nakia]

I love Christmas! I just don't like how it has become so focused on gifts and gifts and more gifts.

 

I can't stand it when people ask my kids what Santa is bringing them. We don't do Santa. I know they mean well, but it gets on my nerves.

 

I hate the crowd that overtakes all the stores in December, which is why all my shopping is done before Thanksgiving and most of it online.

 

I am irritated that my mother cannot understand why we don't want to come to her house on Christmas morning like we always have. We want to stay home. And she got the girls a Wii so it only makes sense for her to come to our house so they can actually hook it up on our TV, right? We live in the same area. But why would I ever expect my mother to be reasonable???

 

It annoys me that the Christmas decor is out before Halloween and by December 26th the Valentines will be out.

 

But most of all, I am sad that neither of my brothers will be home for Christmas. :crying:

[HRAAB]

 

It annoys me that the Christmas decor is out before Halloween and by December 26th the Valentines will be out.

:crying:

 

In our Costco the Christmas stuff was out the first week of September!!!

[fairfarmhand]

Christmas music on the radio three weeks before THANKSGIVING!

 

other kids getting gobs of expensive electronic stuff that I only wish I could afford to give my kids.

 

cheap crappy gifts from the dollar tree (someone I know is SURE that twenty dollar tree gifts are way better than one nicer $20 gift :001_huh:)

 

People who assume that just because you MIGHT possibly share a gene or two with them, that gives them the right to comment on your personal life, give you advice or tell you how to do things. (regardless of the fact that you see them what, TWICE a year???):glare:

[Peela]

Crowds. Traffic.

The materialistic focus that is somehow supposed to be good for the economy, yet how on earth can something that is good for the economy be so darned tedious and shallow and obligatory.

The buying of crap just for the sake of buying something.

The shallowness of it all.

 

We enjoy the day especially for the kids but for dh and I it is not a big deal at all. I try and minimise the build up for them because really, we don't make such a big deal of the day. We spend it with dh's family who are really not close at all, although it is friendly enough.

[Onceuponatime]

First I will say that I love:

The lights, the red and green, the winter decorations, music, the food, the cookies, and chocolates... when it is not overdone.

 

We have one neighbor who puts every lighted and blow up decoration known to man in his yard. This annoys me.

 

I am also slightly annoyed at myself and my own expectations. I am annoyed that I have to make an issue of money and can't just spend on others as the spirit moves me. I am annoyed at all the extra cleaning and cooking that I feel obligated to do, with no help and often no thanks. I am annoyed that I get annoyed at all these silly things. :-P

[FaithManor]

Commercialism, Commercialism, Commercialism

 

The people willing to kill pedestrians for a parking spot closer to the door.

 

Traffic

 

The general rudeness of other shoppers.

 

The pressure from family and friends to attend a lot of events and of course, one must always bring food to these events and it has to be "special" food....you know...the cook likes the "grinch" if a plain bowl of green beans arrives at the hostess's house. Then your a grinch if you turn down all of the events.

 

The church calendar is INSANE and a lot of people in church think this is necessary. Tons of special programs and special music. It's all well and nice for the people who aren't in the choir or on worship team or THE LONE PIANIST WHO CAN PLAY DIFFICULT MUSIC WHO ATTENDS THAT CHURCH! So, if I say "NO" to anything musical, I'm the bad guy. ARGH! I said "no" several times for the upcoming season so I suppose that I should arrive on the first Sunday of Advent wearing a Grinch costume.

 

For the record, I refused to accompany the choir this year because it's two practices every week plus Sundays. I refused to provide banquet music for the church Christmas dinner which my family has no desire to attend. I refused to direct the children's Christmas program and for the first time in a decade, I am not putting together a handbell choir program for Christmas Eve. Actually, except for Sunday mornings and Wednesday night worship team practice, I'm off the hook musically speaking this year but of course, certain individuals in the church are having a real snit about it. TOOOOOOOO BADDDDDDDD BAAAAAH HUUUUUM BUUUUUUG!

 

Easter is my favorite holiday. I get energized about Easter. So, they'll get some music out of me then.

 

Faith

[HollyDay]

Grumpy crowds at the store. I love the holidays, but nothing spoils a good shopping day faster than grumpy, fussy, down-right-mean shoppers.

 

churches that close for Christmas.

 

same commercials over and over again.

 

same Christmas music over and over again - usually Santa Baby

 

traffic and rude drivers.

[MamaT]

Extended family demanding we buy gifts for EVERYONE. I'm buying for kids whose name I don't even know. Having to drag all that cr*p all the way to Florida, and then dragging their cr*p back just to put in Goodwill bags.

 

Mostly that. My best friend calls me The Grinch. I don't care. If I could do the holidays my way, I wouldn't hate it so much.

[Mejane]

The whole holiday season from T'giving to NYE has become forced, imo. I especially hate driving three hours each way to spend Xmas day with dh's family, who do nothing but sit and eat all day. If we could just stay at home I'd still hate it, but not nearly as much. ;)

[jec3113]

Last Christmas my brother and SIL gave me an electric soap dispenser. REALLY! After all these years that's all you could think of to give me? This year I emailed SIL and told her we would only be buying for kids. I am no longer interested in exchanging with these people. This same brother decided several months ago that he would cut us off b/c he doesn't like it that we homeschool, that the kids have never been in daycare, that they are smart, that our house is bigger than theirs with only one income, etc. You get the picture. I hate it that I even have to spend the afternoon with these people just to make my mother happy who by the way, blames me for my brother cutting us off. Go figure...

 

BAH HUM BUG!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Not having close family and friends to share the holidays. This is the worst time of year for me and the constant reminders of how everyone has too many gatherings to attend and things to do makes me sad because my little family is so far from grandparents and other family and with DH's work schedule we can never make plans because we don't know when he will be home.

[bugs]

That so many people "have to" spend Christmas someone else's way. :grouphug:

 

That every weekend gets filled with one activity or another before Thanksgiving rolls around.

 

That we get all the yummy cookies and other treats in just one month! Can't we have a cookie exchange in March? Hmmm....there's an idea.

[OnTheBrink]

I hate that it comes up on me so fast and is gone before I know it!

 

I hate that there is so much division in my family. My dad and is wife are in CA, so we never see them for the holidays. My mother is a whack job and chooses to be a complete donkey, so there's no point in trying to have a holiday with her. My brother is my mother's puppet, so he and his weird wife are out. We usually spend the holidays with EX (primarily for dd's sake).

 

The shopping, etc, doesn't bother me at all. It's being so alone at the holidays that's depressing.

 

DD cries for lack of normal family. :crying:

[Laurie4b]

I love observing Advent and celebrating the birth of Christ. I am very involved in our church's Christmas Eve service by directing the dramatization of the Scripture. I like being with my family on Christmas morning and our tradition of 3 gifts per child.

 

I hate the forced gift-giving. I don't like getting gifts I don't need (and really I feel like I have what I need. So many gifts go to the thrift store after I've kept them long enough to assuage the guilt of taking them to a thrift store!) I don't like buying them for people who don't need anything. I don't object to gifts per se but I hate having to buy something just to buy something.

 

I hate shopping.

 

I hate getting tons of baked goods. Dh and I are both overweight. Why do people give goodies to fatties? :)

 

I hate too many parties to go to.

 

I hate white elephants.

[Diane1]

Moms asking other moms what they're getting their kids for Christmas....it's none of their business and it shows 'keeping up with the Jones''

[Cinder]

For me the worst part is the Traffic. There are certain roads I refuse to drive on during the holidays. I usually avoid them anyway, but during the holidays it's three times as bad.

 

A close second is the song "Christmas Shoes." Ugh!

 

Cinder

[Annabel Lee]

All the talk about how it is a holiday to celebrate Christ and the little time actually devoted to focusing on Him.

 

The non-stop Christmas commercials aimed at getting you to buy the new "must-have" item.

 

I like many things about Christmas, but sadly, some of the above issues overshadow my enjoyment of the season.

 

:iagree:This. The materialized, commercialization of it. The junky, made-in-China, plastic toys marketed aggressively to kids, the stupid commercials urging us to "get more santa power", the word "gift" being used as a verb, loads and loads of Christmas lights left on 24/7 needlessly eating up precious energy... I could go on but I'll spare you all.

 

It would only cost a tiny fraction of what Americans alone spend on Christmas junk to set up everyone in the world with clean drinking water. And THAT, IMHO, would be a much more appropriate expression of what Christmas is really about. Check out Advent Conspiracy on Facebook - it's not a right-wing conspiracy theory website; it's about doing things that really matter instead of what modern culture currently pushes.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do love Christmas. I just don't like what it's morphed into.

[Nakia]

I hate that it comes up on me so fast and is gone before I know it!

 

I hate that there is so much division in my family. My dad and is wife are in CA, so we never see them for the holidays. My mother is a whack job and chooses to be a complete donkey, so there's no point in trying to have a holiday with her. My brother is my mother's puppet, so he and his weird wife are out. We usually spend the holidays with EX (primarily for dd's sake).

 

The shopping, etc, doesn't bother me at all. It's being so alone at the holidays that's depressing.

 

DD cries for lack of normal family. :crying:

 

:grouphug:

[woolybear]

 

People who assume that since you don't do anything for the holidays you are willing to watch all their pets with very little notice.

 

.:glare:

 

People who assume that since you don't do anything (ie. you homeschool) you are available to _______. (Fill in the blank--bake cookies, host holiday events, have overnight guests).

[woolybear]

For some reason, despite not spoiling them, one ds can act very spoiled about Christmas presents. Also, same said son gets so excited about any holiday, that he can actually spoil the fun of it by being too wild/excited/whatever. Ahem....this would apply to Thanksgiving as well.:glare: Was there a holiday today?

[jec3113]

Was there a holiday today?

 

 

Unfortunately there was....

[jec3113]

For some reason, despite not spoiling them, one ds can act very spoiled about Christmas presents. Also, same said son gets so excited about any holiday, that he can actually spoil the fun of it by being too wild/excited/whatever. Ahem....this would apply to Thanksgiving as well.:glare: Was there a holiday today?

 

 

Unfortunately.......there was.

[woolybear]

Getting on a roll here.....

 

(And I have not read all you humbugger's other responses so excuse me if I'm repeating.)

 

---The holiday getting stretched out longer and longer. Our neighbors hung their Christmas lights before Halloween. Michael's Craft store was playing Christmas songs before Thanksgiving. I commented on it and all the workers rolled their eyes and said the music has been played since the beginning of November.

[Murphy101]

People who bring their sick kid to the feast and then get annoyed when you dont want to be near them.

 

People who don't say anything to their kid for running around the house and jumping, hitting, kicking on your kids - but act shocked when your gets after three hours of it threaten to lay the kid flat if he does it again and you just smile.

 

And no, two of my kids weren't saints and it is apparent I am not a perfect mother myself. My opinion does not mean I think I'm better than you or that my kids do not ever act up.

[Murphy101]

Office parties

 

Family gatherings where no one actually visits. They just hover in front of the tv or various electronic gadgets.

[WarriorMama]

Family 'Christmas parties' that go like this: men sit watching whatever sport they can find on television. Children play video games in the basement. Women stand in the kitchen eating snack food and either complaining or comparing horror stories.

 

Festive.

[Mom0012]

Family 'Christmas parties' that go like this: men sit watching whatever sport they can find on television. Children play video games in the basement. Women stand in the kitchen eating snack food and either complaining or comparing horror stories.

 

Festive.

 

Or even worse . . . Men watching television/napping, children playing video games in the basement, women slaving over food preparation and cleanup for 10 hours straight (while sharing horror stories and complaining).:)

 

Lisa

[asta]

Our church never offering a Christmas Eve service because the staff says everyone wants to be with their family.:glare:

 

Must not be RC.

[sheryl]

1. Jingle Bell Rock (yuck, finger in mouth)

 

2. Well meaning relatives NOT taking suggestions on gifts for YOUR child. My sister asked what size my dd is wearing. I APPRECIATE her generosity, but my dd does NOT need clothes right now. She has enough clothes and they will NOT fit into her already small closet.

 

I suggested that we prefer IF family so feels inclined to buy gifts...to give a gift card.

 

Now, I've always been of the mind set that they are mindless, take little thought or effort. HOWEVER, I'm changing my opinion "some". For an 11 yo turning 12 it gives them a little responsibility to make that "purchase decision". They can buy what they want/need...their preference/choice.

 

Anyway, she did NOT take my suggestion.

 

Relatives who believe in spending a ton of money on gifts. I don't practice that. It's not the meaning/message of Christmas I want to teach. A small $5-10 gift card is more than sufficient.

 

3. My dd's aunt misspelling her name since BIRTH and writing it on a gift tag.

[asta]

Hmmm...

 

Christmas is supposed to be about Christ. If you're not into Christianity... um... why are you celebrating it? Perhaps Yule or Festivus or something? Can you tell the whole commercialization is stuck in my craw?

 

Presents. Gack.

 

Nuts in a shoe. Oranges in a stocking. Jammies and a Robe. Done now.

 

Huge "family" gatherings: We made a new family when we got married, thankyouverymuch. We'll visit if we happen to be in town if we have time and no one is sick or tired, but otherwise? We're not doing the holiday shuffle.

 

 

a

[Nicole M]

In our Costco the Christmas stuff was out the first week of September!!!

 

Did you see the life-sized Nutcracker? I was strangely attracted to it, in a morbidly fascinated sort of way.

 

Think of all the gags you could stage with that thing! Those people who ask you at the last minute to feed their pets while they are gone? You could put it in the middle of their living room, so when they got home, you could scare the behoozie out of them. So many evil things one could do!

 

See. Costco brings out the worst in me.

[Murphy101]

Did you see the life-sized Nutcracker? I was strangely attracted to it, in a morbidly fascinated sort of way.

 

Think of all the gags you could stage with that thing! Those people who ask you at the last minute to feed their pets while they are gone? You could put it in the middle of their living room, so when they got home, you could scare the behoozie out of them. So many evil things one could do!

 

See. Costco brings out the worst in me.

 

 

LOL. My dh once worked with a guy who had the misfortune of admitting to the office that he has a fear of garden knomes. He was known for being rather difficult to work with and one birthday he went to bed and in the quiet of the night all the employees in the dept brought various garden gnomes and arranged them all over his from and back yards. :D

[WarriorMama]

Or even worse . . . Men watching television/napping, children playing video games in the basement, women slaving over food preparation and cleanup for 10 hours straight (while sharing horror stories and complaining).:)

 

Lisa

 

Ah, you have these fun-filled events too, huh? Who could resist that kind of raring good time? ;)