To hate every single advertisement that refers to the "perfect" Christmas?

Yep. There's no such thing. Just like there's no such thing as a 'perfect' family or a 'perfect' parent.

Nonsensical marketing hype

I m with you all the way Phoenix can't stand all the slush about Christmas which is often a difficult time for a lot of people

I'm probably being very miserable, but I actually find it quite irresponsible for those unattainable images to be forced on us from summers end onwards.
Its every bit as distasteful to me as the ads showing photoshopped "perfect" women advertising everything but the kitchen sink.

Why take them seriously? I give them the same 'Oh yeah?' regard as I do those ghastly Round Robins full of smug accounts of grossly exaggerated achievements.

I am with Merlot on this.It's just ads after all, we all know that nothing is totally perfect, however some people do have a Christmas that is perfect for them.It may be a big family Christmas or one where you sit watching films and eating pizza ( we all have different takes on perfect after all.)
Why let either ads on tv or articles in magazines get to you?

Not everyone is that strong merlotgran, some people think they should strive for the perfect family Christmas /holiday/home etc. The media does set unrealistic targets, can we see some tatty decorations burnt cake, forgotten presents. Could we see more about helping others at Christmas rather than rampant commercialisation. Not going to happen is it.

I typed...It's just ads, then did the comment preview ( it was fine) then posted the comment and saw the change happen as it altered to it'st ! Does this happen to anyone else or just me?

Yes agree
but its not just christmas
We are pushed through the year by the advertisement machine
Boxing day TV will have perfect family holidays aspirations
Next will come the perfect valentines
Easter. Well the eggs are in shops week after we all had the perfect xmas and so forth...

I prefer to think the bar has been set by the Royal Family. (The other one)

I don't hate it but it is all so boringly predictable isn't it?! It is also hard to take in that people actually try to live up to these unrealistic depictions and get depressed because they can't.
I often think that advertising agencies miss a trick by not using all the disasters which can happen instead of all this unrealistic depiction of perfection. There is often great humour in such a viewpoint.

The advertising and images can make it difficult and painful for anyone struggling with any life event whether holiday, Christmas, meal, birthday or anything else you can think of. I don't hate the images, but I do wish there was a counterbalance.

Watch the very funny The Worst Christmas Of My Life ( Ben Miller) every disaster you can think of.

I think this year, perhaps with the help of quite a lot of GNrs wisdom, I have more easily realised that the "perfect anything" particularly Christmas is not worth pursuing.

Just do the best that you can, have a good time and a good enough meal, however you define that.
If the dog eats the turkey just laugh and eat something else. There will almost certainly be something else to eat in the house. Unless you are on Masterchef or serving a royal banquet it's not worth worrying. All you stressed xmas cooks take heed.

Have got the perfect solution this year - have been invited to DD's for the day - I/we will provide the meat (turkey, gammon, sausages etc.) and the homemade Christmas pudding + crackers - they will provide the veg and the warm welcome into their home. I get to play with DGS (4.5 yrs) and enjoy a home cooked dinner - plus a real fire in the front room - DH totally unstressed (he hates having people round at ours) and a happy time for all. Have cracked it this year but who knows what will happen next year - with two new grandchildren on the horizon in different parts of the country. Looking forward to Christmas 2017 already !!!

Worst advert for me this year is the Tesco ones. So boring and cheap. Not a very dynamic couple anyway but a Christmas advert where Ruth Jones is stood in Tesco thinking? Really? Tedious.

Best one is the one where the cartoon man wants to clone himself and James Corden is singing, a lovely advert.

I am sure there are some families which get together and have a really good time, we used to years ago as a big family. It wouldn't be very festive would it to see adverts with families falling out and couples splitting up, we don't want reality at Christmas, well, I don't anyway, a bit of fairy dust over proceedings will do me nicely thank you.

roses is that the one with Sarah Alexander? If so, yes, that's bloody funny and Ben Miller at his comedy best. Unlike the Ruth Jones/Ben Miller Tesco one which is a travesty and a waste of serious comedy talent....

A bit of fairy dust over proceedings will do me nicely thank you.

Same here, rubylady. When I think about it, most of the Christmas books I'm reading to the DGS at the moment have that magic too. The lovely Shirley Hughes books (Alfie, Lucy and Tom), The Night Before Christmas, etc. It doesn't mean I can't have a laugh when things go wrong, but it's good to have something to aspire to

In reality, the DC had a card made for me depicting the Maggie Family Christmas, along the lines of the Griswold one in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, with things that have happened on our perfect Christmas Days. The exploding pudding, the kitchen ice rink when it was covered with turkey fat, the metal star tree topper that nearly took Nanna out, the time Daddy was carried through the front room on a stretcher.....

Yes gettingonabit that's the one,with Sarah Alexander, if anyone here wants a real laugh at Christmas, I urge you to buy it, and dust it off and watch it every Christmas.

I like the one about the Polish man learning English so he can talk to his little granddaughter.
Can't remember what it was advertising though

Even if they do not use the words - its often implied in the advert that EVERYONE has a house full of friends and relatives all enjoying themselves. If one does the maths - its obvious that on a very simplistic level not everyone can have a house full - all those guests have got to come from somewhere!!

Also nowadays there are so many people working shifts or covering essential services be it health, police or even retail nowadays! There are many people who are also carers or have loved ones in care and they will be tied to that. It adds so much pressure to so many people to imply that everyone is having a happy carefree Christmas with all those they love nearby....its just not achievable. Our own is a very staggered affair - what with jobs, other families (in-laws) etc and elderly relatives we just do the best we can to see each other over the two or three weeks over the Christmas and New Year period....nobody needs the added guilt!

Here is it yggdrasil. I love it too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO6AUFdgcgU

Ads is ads. In Ad world everything is always perfect; families, children home, clothes, job, holidays, sanitary wear, even laxatives. You name it, it is perfect in ad landThat is what advertising is all about.

We are told that consumers are more and more sophisticated in the way they read the media. Christmas advertising, like all the rest rolls over me like water off a ducks back.

If we were all to get lachrymose and upset every time an ad touched somewhere painful what would be left to form the substance of adverts? No families, it would upset those without families, ditto children jobs, slim figures, nice clothes, food, presumably adverts for laxatives might upset those who do not suffer from constipation.

Relax and do your best to live through the next few weeks as best you can.

No I don't hate them. I know it's not real life. We do Christmas our way but sometimes get some ideas from the ads.

I reckon we've had a perfect Christmas if we end the day with nobody dead Sadly the thing that really says "Christmas" to me is the smell of cigar smoke because my grandfather always smoked them at Christmas. Nobody in the family smokes now and I can hardly encourage them to.

I will be spending Christmas alone and all the ads of family and friends having fun means I got a lot of sympathetic looks and comments along the lines of "how sad to be on your own at Christmas". I have always enjoyed Christmas and I will enjoy it this year, just in a different way. I know that when I first get up I will have a few tears missing my DH but then I will remember the good times we had and how he always made me laugh.