Channel 5

totally agree, its annoying even some shops were selling xmas stuff last month grrr

Mahon I agree with you about the shortening of Christmas to Xmas.
It is wrong.
However I do not like children being called "kids"either .
Perhaps I am just a grumpy old woman.

I've not seen anything about Christmas as yet but do love that time of year just not in August! I know the crafters start making their cards and gifts early - I used to do the same - so they are talking about it on the craft channels but for the rest it's far too early. I really wish I had the nerve to tell a friend that we should stop sending each other and our husbands useless presents! I tried it one year but she just said she would still carry on so I've had to do the same. Bah humbug!

Luzdoh

“ Christmas frenzy “ ridicules , must be a nightmare for
Parents .... and put many into financial problems in the
new year ..... tv advertising raises expectations in children
many who seem to have “everything “ any way , and many
don’t know what to ask for . The children’s lists are endless.
The only “ jingle bells “ at Christmas , is at the tills.

While I agree it's too early for Christmas cards to be in the shops and toy adverts on tv too, you probably have to book up really early for Lapland trips to get the best deal. People don't seem to complain so much about all the summer holiday ads which start in January!

The problem is once it starts it can go on and on and on even until February like it did in my area this year.When I observed for sale, in one shop, tins of biscuits depicting snow and reindeers and holly decorated xmas puddings all within their sell by date but at greatly reduced prices. Could these not have been passed on to charities feeding the homeless once xmas day was done and dusted.

Willow 500 , you don’t HAVE to keep up those presents,
if you don’t send a present the first year ,even if your friend sends one , don’t send the following year and I’ll guess , that will end the “ Present “ cycle ! and they will get the message !

This commercialism has totally ruined Christmas for me. I used to love it but not any more. My local shops were putting out the Christmas decorations when I went and the cards were out. I wanted to shout out “ it’s b——y August for heavens sake”. I remember doing the tree on Christmas Eve and we didn’t do any shopping until December. Now it’s all about money and small gifts are looked upon with scorn. I shall be glad when it’s all over, Bah humbug.

Mildly irritating perhaps but 'disgusting' is a strong and rather odd word to use. I haven't personally seen any Christmas displays yet other than a well known craft store, where of course crafters do need to make an early start on projects.
I totally agree that children should be discouraged from demanding 'I want, I want' though, at any time of year!

Oh Granny Rose, what a wonderful idea. You have given me the inspiration to do away with Christmas that seems to only cause me sadness and another day alone. I shall fully embrace having an alternative sort of day.

We've stopped xmas in our house, have family round & meals etc as most on holiday from work. But that's it no tearing round the shops for weeks to buy others things they don't want anyway ! And we enjoy January as we have plenty of money ?
Who the heck is this Santa Claus anyway?? think about it!!! Lying to our kids?? Biggest trick and brainwashing the Worlds ever had!!!
There's only one man I've heard of who wears red and likes to drop into fire ( fireplace)
Research Santa and Christmas your self!!!! Oh! Oh! Oh!
You might wonder what the hell your doing!!!
I won't be reading replies.
But I have told you, it's now up to you if you research what your celebrating!!! Try google and You tube!! xx

Booklady54 I'm glad to have been of help . It was a lightbulb moment for me when I realised that there is no law that we have to observe Christmas!

It's mad. I went into the Range yesterday and all the Halloween stuff is out!! Every year my hubby and I have a competition to spit the earliest Christmas lights. The loser has to take the other out for a meal. He's won this year, he spotted a house with Christmas tree lights on. Of course he had to provide photographic evidence

Granny Rose how ! wish I was brave as you! I must admit that I do Chistmas gift shopping which I find better than the crowds in the stores. I too have a dread of it all. As a child as I remember, shops were shut so Christmas went on for longer than just one day. Sales started on 1st January. These days the sales and summer holiday adverts are on the tv on Christmas Eve also the Easter eggs or being put on the shelves. A couple of weeks ago I went into Tesco and just as I went into the door they had heaps of the well known tubs of Christmas chocolates. Christmas cards out in the Card Factory and the Summer holidays are not even over yet. It's all about money making and should be stopped!

I think its irresponsible to start the pressure all these months before the event.
Its all very well to try and not get caught up in it, but when you have small children, its inevitable.

sharon103 nobody has stopped being friends with me, or seemed upset, because of it. Some have said they wish they had the nerve to do the same.

May be the reason that the actual Christmas Day is a big anti-climax and when lots of families fall out, after such a big lead-up.

I remember watching my grandchildren as kids ripping paper off parcels (of which there were masses) and barely noticing what was in them and then hours later saying they had nothing to do or play with.

The ‘top’ department store here has opened its Christmas shop this week.... hate the idea, far too early!

Its ridiculous!
I think it should be illegal until November.

I fully agree. Who needs to buy Christmas Crackers etc etc 4 months before the event? I went into the Range in Nottingham on 19 August and was greeted by a hideous cackle and a whole display of gory Halloween tat! Why? Do we really need to spend 3 months planning for one night of horror? I can’t stand Back to School displays before the end of term either. Please please let’s enjoy the Summer while it lasts (hopefully it will be back tomorrow!) and stop wishing our lives away. By the time stores have finally removed the last of their Christmas sales stock in February it will have been on the shelves for 7 months - over half a year ! Someone needs to put a stop to all this hype so we can live in the present and not in the future!

The only good thing I could see for Halloween being imported from the USA and becoming big here was that Christmas advertising would be put back a bit. But it seems shops just put away a lot of the stuff we really need to buy and fill the shelves with both!

I have to agree, it is disgusting to target children in August about Christmas... and they are targeting children in order to get sales from pester power, which is why supermarkets used to display sweets and chocolate at the till because pester power works. Most don't now due to parent power.
It's not just toys and Christmas cards, I was in Hobbycraft at the beginning of June and I do mean the beginning.... they had four full ranges of Christmas papercrafting stuff out and I have emailed Hobbycraft, they haven't replied... I told the staff how fed up about it I was and their reply was "Well, papercrafters like to get their cards done early." I am a papercrafter and I don't start mine until October, even my abroad cards. I objected and said that they had lost quite a bit in sales as I would have birthday money to spend and there was nothing new for me to buy except Christmas stuff and I objected to buying Christmas stuff before my birthday had even happened which is at the end of June. Selling Christmas stuff nearly seven months before the day is totally unreasonable and just downright greedy.

I was in Waitrose back in July looking at magazines when a lady suddenly grabbed me and shrieked "Look at this!!!" "This" was a Christmas magazine! The schools hadn't even broken up!

Ridiculous, isn't it? I believe that there's a pub nearby that has a Christmas tree up already which is being used to advertise meals for the festive season. A disgruntled customer walked in, saw it and walked straight back out again, taking their custom elsewhere.

I totally agree about Christmas stuff being too early in the shops, but at the risk of getting told off, I`m just about to order a new Christmas tree, before the choice gets too limited. Ours packed up just as last Christmas was over, and the last time it happened, hubby and I went shopping for a new one in November, and the ones left were rubbish. I won`t be doing any Christmas shopping for quite a while yet though.