Christmas decorations

Sincerely, good luck with your festivities Maggie. I suffer with SAD and had ghastly Christmas times as a child. We have evolved our own, low key couple of days which seems to work OK.

I’m really sorry to hear that, oldbatty. I know I’m an odd one out looking forward to Christmas, but I still do, even though we won’t have the family with us. And we don’t spend much at all. It seems that more people dislike Christmas than like it these days.

Thanks Maggie.

FYI, the word Santasdoes not have an apostrophe when used as a plural, only as a possesive noun, 'Santa's sack'.

*Santas does.

We look forward to lots of fun and cosy meals lovingly prepared for seldom seen friends. No religion, no decorations, no discord, just special gatherings.

I love Christmas, but not in October.....or November. I much prefer to see festive decorations in December. Months of them simply "devalue" the whole festive season for me.

I quite like Christmas but I do feel that the older I get, the more cynical I become. The religious meaning of Christmas seems to a large extent to have been forgotten, which for those who are not religious is fine, but the central message of Christmas ‘peace and goodwill to all men’ is a message that those of all beliefs and of no belief would do well to remember.
The commercial side of Christmas seems to have grown and grown since I was a child. I find this rather distasteful, a cynical attempt by business to manipulate our love for and feelings for our nearest and dearest, the implication being the more we spend the more we love them. I have heard it claimed that the earlier the Christmas products appear in the shops, the more money they make, and presumably the more the gullible think Christmas is just around the corner. I prefer not to see Christmas lights in private homes till at least December, and I would prefer not to see Christmas lights and products in the shops till at least mid November.

I think the central message is still there, maddie. Lots of charity events and collections, organisations offering shoe boxes to fill. Round here we’re doing the reverse Advent calendar, putting one item a day in a box for the local food bank. Some of us are doing that early, in November or even October, to spread the donations. It’s very sad and shocking that this is necessary, but I do think people are more aware and more generous than ever. I’m a bit of a Pollyanna though.

Is this the Britain we are becoming?
Men abuse disabled child and baby before punching mother in Manchester hate crime independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/… is this the Britain we are today creating? There must be plenty of cctv footage and witnesses of these thugs? The hatred and poisonous racism in our society is due to a sickness we rarely saw before Brexit. How do we cure it?

Stop being a kill joy

Said the kettle to the pot.....

Maddyone I echo your sentiments exactly.
My irritation at the commercialism is not helped by articles such as this one! 300 presents!!
www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/family/this-obscene-single-mum-branded-11689360

I don't mind any amount of Christmas lights, though I agree October's rather early! Once the clocks change, I love the lights brightening up the increasingly dark afternoons, never mind the long dark evenings, and hate it when they're all gone in early January, which can be dreary enough anyway.

I often wonder why people hate or dislike Christmas. Yes, it's all over commercialised, but you don't have to buy into that. Did all the haters have miserable Christmases as children, or subsequently, or did a close relative die at Christmas, or what?

Witzend I had wonderful, magical and very loving Christmas times as a child. But the Christmas festival was magical because I went to bed on 23 Dec and woke up to find the home decorated and the tree up! On Christmas Eve we visited grandparents and exchanged gifts. Christmas day was Father Christmas presents in a stocking , church, lunch and a special present from under the tree. Boxing Day was for extended family or friends who came to us or vice versa. Decorations disappeared for 12th night! Things that are made to go on for too long become mundane and, for me, lose the specialness.

Our Xmas at home was like this, Witzend.
But I have gone off it in the last few years.

(A thought. There is a lot more wrong with society that this?)

I have a half Christmas tree which sits on the wall and takes up no space at all,its all packed away with trimmings every year,to gether with some favourite Christmas ornaments and a real Tree in our front garden that is all we do with regards to decorations to the house,they go up on 15th December my eldest son's birthday and come down on 12th night.
We enjoy the festive season but it is creeping in earlier every year.

I agree with you David1968. Christmas decorations should be kept for December and NOT be taken down until Twelfth Night. People seem to forget that Christmas Eve is the START of Christmas and it ENDS on Jan 6th!

Outside lights up and on 1st December, I still decorate all downstairs, hall stairs and landing. I have a small Christmas tree in the dining room which will go up first weekend in December, and a big real tree in the lounge which will be brought in around 14th December.

I absolutely love Christmas, the Christian message especially the crib service on Christmas Eve at our local church with some of my GC, the shops look beautiful, even the naff Christmas films which are on the film channels.

I have never liked New Years Eve, even when young, I have no idea/reason why either.

Love Christmas, but lights all over the garden- so vulgar.

I totally agree with hilly and David. I love Christmas and do my best to keep it really special. Advent, celebrates the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas Day and is a time of waiting and preparing so we make or buy decorations and food and plan out festivities. Christmas truly begins on the 25th although I do decorate the house around about the 23rd in readiness. I love the excitement of it all but don't think I could stay excited for a whole month if I decorated at the beginning of December.

A family on my street don't do a thing to their house all year,filthy net curtains,rubbish outside etc.Yet come December,they have pretty lights all round the lounge,they manage to hang them up.Or maybe they just leave them up all year,as some people have said.Each to their own,if they enjoy it.

I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday! Here in the US, people start decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is the fourth Thursday in November. By Jan 6th (Feast of the Epiphany) it's all over.....(sigh).

etheltbags1: I thought the first lot of lights were for Diwali but the ones I saw today were belonging to British people.
I think that most people who celebrate Diwali in this country are British too.

I am no longer a churchgoer but Christmas for me is about the traditions, making mincemeat and puddings and cake , carols and other Christmas music and remembering and keeping in touch with old friends and far flung members of the family. Like PECS and several others, I like decorations to go up just before Christmas Eve and down on 12th Night. The remains of the cake keep me cheerful into January - no one else really likes it but me.