I think that most of us here take from it what we want, and choose to disengage from all the commercial hype for the “perfect Christmas “.
However, having said that, the pressures many are faced with via tv, radio, internet, social media, family and friends, etc, can mean that for many, Christmas becomes what it shouldn’t - a competition to “provide the best” ( or else what will our relatives/friends think?) and an unnecessary worry.
The over hyping and over commercialisation of Christmas, which is geared towards encouraging us to spend more and more in order to reach this mythical “perfection”, (with everyone sitting happily around an over laden table, having a fantastic time with loved ones, opening lots and lots of expensive gifts), causes so much angst for so many people and often causes family rifts (which is completely contrary to the message of the birth of Jesus, ironically), and encourages so many to go into such debt in order to achieve the impossible, is the very sad side of what should be a very special time.