Grinch Corner

This is a place for all Grinches or those with a gripe about things festive. Share your dislikes, your annoyances and your stories about why C’m*s is not “the most wonderful time of the year”!

I appreciate that for anyone who really does find this time of year difficult in a deeper way, it is no fun. Please reach out to people you trust or find a support service - and take care.

My intention is that this a lighthearted thread, an outlet to whinging about the social conventions and enforced festive dominance.

Topics to whet your appetite:

Shopping frenzies, festive tat and plastic waste, work parties, presents you don’t want to buy or receive, family quirks, sprouts (just kidding - I love sprouts!)…

 

My gripe is that all the tat takes over shops and even some garden centres in late October. You go in looking for something for the garden especially anything not directly plants. If you can find it at all is confined to a dark inaccessible corner.
I like the day itself, I try to grow as much of the veg for the meal as I can.

 

When we moved to France 17 years ago, Christmas started in mid-December. It was strictly for kiddies as the New Year festivities were aimed at the adults. The French love of/obsession with food gradually took over so that the publicity for spending and eating vast quantities of luxury foods became the be-all and end-all. By the time the 24th came round, I was ready for a slap-up plate of salad with a glass of water It got worse though! As with so many things here, we're belatedly going the same route as UK, so deccies in shops and GCs in October, the big push by shops to encourage people to spend a fortune on presents/new tableware/'festive' clothes, a jolly Christmas market/fayre in every village, you name it..... Then, this being SW France, we've got the added joy of the Brit contributions such as carol services, pantomimes, mince pies, Christmas pudding and cake. Those last three are my particular pet hates. Things that I truly hoped never to have to taste ever again when I emigrated
We're lucky, no kids and hardly any family so no pressure! We spend the festive season with like-minded friends and try to keep the spirit (hic) of celebrating midwinter, doing a tree, inviting neighbours round and just generally ignoring the rest. It helps that we rarely watch TV, either French or English. Also that the French have never cottoned onto the interminable list of Christmas songs still trotted out 50 or more years later in UK.

 

I was in Morrisons yesterday and they had thow throw covers for furniture, only 6 quid so I grabbed one.
Wasn't until I unrolled it I noticed it's got Holly and Christmas pudding designs all over it.
Ben won't mind.

 

I'm not anti Christmas by any stretch but it isn't very special to us as a family anymore. It's the most difficult time of the year to find anything to watch if your not into any of the programmes they put on every year, we aren't into dancing, nuns or foul mouthed cross dressers. We go for a long walk on the beach instead and eat in the evening.

The other thing that's the most annoying, mainly because I worked in retail through 6th form and university, is Christmas songs. They start to early, are on a loop and when their charm has worn off they become insufferable. If you add in rude, sometimes irate customers (anyone who has had to endure the boxing day, non receipt, returns chaos has my sympathy) you'll see its not a jolly old time. I'm really sorry to all those in retail because they don't get a break at all.

Since we have grown up, we don't do Christmas or birthday presents and instead take it in turns to pick a place in the uk to holiday as a family, where the chooser pays for the accommodation that year. It means we get a week all together and nothing that we didn't really want.

 

Great posts so far folks - that’s the spirit!

What are your thoughts on lights, decorations and massive inflatables on the outside of houses?? Presumably it’s the same people who bought the fireworks earlier this month? A few lights to bring warmth = ok, in fact I like seeing them when I’m driving home etc, but big inflatables?!?! Not for me. I have just seen a massive inflatable Grinch though… so a bit torn on whether to approve.

 

Don’t buy a tree that will either have to go in the bin or get squeezed into a corner in the garden, don’t put up decorations that gather dust, don’t make cakes, pies, puddings or anything else to do with being festive. Don’t drink, so no booze to buy, don’t eat meat, so no burnt offerings, don’t send cards, so save a few quid on stamps there. Don’t buy presents. Do send donations to charity. The Day passes and then it’s back to normal.

 

Although there is just the two of us, T'other Half loves his lights and he puts a tree up on 6 December which comes down on the Twelfth Day doing which times he plays Christmas Music and we watch Festive Films. . We don't do presents and don't eat any Christmas food. We normally go for a Chinese by the sea for a meal with a few friends.

 

Every day is like a normal day here, we don't celebrate anything now, we're 2 scrooge's and people mon because we are like it but as we have been push around all our lives we've taken a stand and saud up yours we're doing what we want to do

 

Oh yes they are! Anything with mixed peel in . At a push, a mince pie made with home-made, peel-less mincemeat is just about bearable but I'd still rather have a slice of tarte aux pommes

 

Lights, a tree, deccies....recently optional. Last year was the first time ever that I didn't do a Christmas tree. I love to see garden trees outlined in pretty lights but as we're tucked away out of sight from everyone but our immediate neighbour, there doesn't seem a lot of point covering the place in lights. I love the interior of my house as it is and used to find it depressing taking down deccies in January which gave an impression of dreariness even so.
Always did dislike the commercialism and as we were living on a shoestring here, it was a relief to do away with the expensive, unnecessary present-buying. The French don't 'do' Christmas cards (big relief) so I adopted their custom of sending New Year cards only to people we were unlikely to see in the coming year. Much more sensible! Oh and I've thought of something that I really hate. Round Robin-type newsletters! If 'friends' and rellies can't be bothered to call, message or write during the year, I'm not the least bit interested in a generic account of their and their offsprings' exploits, purchases, relationships et al. I find them downright offensive

 

@noisette47, agree about round robin letters - just an excuse to show off.