Sunday 18 December 2016
Christmas Hates
If you love Christmas and everything that goes with it, don’t read on. I am feeling grumpy. A list of my favourite hates might just make me feel better:
Mince Pies, hot, cold, or tepid, with or without cream.
Christmas cake, the stuff that sticks to your teeth like cement
Christmas Pudding with or without Brandy butter
(in fact, anything that’s overloaded with dried fruit)
Mulled Wine, mulled cider, mulled apple juice. Mulled anything.
Overcooked turkey
Full plates
Tinny carols in shops
Charity tins rattling in my face
Kids at the door singing a fraction of a carol and expecting instant largesse
Flickering Christmas lights on the front of houses
Overdone decorations anywhere, full stop
Smelly Santas in grottoes
Rain on Christmas Day
Round robins from anyone, particularly the boastful kind
Stampeding shoppers
Forgetting to buy batteries for kids’ toys
Having to be nice to people you can’t stand the sight of at any other time of year
Calling Christmas X-mas
Forgetting to buy vital items like lemons and indigestion pills
Indigestion
Watching a growing pile of gifts you will have to exchange after Christmas
People who give you a receipt with their gift to make the exchange easier
Christmas Specials on TV of programmes I never watch at any other time
and
Feeling grumpy when everyone else is having a jolly good time.
Do you have a similar list?
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Kids come to your door singing? That sounds so nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteMince pie. Hmm. No idea what that is, but it sounds like meat, which sounds gross. So I'm with you-- Boo, mince pie!
Fa la la la la...
Maybe you should celebrate Festivus (for the rest of us) instead!
;-)
DeleteYes I agree with many on the list.
ReplyDeleteDon't celebrate this farcical and tragic holiday. I do Solstice. Coming of the Light. Recommend.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
No, I don't...
ReplyDeleteI don't get out much, but if I did my list would be similar:)
ReplyDeleteChristmas seems to spin around ever faster. I now understand why some people do not take their lights off the house.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to put the energy into decorating the house but luckily we have four grandchildren who still feel the magic and it makes me nostalgic for times past with loved ones near and far. We do not participate in the excesses of the season.
So Friko, I am grateful for everything. Nothing to add to your list.
Hope soon that joy will enter your heart once again.
Regards to all Janine
So on
An interesting list.
ReplyDeleteThis grumpy old woman would add the fact that Christmas hype starts in September. And that hot cross buns will hit the shops before the New Year.
Friko, I agree with most of the dislikes you list, but admit that there are about five or so items on the list that I quite enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSince returning from my short London stay, I've been very occupied with making things and baking things for others, and enjoying looking at some cyclamen and a Christmas cactus that seem to be holding on to their good health.
Tonight I will be visiting with my former workmates, and I look forward to seeing them. I don't miss work, but they were a great bunch to see on a regular basis.
xo
'Smelly Santas in grottoes'...you conjure up a wonderful vision of gas masked mothers and children queuing at the entrance, bearing canaries in cages before them...
ReplyDeleteNo such list yet in my life, but I am guessing my time will come. All of the above are annoyances ( a few are mind) and I certainly respect your honesty. Shrug your shoulders, pull out your favorite food and remember we all love reading your blog...or we would not be here.
ReplyDeleteOne year, I was enlisted by an old employer to help make numerous batches of Christmas cake. Just thinking about applying all that icing still makes me shudder a bit. I think because Christmas pud' & mince pies are so scarce around these parts that I'm never sick of 'em. -wouldn't mind Santa dropping some off under the tree.
ReplyDeleteHearing Christmas songs (or songs now associated with Christmas) on heavy rotation are liable to drive me a bit batty.
The lure of Christmas in fall for purely commercial purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe awkwardness of unwanted gifts. (FedEx delivered a pear pie, one of Oprah's Favorite Things. Next day I brought it over to the shelter. Have not yet given my thanks to the donor.)
The awkwardness of being an atheist living in overwhelmingly Christian environment, feeling more, not less resentful as time goes by.
I will leave it at that, while I always enjoy a dose of reality coming from you, thanks.
Sorry you are grumpy, but you are not alone.
ReplyDeleteMince pie, Christmas pudding, Fruitcake are all on my list, so I just avoid them. I'll make a fruitcake for my husband who enjoys it, but never touch it myself. I love the twinkling lights, but not the plastic blow up figures. Still, I love this season!
ReplyDeleteThe full-on Christmas sales pitch that starts two months in advance.
ReplyDeleteThe onslaught of perfume adverts on French TV, as if there's nothing else you could possibly offer.
(Perfume ads at any time of year, actually)
Santas in shopping malls
Snow-less Christmases
Santas hanging from upper-story windows
Wrapping presents (should be near the top of the list)
The state of the kitchen after cooking Christmas dinner
Grumpy you might be, but you're still funny. xoxo
It is a family get together occasion for us, so I am not too grumpy about it. I don't give receipts with gifts, but I do keep them if someone wants to change something. Kris Kringle for family gifts has made life a lot easier.
ReplyDeleteHi Friko - it can certainly be repetitive ... thankfully I encourage sausage rolls, as well as mince pies for the groups I go to ... which makes me feel slightly better. X-mas I positively dislike ... and yes I could go on - but then we have Christmas and should be really grateful compared to so so many. Take care and enjoy those walks in your wonderful landscape ... cheers (if I'm allowed to!) ... Hilary
ReplyDeleteI am with you on the mince pies.
ReplyDeleteI always put a gift receipt (without the price) in the present box. I am buying for teenagers and know matter how hard I try, I know I will get it wrong.
Well, a few things come to mind - the people that are nice at Christmas only....supposedly the world becomes a nicer place and then its gone. People who bully cashiers in lineups and those who leave their lights on their houses all year....whats up with that. Mince Pie - don't understand the liking of that sufff?? Personally, I like Christmas, but I did get a laugh out of Sandi's comment - "Festivus" made me laugh and took me back down memory lane to the funny "Gerry Seinfeld's - show about nothing hit series". "Festivus" was a funny episode.
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to make a hot rum punch that would cheer you right up, especially if you had a second cup. A third? You'd be out in the yard stringing lights. You'd like my fruitcake, too. It's nothing more than apricots, dates, and pecan halves, with just enough batter to hold things together. No candied fruit, which I'm convinced is a tool of the devil.
ReplyDeleteBad, bland muzak and blow-up yard figures get to me, but I can mostly avoid the music. I don't like the X-mas business, either, but that's because most people who use it don't have a clue what it means.
Amen Sister! Being sensible and childless couple with few friends in our new enviorns, we are even more able to enjoy the madness from a distance. And mostly we enjoy NOT participating in the things you mentioned. "What did you do for Christmas?" Well, I suppose we might just go for Chinese on the day in New York Jewish fashion. Wishing you a much more than tolerable Fire Rooster year ahead, my friend. Warmly,
ReplyDeleteI used to really hate christmas. I was raised christian though I no longer believe in that theology and don't do religion, any religion, in general. as a child it was of course exciting and magical. as a teen it had become a dreaded two days of forced sappy familial love. none of which any of us felt. I married a jew and we raised our kids jewish and I did do holiday stuff then but only until the kids grew up. so I don't do any christmas anything and haven't for over 40 years...no decorating, no tree, no lights, no special cooking, no long list of people I have to buy gifts for (except for the grandkids who are now old enough that all they want if money) that I can't afford. back to hating christmas...it starts quietly creeping in before Halloween and gets a little louder before Thanksgiving and after that is is full blown for 5 weeks, it's everywhere, in your face at all times, the phony cheerfulness, the very idea that some tragedy in someone's life is worse if it happens at christmastime just pisses me off, the constant christmas music everywhere you go, the rude crowds of shoppers. there wasn't anything about this time of year I liked to the point that I stayed home as much as possible. I've mellowed out about it in the last 5 years or so though. it's still not something I participate in but it doesn't make me grumpy anymore. there is one thing I like about this time of year though. I do enjoy people's outdoor lights but I hate those tacky blow up yard figures.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. The Christmas inventory is already out on store shelves long before Thanksgiving, The overdone Christmas decorations on homes are not meaningful or attractive. Imagine all the people who might eat with the money spent on all that junk. I especially deplore the inflatable plastic. Most of the time that plastic looks like trash strewn on the ground. I prefer silence over the intercom when I shop. Not loud music, Christmas or any other kind.
ReplyDeleteOur grown grandchildren have everything they want. All they have to do is tell their parents they want it, and they have it, the latest iPhone, a new laptop, etc. Last year Christmas had evolved to an exchange of cash on all sides. Pointless.
This year, the whole season has become even more of a charade. I mean. How can a society that has allowed Donald Trump to be prospective leader of this country even pretend to believe in the tenets of Christianity? Their ideas ----deny abortions, but when babies come, no welfare; allow all to have assault rifles, but pray for the victims who are killed as a result; no minimum wage, but asinine pay for CEO's. There is a house on our street with a large cross over the front door, and a large red "no trespassing" sign just beside that same door. Seems irrational to me. It's been years since I have enjoy d Christmas. This year is the worst yet.
I don't hate anything much anymore. It takes too much energy and accomplishes nothing. I do, however, find people in a hurry a painful reminder of the lack of gratitude around here.
ReplyDeleteRemembering those leaving Aleppo tends to get me off the pity pot.
Maybe I enjoy it because I don't go anywhere and can do as I please and avoid all the shoppers and such. I appreciate the twinkling lights and the Christmas music, but agree with you on the rest of the list. We don't eat the same foods or have carolers expecting handouts--so I don't have to deal with those things. It's just myself and Miss Karma and peace and joy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI let it all flow past me, and just enjoy the bits I like. So long as nobody expects me to go to a shopping mall!
ReplyDeleteMany of these things aren't found in America, and since I have few friends or relatives, that also eliminates some of the problems.
ReplyDeleteFunny approach, Friko! A bit unexpected to hear so many hates at Christmas. (Had to check myself not to write it as abbreviation)))
ReplyDeleteI dislike shrieking “special offers” and discounts, but “hate” is too strong a word.
Let me wish you a LOVEly holiday, with nice people around and welcome gifts. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Hamlet's quote above is a miracle, thank you!
ReplyDelete'tis the season of blown fuses , Justin Bieber carols and bread sauce .
ReplyDeleteBut it's quite a good way to brighten up the end of December gloom .
We have a number in common but tops on my hates is Xmas. Good grief. Spell it out! And shopping.
ReplyDeleteUNDERSTAND
ReplyDeleteMUCH OF THIS
AND COULD ALMOST SMILE
AND WHEN I LOOK AT MY BRUISED FACE
FROM FALL
I AM THANKFUL
NOTHING BROKEN
BUT SAD..
Ich mag Weihnachten auch nicht mehr ! Würde am liebsten für diese Zeit auswandern dahin wo die Sonne scheint und ich keinen Weihnachtskrempel sehe ! Früher war's mal schön aber seit mein Enkel geboren wurde vor 6 Jahren ist es ein Alptraum !! Frohe Weihnachten !!
ReplyDeletei love christmas so my list is short:
ReplyDeleteI hate when i ask people how their holidays are shaping up and they answer by how their gift shopping is going. as if that's the most important thing….
happy holidays, friko, i hope there is joy tucked into the corners.
love
kj
Luckily for me, many of the things you dislike aren't a part of our Christmas -- the food items, for example.
ReplyDeleteI mainly dislike how, over here, Christmas begins so early -- and that awful Christmas music is in the stores.
But I wish for you all the joys of the season, wherever they may be!
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas, but most of the things on your list are pretty unappealing, I have to admit. I do like lights on houses, though, and I love mulled wine and mulled cider.
ReplyDeleteI hate to spend much time in the kitchen before Christmas, this year I didn't cook my favorite pudding, Friko and I am sorry.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a Merry Christmas and good health in New Year!
A friend to whom I gave holiday greetings said he didn't pay much attention to it and considered it "The Festival of Small Appliances." Another sent me a card in which a rooster says "Merry Christmas" to a turkey, to which the turkey replies, "f**k you." Both apt, I thought.
ReplyDeleteWe nonetheless wish you and yours a happy Christmas. Much love from us both to both of you, and Millie, too.
My you are in a 'bah humbug' mood aren't you! I can give or take most of your list (no door to door carol singers down here so I'll rule a line through that one) I will say the 'being nice to people' line is my pet peeve hence apart from necessary family ones I don't 'do Christmas gatherings . And Xmas - which I read somewhere is a very old and recognised spelling - makes me cross.
ReplyDeleteChristmas Day for us today was a cold picnic on the shoreline of a near by island
Dare I wish you a Happy New Year Friko - I do hope 2017 is a better one for you and your beloved
There are thosecsweet frtuty things that I have never loved.
ReplyDeleteI find I have low moments but then high ones come back
We've done the head to warm place with our family and enjoed a ready made Christmas style meal. I've hated the stores selling stuff early but then enjoyed a tourist shop of Chrisma goodies in a town in July.
I think my hates are just my own state of mind.
And I love your frankness about yours at this time.
Just a wish for a happy year for you, Friko!
ReplyDeleteI love all those things, except for the desperation. We avoided (?) Christmas this year as we went skiing. But surrounded by all the pre-teenage kids, and their brave parents who (I resume) had lugged all xmas presents to the chalet with them, it was a surreal affair. The cliches of Christmas comfort us - however tedious - and they make us want to run a mile :-).
ReplyDeleteHope your spirits have improved for a happy new year despite much which does not contribute to pleasant thoughts and frelings.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy mince pie if it's truly good mince and not the glorified ones I find here that are little more than raisin pie. Mom made a raisin pie I enjoyed, too. I also like select fruitcake but have only found one acceptable -- no citron, light cake but so full of select candied fruit and pecans can't really find much cake - very moist. There are a lot of really untasty fruitcakes out there so can understand why people don't like them.