It's November 6th and I'm already sick of the holidays!

[Initech]

I'd like to tell the car companies where they can shove their sales events, and Best Buy, Target and Walmart wanting us to spend $100 million on Christmas every year. Anyone else feel the same way?

[gopiscrap]

1. Me too: I hate fucking Christmas

[Initech]

2. I don't hate Christmas.

What I hate is the advertising blitz that happens 2 months before Christmas. Halloween isn't even over for a day and we're already bombarded with Christmas-based advertising. Advertisers think we have $100 million to spend on cars, houses, home improvement crap, babies, pets, kids, video games, computers, and so on. When a $400 item is considered a "stocking stuffer" by advertisers you know it's crazy.

[Luciferous]

21. At my local Walmart they were already putting out Christmas candy the Friday

before Halloween. The garden section has been filled with Christmas decorations for at least a month now. It's absolutely ridiculous!

[Initech]

22. It was so fucking weird going to my Home Depot last week.

And seeing Halloween and Christmas decorations right next to each other. That was a trip!

[wryter2000]

15. Me, too

Around this time of year I start wishing for January

[Bleacher Creature]

3. There's a radio station in my area that switches to play only Christmas music for a month.

Starting around Thanksgiving and going all through Christmas. I only check it out of some morbid need to punish myself. I don't know how there can be that much Christmas music, let alone people who want to listen to that much of it (although in my mind even a second of it is too much!).

[Initech]

6. Thank god for iPods and earbuds!

Listening to your own music makes it so much better!

[Archae]

19. I love Pandora.

I can put on the "Trans-Siberian Orchestra" channel, and lots of good Christmas tunes.

No Dean Martin of Frank Sinatra and their "Las Vegas Christmas" that has all the real warmth of a 1-watt bulb.

[True Dough]

4. Christmas is overrated

People should be striving to do good deeds daily or at least weekly, and it doesn't have to involving giving material things to others (or even the needy). There are plenty of ways to give time or lend your talents that can benefit others.

The crass commercialism of the Christmas holidays is stomach-churning.

[FSogol]

5. I like Christmas, but I've learned to tune out all the commercialism.

I do a lot of baking to give away, throw a turkey in the smoker, and spend time drinking with close friends.

Screw Lexus, jewelry companies, and Walmart.

[blueinredohio]

7. I don't hate them but I don't look forward to the holidays

I'm just glad when they're over

[msongs]

8. you can get your xmas music fix at Macy's already nt

[genxlib]

9. I'm with you

Fucking hate it.

In general, I hate the pressure and expectation that goes with gift giving. I am generous and would gladly spend double what a gift cost to make people happy. But I actually care if people like what I give them so it is agonizing trying to decide what that should be. Fighting crowds to wander aimlessly through a store hoping for divine inspiration is my definition of hell.

Over the years, I have gradually shed the expectation of gift exchanges with a lot of people. But every year, somebody decides to start some new obligation. Argh!

If it weren't for the additional time off, it would be unbearable. But 4 holidays in 5 weeks does help the sanity.

People say I am a grinch but I think I am just a realist. I truly believe that the vast majority of people hate it deep down inside. But societal pressure has told us that we are supposed to be happy during the holidays so people put on these ghastly forced grins and try to bear it.

[Initech]

13. What I really hate is the commercialism.

The advertisers once again are making Christmas unbearable. When they have people unwrapping $2500 flat screen TVs, video game consoles and then there's a new Mercedes with a giant bow on it waiting outside for them, it's a slap in the face to those of us who aren't billionaires or treat our companies like our personal piggy banks.

And I think a lot of it has to do with Fox News and their bullshit "culture war" - you did not see this happening 10 years ago, it's only a recent thing and I feel like it gets worse every year.

[underpants]

10. Mmmmmmmmele Kalikimaka

[Thirties Child]

11. We are downsizing, sure don't need any upsizing gifts.

We give pieces from our art collection to our children and adult granddaughters, have agreed with friends and sisters no more gift exchanges, we're all too old to need anything, much less find a place for it. Last year we spent maybe $25 for a tiny tree and tiny lights and another $100 for a beef tenderloin at Costco. We had a nice Christmas dinner and several great subsequent dinners out of the tenderloin. This year I put $100 in our daughter's American bank account, which she will convert to pounds and give what's left to our teen-aged grandsons to spend as they will. I ordered a couple of mysteries to give Mr. Thirties and have bought a book for him to give me. And that's Christmas at Casa Thirties. Costs very little, no tension and lots of good cheer.

Mr. Thirties has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia--think Robin Williams. Lewy has in turn caused multiple small strokes, which in their turn have caused short-term memory loss. I ordered a book for myself and will tell him he got it for me. It works out well, particularly since we both love books.

[underpants]

12. Yes BUT in our house it's time for....

The caller with the saddest lovelost story gets Whitney's "I will always love you" dedicated to them.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. I was about to start a thread on that.

Saturday, or yesterday maybe, I saw my first L*x*s "December to Remember" sales event ad of the season. A few minutes later, I saw my second one.

The car had a huge red bow on the the grille, as a moppet just about burst into tears at all the joy this represented.

There's not much advertising I detest more than this.

[hibbing]

20. That one has always been the most obnoxious n/t

[Iggo]

16. First company I see before Thanksgiving that hits me with xmas commercials gets non of my xmas money

Not counting luxury car companies or diamond dealers, of course.

This year, it's ebay.

[crazycatlady]

17. At least with ebay

Your money is mostly going to the independent sellers.

Not the same with say Walmart.

[Iggo]

18. True.

And eBay really is about the early shopping anyway.

Last year it was Target. Lol...that one hurt. But I stuck to my guns.

[zanana1]

23. Christmas will suck this year.

This will be my first Christmas alone. My husband died last month. We were married for 38 years. I thought I'd go first and that he'd live forever. I have too many Christmas memories with him.
I don't want a tree, I don't want Christmas music and I don't want to go to Christmas parties. I want to pretend Chirstmas doesn't exist.

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. ..

[GallopingGhost]

26. I'm so sorry.

I lost my sibling a few days before Christmas some years back and it's really hard. Take care of you.

[MFM008]

30. After my dad died

I thought the world would never be right again.
Be gentle on yourself.

[GallopingGhost]

25. I guess I'm different.

I love Christmas and all our traditions that go along with it. We completely ignore everything Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Our Christmas starts early December.

We only watch each Christmas special and movie one time, just like when we were kids. It was on network TV and if you missed it, that was it until next year. Kids today don't cherish the specials because they know they can watch them anytime they want.

I do most shopping online to avoid the crowds. We set an amount to spend and that's it. Church, candles, homemade cookie plates to the neighbors, eggnog, piano. We refuse to buy into the craziness. We decorate the tree as a family. And every Christmas Eve everyone gets to unwrap one gift, which they all know is a new pair of pajamas and an ornament

I agree about the push to rush Christmas, though. It's any holiday, really. The day after Christmas I see stores clearing the shelves to put up Valentine's Day displays. It's ridiculous.

[klook]

27. I love Christmas, but

I hate it that my local government puts up Christmas decorations all over town IMMEDIATELY after Halloween. I know the local business association wants to boost retail sales, but that is WAY too soon.

I also absolutely hate it that Costco (a store I love for many reasons) inflicts Christmas products -- and especially Christmas MUSIC -- on customers starting in the goddamned SUMMER. Arggh, makes me want to move to a Buddhist country.

[Initech]

29. A guy I used to work with used to work for a major name brand department store.

One time we were discussing how early stores put up their Christmas decorations, and he said that said department store started putting them out - IN JUNE. Six months? I couldn't handle that!

[The_Casual_Observer]

28. It's the one time of the year that brings back good childhood memories.

I look forward to the month of December and all the decorations everywhere. I have to say that I ignore the commercials and the nonsense.

[kairos12]

31. I enjoy only Halloween. Is it Halloween yet?

[LW1977]

32. Its the Kay commercials that get me

Santa by jewelry for Mrs. Claus.

Mrs. Claus: “How did you know?”

[Initech]

33. For me it's the Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes ones.

For one thing they show these families living in these gigantic mega mansions with perfect snow backdrops, getting the equivalent of a million dollars in Christmas presents, then the grand finale is a $90,000 car with a giant ribbon on it. Must be nice to be a member of that segment!

The rest of us who can't afford $90,000 cars as Christmas presents have to curse at these commercials for the next month and a half.