Anybody else dislike the holiday season?

[B_Think_Kink]

I dislike buying gifts for people who don't return the favor. So I'll chalk that up to family and one friend.
I dislike going to church for mass. Mind you I've managed to skip them all this year so far.
I dislike thinking about all the kids that will be hungry on Christmas day.
I dislike looking at the lowered community support for local shelters and gift donations for the children who have nothing.
I hate working with angry clients who think they are gift to the world.
I hate bagging turkeys, ham, and large quantities of frozen meat.
Pop.... people should stalk up before the Christmas season so my wrists aren't toast.

 

[Principessa]

Only since Halloween? In the UK the Christmas cards and crackers and wrapping paper starts to appear in the shops in late August! I hate it all. What has Father Christmas got to do with the birth of Jesus anyway?

It is the most irritating thing about the holidays. Not to mention that the things he sees and asks for he says "You and mommy need these." We are now trying the "teach the difference between want and need" thing.

One good thing though, he is giving away his old toys he doesn't play with to Catholic Community Services to distribute to the poor. One in particular was a Batman figure and car that I bought him. As he put it in the box, he looked at me and said, "Are you OK with me giving this away?" I asked if he was and he said, "I like it because it's from you, but maybe another daddy can give it to their son and he can be as happy as we are."

That is what makes the season worth it.

Ohhh that is soo sweet it bought a tear to my eye! I think you, SpeedoGuy, Freddie53, BF2K, and about a dozen other men here should give lessons on how to be a great daddy.

 

[earllogjam]

Although I am not religious nor a practicing Christian I am bothered by the hypocrisy of a holiday which was created to honor a humble and self sacrificing man, celebrated by exchanging expensive gifts.

It has for most people in America lost it's true Christian meaning and spirit. It has turned into some perverse materialistic celebration of greed where buying things is a measure of someone's love and caring.

It is all very intrusive to many non-Christians as this celebration is shoved down everyone's throats in stores, TV, school, work, and popular culture. You cannot escape it.

I often travel to other countries to get away from "Xmas season" as it is much more low key and not as commercialized in places like Australia and Mexico.

 

[prince_will]

I dislike the cold weather. I sometimes dislike the forced quality time with the family that often tends to make everyone irritable and unpleasant, though sometimes that's okay. I dislike the "Christians" who feel like they need to start acting hostile toward anyone who isn't being flamboyantly festive. I dislike the nauseatingly rampant consumerism. I dislike Turkey. I dislike all the sweets and the constant encouragement to engorge yourself right around the time when it's cold enough that I tend to not want to go to the gym anymore- and the weight gain the usually comes with it. I dislike feeling like a loser when/if I'm not with anyone on those "special" days. I dislike all the drunken assholes around New Year's. I dislike the six weeks of bad Christmas music. I dislike dead pine tree needles. I dislike the memories of bad New Year's past: broken relationships, awkward social situations, friends committing suicide, etc. I dislike the pressure to spend a bunch of money on a bunch of people I barely know. I dislike that other people feel the pressure to spend money on me for presents I probably won't even like because they barely know me. I dislike egg nog. I dislike corny holiday movies.

Other than that I don't think they're that bad.

Grinch. :biggrin1:

 

[prince_will]

i love the season. i love the cold weather because it is always too fucking hot down here. i hate sweating. i love when my friends come home from on their college breaks and we can go out and have too much fun. i love all of the meals and family parties. i love waking up to open gifts. i love buying a decorating and choosing a christmas tree. i love wearing my Santa hat all over the place. i love searching for what gifts to buy for my loved ones. i love the spirit.

 

[B_IanTheTall]

I meant to say I dislike turkey... not Turkey. I have nothing against Turkey. In fact I'd love to visit Constantinople at some point.

Don't forget:

If you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

I love They Might Be Giants.

 

[D_Geffarde Phartsmeller]

I wish we could just skip from mid-November to mid-March, and just bypass the holiday season and most of the cold weather. The holidays don't hold any magic for me anymore, and are just a big mess. I'm always extra sad around the holidays. I'd like to just skip the whole mess...

YES!!!!! I call it the Dark Season. Starts with my birthday in November (19), then we have Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas, New Year's, and lastly Valentine's Day. It's 4 months of hell when you're single. I could really just sleep through it all

 

[prince_will]

I wish we could just skip from mid-November to mid-March, and just bypass the holiday season and most of the cold weather. The holidays don't hold any magic for me anymore, and are just a big mess. I'm always extra sad around the holidays. I'd like to just skip the whole mess...

no! you'd skip my birthday. i'm 2 weeks after Christmas, and a week after New Year's. :tongue:

 

[B_IanTheTall]

I like the cold weather for a few reasons. It gives me an excuse to say, "Why don't you come over here and warm you up." Plus a reasonably sustained cold kills off the vermin; no one wants spiders the size of my open hand, they need to pick up triple-wicked candles (I don't either, but it makes people notice my hands).

 

[Principessa]

Nope, I love Christmas and most of the crazy holiday stuff that goes with it! Except Stollen and Pfefferneuse, don't know why but I do not like those particular confections.

I'm an only child born to parents, born in the depression. I got everything they wished they had received growing up plus almost everything on my list to Santa. The only items I can recall asking for and not getting were: a puppy, a pony, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Car and when much older a Trans Am. I have been blessed and perhaps a tad bit spoiled. :wink:

I hate bitter cold especially if it's windy. I get SAD so I have to sort of bask in the sun when it's out. :smile: I think cold without snow has no purpose.

In the middle atlantic states, 1"-6" of snow is enough to make commuting a bitch, cause many accidents, delay school openings and generally make life miserable. Which is why I like a good blizzard at least once a winter. Everything stops and is covered by a pristine blanket of crystalline white for at least a day. :smile:

 

[MidwestGal]

I like the colors of the lights brightening up a cold blah winter and also having a tree. I am Pagan, so I celebrate Yule. My son is being brought up Christian and I am going to teach him about other religions and respect for other religions and their traditions. He will be allowed to make his own choice.

As for Christmas, it's too commercialized. If it's the season, the roots of it should be the reason, not the almighty dollar.

We just call it winter holiday around our house.

 

[viking1]

YES!!!!! I call it the Dark Season. Starts with my birthday in November (19), then we have Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas, New Year's, and lastly Valentine's Day. It's 4 months of hell when you're single. I could really just sleep through it all

I see there are some here that loathe the holidays, (and birthdays) as much as I.

HugoB, anything that involves, (or is supposed to involve), fun, family, friends, love, and other emotions, is kind of depressing when you are alone. I know the feeling. Birthdays, and Valentines Day are particularly sad for me.

I don't know why you are alone though. You are young, good looking, and well hung...:smile:

 

[B_Italian1]

I loved Christmas when I was a child. It was all about Santa Claus, presents and parties. When I was 15 I got my first job at a supermarket, and that’s when the holidays started being about work and not so much about fun anymore. Throughout high school and college I worked in either supermarkets or malls, not just on the holidays, but all year round. It was so busy around the holidays I never got time off to enjoy myself. I never got the day after off because that day was just as busy as the day before.

When I started working full time after college I began to really hate the holidays. Co-workers who wouldn’t give me the time of day all year were suddenly my friend around Christmastime. But after New Year’s it was dog eat dog all over again. I also suffered from a little seasonal depression due to the cold weather and lack of sunshine which added to my misery.

I never really started enjoying the holidays until I was about 30, and it was a process that slowly occurred throughout my 20's. I put less pressure on myself. I never liked company parties, so I stopped going to them. I hated New Year’s eve parties, so I stopped going to them. I only bought presents for people I really cared about, and it wasn’t about how much I spent, but the thought. I shopped when most people weren’t shopping. I was never one of those people who would get up at 5am the day after Thanksgiving to get the great big sale, and I'm not going to start now. I stopped sending out so many Christmas cards, and I started giving to more charities. It became more about others and less about how down I felt. That’s when I saw an improvement in my attitude.

I have mixed feelings about the holidays now, but it’s far better than it was. It is a time of reflection, and it’s sad that some people who I loved dearly are no longer around. For us Christians, it’s a celebration of the birth of Christ, but I know non Christians who are far more into celebrating the day and not what it actually represents.

As far as commercialization goes, that’s always been around but it’s gotten worse and will continue to get worse. When I was a kid it was GI Joes, racing cars, Barbie Dolls, and Easy Bake Ovens. And now it’s about getting the biggest television, the best cell phone or the latest computer game. I’m not out to impress anyone and I could care less about any of that.

If you don’t like the holidays do something to make them better for yourself. Don’t buy into the commercialization. Put less stress on yourself. If you don’t have family, make friends your family. Do some volunteer work at a homeless shelter or a food pantry.

Some people get depressed when the holidays are over. Even though I enjoy the holidays more now, I feel a sense of relief when I wake up on January 1st and know it’s all over.

 

[rob_just_rob]

I like the holidays in general. Not being a winter loving person, the season would be unbearable without the holidays to break it up.

Family, friends, parties, time off work, festive music (in moderation), tons of bowl games... all good.

I'm not at all religious, so that doesn't enter into it at all. I have spent a few holiday seasons single/alone, and that definitely puts a damper on things, I'll admit.

Also, there's a post-holiday letdown to consider. On January 2, I am often confronted with the realization that I have to suffer through January and February weather before things start to improve.

 

[D_Geffarde Phartsmeller]

I see there are some here that loathe the holidays, (and birthdays) as much as I.

HugoB, anything that involves, (or is supposed to involve), fun, family, friends, love, and other emotions, is kind of depressing when you are alone. I know the feeling. Birthdays, and Valentines Day are particularly sad for me.

I don't know why you are alone though. You are young, good looking, and well hung...:smile:

Hah the fates conspire against me! I'm picky about what I'll date. And more often than not, I'm love-struck by girls that already have b/fs. It's either a curse or I instinctively want what I can't have. Oh well!

 

[B_Hung Jon]

It's too commercial for me but since I live in California the weather isn't an issue. Sometimes I can go boogie boarding in January. It's also fun to escape & go to Mexico during winter break.

 

[Mem]

I do hate the hustle and bustle of it all.

I hate the cold weather so if and when I move to Florida I will see if I like it better. I will still come back here for the Christmas holiday.

The past 3 days I have been dreading the cold and will have to force myself out of the house to run some errands that I need to do.