The Bah f***ing humbug, f***ing Christmas thread

[her_welshness]

My f*cking brother-in-law left a rambling drunken voicemail message on my husbands phone a few days 'Yah, you know for Xmas Day yah, well if we can come to sort of arrangement with how you can contribute financially towards the meal that would be good'. We've just spent £120 on their off-spring's presents. .

Strange that this only works one way though - when my son-in-law tried this a few years ago it was all well and good for him, as soon as we suggested it last year, we're "tight-fisted-robbin'-basters-who-don't-know-the-meaning-of-the season-bah-humbug". Dinner a deux this year.

Exactly. My husband asked him a few weeks ago if we could bring anything to the meal/contribute to the cost of the meal and it was 'no thanks, its fine'. The last time we went over there we got the shittiest gifts. I don't care about having pressies, its just the three scarves that I ended up getting which I didn't need.

Anyway, after the meal we are going home, where we shall drink and play cards and watch crap.

[Butterfly]

I have a friend whose wife ran off with another bloke leaving my mate with lots of unaffordable debt and the reality of losing his house and having to go bankrupt very soon, and a daughter who has been very ill and has lost her baby, my almost first grandchild.   

Christmas?  Stuff it. 

Sorry to hear that PB. That's really rotten.

[Polar Bear]

I have a friend whose wife ran off with another bloke leaving my mate with lots of unaffordable debt and the reality of losing his house and having to go bankrupt very soon, and a daughter who has been very ill and has lost her baby, my almost first grandchild.   

Christmas?  Stuff it. 

Sorry to hear that PB. That's really rotten.

Thanks Butterfly.  It's just the harsh realities of life I guess, but when it bites boy does it bite hard.   

[David Martin]

Under duress, I acquired a lovely, bushy green Christmas tree about a week ago.  It's sitting in the shed

I do like Christmas, and I like a tree, but there's an annual attempt by me to delay its onset until as close to the actual day as possible.

I might be overwhelmed by the end of today, I fear.

I'm with you on that, but have relented and it now goes up on the last saturday before Christmas, and if I have my way will come down on the first Saturday in the new year.

There are bits of Christmas I really like, but a lot of the commercial tat and 'traditions' (my BiL and I figured that sending cards to people we will be seeing every day anyway was a waste of time.) I loathe.

My favourite part of Christmas is midnight communion on Christmas Eve then cycling home in the peace and quiet afterwards.

..d

Point out that traditionally it shouldn't go up until Christmas Eve. 

[Marco Stefano]

Commercialisation of Christmas I find really tawdry. I have now got to the point where I would like to say to everyone, "no presents for any adults, all the money I would have spent on you is in the charity box" and have done with it. Warm glows all round, hopefully. Modern Christmas just perpetuates the exchange of crap.

And I get told I am boring if I say I would like vouchers for music / books / Wiggle / etc. When was it boring to buy something for yourself, from someone else with love, that you really would like?

My brother & his wife are due to come east, but are currently iced in at Bodmin. I don't care if they don't get here for Christmas; I want to see them, I just don't care is it isn't on a date that others have deemed in some way special. I would rather that they were safe & warm & not risking their lives for a date. That's just bonkers.

[AndyH]

I do like Christmas, and I like a tree, but there's an annual attempt by me to delay its onset until as close to the actual day as possible.

+1, I think our elderly fake tree is coming out of the loft tomorrow. MrsH likes to wait for the reduced price real ones in the last week and the complains she cant find one she likes

I could fall asleep in a disco.

Can you teach me, and does it work in bus stops ?

We've done the extended family thing already 

Tonight we (just MrsH & me) had pheasant for dinner in an attempt to find out what we actually want for christmas dinner. we've settled on a day of nibbles with a steak sandwich thrown in somewhere. And some booze. And chocolates.

Come Thursday night we'll be able to shut the door and ignore the whole thing. On the assumption that there will be a thaw and it will be grey and dingy and 4.5 degrees with no wind I might even get out on my bike.

[FatherChristmas]

Due to budget cutbacks I am afraid that I'll only be delivering presents to each house every other year.

Please indicate if you would like to be odd or even.

Thank you.

[AndyH]

Due to budget cutbacks I am afraid that I'll only be delivering presents to each house every other year.

Please indicate if you would like to be odd or even.

Thank you.

Even. But I might change my mind this time next week.

[Jaded]

Due to budget cutbacks I am afraid that I'll only be delivering presents to each house every other year.

Please indicate if you would like to be odd or even.

Thank you.

I'm odd. Very odd.

[rower40]

Due to budget cutbacks I am afraid that I'll only be delivering presents to each house every other year.

Please indicate if you would like to be odd or even.

Thank you.

I'm odd. Very odd.

I'm even odder.

All the coats please...

[Bledlow]

Due to budget cutbacks I am afraid that I'll only be delivering presents to each house every other year.

Like jam every other day?

[CAMRAMan]

I love the christmas period, even if it is misnamed. What I hate is all the boring bastards who put on a fake 'I hate christmas bah-humbug' attitude' because they think it's cool and trendy to be cynical and miserable. Been there, seen it, done it, bought the plush toy. Try something new.  

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/GRDJgn68h1A&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/GRDJgn68h1A&rel=1</a> 

[Hummers]

Hallelujah, Noel
Be it heaven or Hell
The Christmas you get
You deserve

H


 

[Androcles]

Not travelling anywhere this Christmas as our convalescing kitten isn't fit enough for the cattery yet, so no visit to the in-laws. 

Mrs A. isn't too disappointed.

[Tail End Charlie]

I conceded. We have a tree. £12.50.

I paid £12.50 too, but left the £49.99 price tag on and haven't let on.

[Clare]

I could fall asleep in a disco.

I used to do that regularly in 5th Ave on Southsea seafront, it was the dullest nightclub ever and whenever I was persuaded to go there I'd manage about half a pint of crappy keg beer before dozing off, to be woken by my mates when it was time to go home.



Anyway, I hate Christmas, it has too many crappy childhood memories for me, I can't stand the commercialism, the forced jollity or all the fucking TV and media crap with perfect fucking families having perfect fucking Christmases with perfect fucking presents and perfect fucking food before settling down to be perfectly fucking happy while playing nicely in their perfect fucking world.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

It's a bit early to start tracking Santa, but here's the link for Friday Official NORAD Santa Tracker

[hatler]

I had three Winters away a few years back and couldn't quite believe had tawdry Christmas had become in that time when I was back here.

There again, it might simply have been a perceptual difference.

The amount of tat on display is truly shocking. It's best to get stuck around a fire somewhere with either family or friends and ignore the world outside.

[Mr Larrington]

There seem to be rather fewer houses looking like crash-landed fairgrounds this year, which I suppose is a bonus.

[hellymedic]

There are very few snaps on houseblinger.com and their linky to previous years' offerings no worky.

[ian]

There are very few snaps on houseblinger.com and their linky to previous years' offerings no worky.

There are quite a few around here - the usual suspect near Cator Park probably still fries the lenses of overpassing NSA spy sats (that'll learn 'em to peek in the bedroom windows of SE London). They do a charity thing - not sure if they make more money than they spend on electricity. Creates a nice post-apocalyptic glow along the horizon.

To be honest, I don't mind the tawdry commercialisation. Lots of people seem to like the spend orgy and immersing themselves neck deep in Christmas bling, so who am I to argue. Criticism always sounds a smug and middle-class and we-have-goose-because-turkey-is-so. I can tune out what I don't like. I like Christmas, I take a nice long break from work, do the usual party thing, eat and drink well, and generally have a good time and boil up a big vat of mildly alcoholic cheeriness. We skip the present thing (other than for my niece) - we've reached the stage were we pretty much have everything we want or need, so rather wouldn't receive anything, since it's usually tat we don't want and I suspect that choosing presents for us pushes people dangerously close to aneurysms. All in all, they're probably as happy not to have get us something, as we are not to receive it. And it absolves us from reciprocation.

[Clare]

It's a bit early to start tracking Santa, but here's the link for Friday Official NORAD Santa Tracker

Is it Christmas yet?

[Wowbagger]

There seem to be rather fewer houses looking like crash-landed fairgrounds this year, which I suppose is a bonus.

I've been thinking that each Christmas for the past three or four.

The ones that irritate me most are the predominantly blue ones. Having Christmas lights outside one's residence shows a total lack of taste. It doesn't suddenly become more tasteful just because you make it look like a poor man's Tory Party Conference.

[her_welshness]

There seem to be rather fewer houses looking like crash-landed fairgrounds this year, which I suppose is a bonus.

I've been thinking that each Christmas for the past three or four.

The ones that irritate me most are the predominantly blue ones. Having Christmas lights outside one's residence shows a total lack of taste. It doesn't suddenly become more tasteful just because you make it look like a poor man's Tory Party Conference.

Lewisham has blue lights every Xmas  It's all about the branding!

[Exit Stage Left]

This farmhouse opposite the University on the M6 at Lancaster is always elaborately decorated.
Google Maps

I like it, and I bet thousands of families travelling on that stretch look forward to seeing it. It must punctuate many a journey and occupy the kids for a bit.