and no triumvirate of spooks visiting chez moi is going to change my mind about Christmas. As you say, it was great when I was a chid, but now? No thanks. Christmas for me is synonymous with depression, and Christmas Day itself is inevitably the day I feel at my worst. It's to do with everyone and everything telling me that I must be happy at Christmas. This leads to my feeling the exact opposite. If I had children I might learn to love it again, but as I am currently without sprog my feelings remain unaltered.

You're also right about Christmas songs... those I love.

There's no doubt it's over-commercialised and over-hyped, but you have to let yourself get swept along with it. Sure it's mainly for children but it's always nice to get gifts and if nothing else, it's a few days off work!

is like not getting the weather, it's going to happen whether you like to or not so need to get yourselves some festive sun block, raincoat and scarf and just get on with it.
that or move to north korea (although i bet they have some sort of winter festvial). So times positivism of action is better than pessimism of thought.

I used to like it as a child then went through a "I hate it/noone is religious/over commercialised" phase - but now I rather enjoy it. I think it is back to the spirit of the original mid winter feast/festival, i.e. let's cheer ourselves up half way through the cold dark days, and it is rather nice to have a few days doing nothing but getting laid back, eating and hanging out. I spend far too much time rushing about, working etc etc etc - it is nice to stop for a bit. You don't have to accept the commercialisation - I don't - and a few days where everyone tries to get on and socialise and be kind to each other actually seems a pretty positive thing to me.

Then along came children and Lo! The wonder was restored....

Another 10 year cycle starts!

No matter how much distance you put between yourself and the Radio Times bumper edition you'll find yourself at some kind of mid-winter festival. It's a tradition as old as mankind and much older than Christianity. It's there for a good reason. Without it it's even longer to spring.

Specsavers advert: Woman pours brandy over turkey and lights it. Should have gone to a well known high-street opticians, shouldn't she?

Last night, my wife pointed out that if she hadn't served the turkey yet, what the hell was she doing prepping the Christmas pud? Can't blame that on yer glasses, missus!

As for the main discussion, I can confirm that nothing but Christmas provides that special feeling you get when your two-year old meets Santa in his Grotto for the first time and Santa choose to unleash a gas-powered fake-snowfall with a terrific woosh and the child explodes into hysterical tears and then takes half an hour to calm down again...

hat like the people of the Beltain.. it could work and it may even make someone smile, don't whatever you do try to ride a white swan, they can break your arm with their wings you know!

Getting together with the family, eating and drinking lots, watching films, playing games, singing carols, giving presents - I really don't undertsand what there is not to like about Christmas.
It's not a religious festival, no matter how much the happy clappy brigade try to convince us, and even if it was, so what? - if I lived in India I'm sure I would enjoy celebrating Diwali, if I lived in Isreal I'm sure I'd get into the spirit of Hanukkah. Who needs an excuse to get together with freinds and family and make merry?
As for the commericialisation argument, I just don't get it. Unless you spend the entirely of December wandering around shopping malls why does it matter? The shops don't own Christmas any more than the bible bashers do - it's a cultural festival and it's OUR culture, yours and mine. Use it or lose it.

I like the fact that everyone you know and everyone you don't know and everyone you admire from afar are doing the same as you. You know that Morrissey, Dennis Bergkamp, your first love, the Queen, Gordon Brown, your friends, your extended family and you are doing the same thing.

The good bits (time off work, giving gifts, relaxing with family, seeing grandparents, carols sung by good choirs, the excitement on kids faces) outweighs the bad (the post dinner Christmas day can drag, some dodgy presents and the odd annoying relative) pretty comprehensively.

Get together with your favourite people, get battered, get some new music, children's choirs, have a laugh - it's all about warmth.

What's not to like?

at Christmas should watch this film. Apart from "It's A Wonderful Life" it's my favourite xmas film. Apparently it was the inspiration for the TV show "The Wonder Years." It's from 1983 and is called "A Christmas Story."

This is Siskel and Ebert's TV review of the film, not the whole thing.

but I can listen to them all year round.

I'm with the animals. This time of year we should either hibernate until spring or fly south to warmer climes.

Muppet's Christmas Carol is the bestest.

this cheered our house up!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g6txr/Nigellas_Christmas_Kitchen...

Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunately the overall advice seems to be if you get it you get it if you don't you don't but enjoy the good bits. For me, these are very few and far between. The other thing that I've noticed in this discussion is that some people seem to feel the need to celebrate something, anything. Perhaps it's the fact that I don't, that causes me the problem.

When I think about it, I suppose I don't really do "celebrating" at all, I don't even bother with my own birthday. I can throw myself into special occasions like weddings or births but marking the same day every year seems a bit odd to me.

I think, like most years, I'll try and keep my head down for a few days feeling socially uncomfortable and go back to enjoying my life afterwards. You'll spot me - I'll be the one that isn't miserable in January.

.... you have to pay for it. Christmas is for kids,kids,kids and priests.

I mean some, possibly imaginary, way olden times dude died so that little kids could get presents 2000 years on, and adults could eat too much and get hangovers.

Rejoice, or something. Go and punch a Carol singer, get in the spirit, eat a battery farmed turkey.

Nah, I don't "get" it either - it's crap.

Ever since the age of 25 its the one night of the year when I worry that everyone has more fun than me.
I particularly dislike midnight garden fireworks

I hated all the force jollity from 15 - 22. Had Kids and loved it again.

Now I hate the fact that I spend loads of money buying things people don't really want and I get loads of presents that I don't want.

Why don't we just say "Look it's Christmas, I'd spend this on you lot, you lot'd spend this on me, let's just put down our dosh on a holiday / ps3 and get hammered.

Happy Christmas!

I love Christmas Day. I hate Christmas Eve and all the bloody shopping days leading up to it, so what does that make me? Fully boiled humbug right up until the moment, but I relish the day. And with a new grand-daughter in the house it will be better than ever.
Agree that Santa in the snow is weird. Spent the w/e in Cyprus (22 degrees!)and snow scens and reindeer just look wrong, but they are still on every roundabout and village green. (Sorry, village yellow; they have really have had little rain this year)