Christmas stress, is it worth it?
14-March-2010
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Christmas stress, is it worth it?

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Christmas, it's a great time of year isn't it?  The shopping, the food, drink, the lights and all those things you've got to get done in a short space of time before that big day.  Is it really worth all the stress and agro though?  I just can't understand the lengths that some people go to and the amount of stress they endure for Christmas.

It's a particularly hard time of year for parents, particularly the wife or girlfriend.  I'm not being sexist there, I'm just telling it as I see it.  It's a lot of stress and heartache because of what's expected of them.  They've got to buy all the presents for the children and the family, get it all organised and at the same time run a household, you know - business as usual. Doesn't this remind you of a swan?  Everything's smooth and comfortable, but somebody's paddling like hell underneath just to keep it that way.  It's a juggling act that people probably don't appreciate, perhaps least of all the kids.  Men I think get off lightly at Christmas; carving a turkey isn't exactly stressful is it?  Hubby's probably not much help and leaves all the organising up to her.  No wonder she's a bit snappy today!

Christmas stress, is it worth it?

I know the kids are excited about Christmas and we tell ourselves that they are the real reason we go through this every year - it's probably worth it just to see their faces.  But not until they're much older will they really appreciate what goes into making that 'special' day happen.

Christmas shopping is probably a gripe in itself.  We're all herded into this frenzy every year of buying, buying and yet more buying.  Sometimes it seems like we're doing it just for the sake of it.  'Because it's expected', and you haven't quite got the guts to do anything different.  The amount money we throw at the high street retailers at this time of year is a measuring stick whereby those in power decide how well the economy is doing.  Well they're almost certainly in for a shock this year because we’re not going to spend our way out of this recession!

Christmas stress, is it really worth it?  It's a hard question to answer or me because I’m not really a fan of Christmas.  You see the look on a kid's face when they open up their presents on one hand, but at the same time you see others stressed out with money worries or running around trying to do everything and be everywhere.  Have a think about it; I'll leave you to decide.

By: E. Scrooge

Articles that may be of interest

Christmas presents on a budget
Buying Christmas presents for the family can be expensive not to mention quite stressful.  However, here are a few great ideas to help you keep the cost of those xmas gifts down and to help get your Christmas shopping done without getting into debt.

A-Z of how to survive Christmas without getting in to debt
Christmas is a time to eat, drink and be merry and this usually involves spending lots of money.  The last thing you want to do is run up a huge debt.  Follow my A-Z guide to keep out of debt without having to make any big sacrifices.


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Without Christ we would not be celebrating Christmas as such but we would still be celebrating something as Christians chose this time of year to try to absorb the pagan believers into their new religion.

We would be celebrating Yule or Saturnalia and would, in all probability, still be eating and drinking too much, giving gifts, decorating with lights and having fun.

Most Christmas customs, from pantomime to decorating with greenery and lights, derive from pagan customs.
*Kit  13-Dec-2009 19:04

 
:I am sick of yuletide, wonderland, and all the other names that have taken over Christmas, if people want to celebrate Christmas then they should not be offended with a word containing 'Christ', after all without Christianity there would not be a Christmas, I am all for the fun festivities but I am sick of hypocrites.
*Santa's Elf  13-Dec-2009 13:40

 
Christmas is about Jesus' birth. Let's make Christmas more about the religious side and the kindness, and less about the commercial side.
*Terry  22-May-2009 17:29

 
Next Christmas I'm dragging the missus on an airplane and we're escaping to the carribean.
*An Aetheist  10-Feb-2009 17:26

 
Well it's all over now until next year. Enjoy the peace and quiet until it lasts... no wait, you can't can you? They're already stocking the shelves with Easter Eggs. One bloody commercial piece of money mongering after another!
*Bobby  05-Jan-2009 02:31

 
Wow, just 24 hours more before Santa Claus, that vampyr of the Christmas scene descends upon all our households, only to be dispersed by the sunrise on the following morning. May the earth of his coffin rot in hell. I will be ready with my silver bullet and a wooden stake if I catch him at it. He is nothing but an epileptic, autistic padeophile, preying on the gullibility of young children.
*Bloodsucker  23-Dec-2008 22:23

 
Why do we celebrate christmas like we do? Nowadays It only seems to be about spending and Most young people don't know what the real meaning of christmas Is all about but why do we believe In christmas when all this was years ago and there are to many different beliefs and why should we celebrate christmas like we do seems pointless in todays society.
*Grumpy old me  23-Dec-2008 14:14

 
Christmas is supposed to be in Honour of the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what it appears to turn into.

1. People fighting in the pubs
2. People getting in Debt with their credit cards.
3. Domestic Violence based on the 2 factors above.

I don't think that is mentioned in the bible, nor was it what Jesus intended
*brightspark  23-Dec-2008 03:40

 
don't think christmas was like It used to be It's gone to commercial and ott .to expensive and do we really get a bargain I fear not ! we keep up the festive cheer I think because of the children but do we really know what we are celebrating but I'll enjoy my christmas dinner and mince pies and a few pints down the local then watch all the repeats on tv with the kids ( wizard of oz and die hard ) oh what a great christmas we'll have ?
*lucky old me  17-Dec-2008 12:57

 
Vern, did you mean £100? or £10?

Anyway, we all have our limits. I spend hours trying to get bargains that look like expensive gifts. I stand in Superdrug trying to get the best out of 3 for 2 offers, or when there's £5 off if you spend £25, I try to only spend exactly £25!

If I worked all the hours I spent shopping, I would be able to afford Christmas easily. I spend hours trying to save a few quid.

I have had so many arguments with other half this Christmas as we just haven't got any spare (well, not even spare) money, we just have no money, so how can we make savings? My daughter now hates her winter coat but has to wear it (no big deal really, but makes me feel bad), I've run out of cornflakes, and the house isn't quite warm enough. Then I have to go and spend £100 on my bro and his wife because they spend so much on us.

Looking forward to lighting a real fire with some mulled cheap wine and a classical music CD, or watching scrooge.
*perfect Christmas  16-Dec-2008 11:10

 
Oh well, Christmas will eventually be abolished in the future as part of an apologetic for being too much of a Christian country, and the need to be more 'all-inclusive'. I suppose though that this will not solve the problem - a 'Winter Festival' celebration will probably be just as stressful, albeit without any of the usual things like the Nativity, Santa Claus and, God forbid, any mention of Jesus Christ. What's Christmas got to do with Jesus Christ? Very little it seems!
*miserablemoaninggit  15-Dec-2008 22:42

 
Don't you just hate the bourgeoisie? ".. and we limited them to £1000 each this Xmas ...". Most kids in this mean world would be happy with a £1 presie.
*Xmas is nastily and socially divisive  15-Dec-2008 17:04


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