# Christmas Likes and Dislikes



## liaconn (4 Dec 2013)

I Like:

Family getting together
Christmas Carols
Seeing kids excited about Santa
Christmas dinner
Time off work
A nice cosy drama or mystery on television

I hate:
Mad overspending
Sending Christmas cards
Overpriced office parties
Feeling under pressure to be out socialising every night in the run up to Christmas
Christmas ads and merchandise being shoved in our faces from 1st October


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## Purple (4 Dec 2013)

I Love it all.


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## TarfHead (4 Dec 2013)

If I were to rank that list in my order of preference

1. Seeing kids excited about Santa (this may be the last year for the 11yo)
2. Time off work (have being hoarding leave days since September)
3. Christmas dinner
4. Family getting together (we all live close and see each other regularly)
5. Christmas Carols (Christmas FM is always on the car radio, despite my protests) 
6. A nice cosy drama or mystery on television (or a box-fresh box set )

I hate:
1. Overpriced office parties (I dislike the forced bonhomie betweeen people you have no time for (or have time for you) for the rest of the year. And I am generally asocial so parties in general leave me cold)
1. Feeling under pressure to be out socialising every night in the run up to Christmas (or people using Christmas a a justification for behaving like an adolescent)
3. Mad overspending (has been on the decline since 2008)
4. Christmas ads and merchandise being shoved in our faces from 1st Oct
5. Sending Christmas cards


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## Sunny (4 Dec 2013)

I love that people are just in better form for a short period. 

I hate charity collections on the street which I know sounds mean but I am just back after walking up Grafton Street. There are more collections than people. I make a donation every year to the same charity that I am involved with. I don't like having to say no every 10 seconds to chuggers.


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## One (4 Dec 2013)

I like:

1/. Nieces and nephews getting excited about Christmas and Santa.
2/. Christmas music.
3/. Coloured lights around town.
4/. Turkey.
5/. Vigil mass on Christmas Eve in the local Cathedral and the choir.

Dislikes:

1/. Memories of family members departed.
2/. Excessive spending.
3/. Drunkeness on St. Stephen's Night.


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## Marion (4 Dec 2013)

Love:

The bling (posh bling)
Christmas Candles
Decorating my home
Christmas music and carols
Battery powered lights (so handy)
Buying presents mostly for me
Catching up with my family and especially my nieces and nephews
A real Christmas tree
Remembering the good times with my deceased brother and wife and parents at Christmas
Catching up with family on twitter. Loads of mad photos
A really nice brunch and dinner on Christmas Day


Dislike

The queues for dressing rooms so I tend to shop early or very late
The traffic jams


Marion


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## Latrade (5 Dec 2013)

Purple said:


> I Love it all.


 
Ditto. Even the negatives people have posted, I like them too.


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## Sunny (5 Dec 2013)

Watching It's a Wonderful Life on a cold Sunday afternoon with a nice bottle of red wine....


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## fobs (5 Dec 2013)

I love it all too!!!!! Favourite time of the year.


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## mathepac (5 Dec 2013)

Dislikes: 
Missing family members
Sprouts
"Merry Xmas" wishes

Likes:
Most other Christmas stuff


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## Firefly (5 Dec 2013)

Likes:
Meeting relations I haven't seen in a year

Dislikes:
The reasons for above


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## Kimmagegirl (6 Dec 2013)

Dislikes. Untangled the Christmas tree lights yesterday. Only half of them now working.
Getting Christmas decorations down from attic.

Likes. Another family get together and using my not often used dining room. Having a Cuban cigar.


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## AgathaC (6 Dec 2013)

I like the bit of a buzz, the lights in town, listening to Christmas music, sending and receiving cards, in the lead up to Christmas. I like catching up with family and friends, and seeing the innocent joy in nieces and nephews faces on Christmas morning, showing me what Santa brought. I don't have a Christmas party to attend, but I enjoy meeting various friends for dinner. 
I think it can be a very lonely time, for some, and people can feel a bit pressurised by the 'hype' at times.


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## liaconn (6 Dec 2013)

I've just been chatting to a colleague who moved over here recently from France. She is quite shocked at how early we start our Christmas preparations and how much everyone here seems to spend on their kids.


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## Knuttell (6 Dec 2013)

liaconn said:


> She is quite shocked at how early we start our Christmas preparations



Shes not alone,I was born here and while I love Christmas its getting ridiculously early,putting up the christmas tree while boxing away the halloween stuff is just flat out stupid,certain people need to get a grip of themselves.


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## Betsy Og (6 Dec 2013)

Likes:

1. Time off work to spend with wife & kids
2. As above
3. As above  (is there a message in there....)
4. Kids excitement re Santa (though this isnt all you'd expect - think had a thread on this last year)
5. Reading by the fire
6. Meeting rest of the family (lucky that we all live nearby & meet up regularly so not a reunion in that sense)

Dislikes:

None really - the shopping bit doesnt stress me too much - I'm sure wife has a theory on that..... 
Christmas party could take or leave - depending on the form in the week or 2 preceeding!
I'm not mad into all the kitsch & campness (or the socialising - I'd average 1.8 nights per Christmas over the last decade) but it doesnt bother me either.

On the spending issue, the kids do pretty much get what they look for, and then some, BUT they're kids, Santa doesnt go on forever, its not borrowed money so I've no guilt about spending it - in my book pressies for the kids would come only after the food, mortgage & utilities in terms of priority & this year Done Deal has come into play, so value for money too! Overall I dont see why other peoples spending should be such an annoyance, assuming you're not suffering unkind comparisons for your relative thrifyness (sp?).


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## Marion (6 Dec 2013)

Christmas (Advent) begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas so sometimes that could bring it to late November. 

I admit, I put up one decoration on Sunday 01 December, but I don't have a big Christmas tree purchased simply because I haven't seen Any yet. I can't wait to put it up. It will be my very first - usually I am not at home.

I purchased a little one for a planter pot outside but it has not been installed yet. 

I think I will have my trees sorted  and the wreath for the front door (Aldi ) this weekend. Can't wait

Marion


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## Lex Foutish (14 Dec 2013)

Likes:

The annual meet up with former college buddies in The Long Valley.
The annual few pints in the golf club on Christmas Day. (Two consecutive references to hostelries are purely coincidental!) 
Catching up on the phone with friends who moved abroad in the 80's.
Our front room where the Christmas tree is.
Christmas present shopping.
I normally am not mad about Christmas music but I love listening to Christmas FM on the car radio, especially as they play my boys a lot! 


Dislikes:

Christmas "starting" in early November.
The Bóthar Goat!
Christmas Panto radio ads. 
No live golf on tv. 
Heavy traffic around Town.
I miss the "OMG Factor" now that the kids are grown up and aren't up at the dawn on Christmas morning to open their pressies.


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## SlugBreath (15 Dec 2013)

My three boys are all grown up and not living at home. But really enjoying Christmas with my grandaughter second time around.
I also enjoy seeing the supermarkets competing with each other for our business and the 9c veggies in the shops.


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## HMC (15 Dec 2013)

Find funny:
St Stephen's's's Day


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## Ceist Beag (17 Dec 2013)

Betsy Og said:


> Likes:
> 
> 1. Time off work to spend with wife & kids
> 2. As above
> ...



Would go along with most of this. Overall I love Christmas time, especially spending time with the family (immediate and extended). If there is one thing I don't like it's the ever increasing list of ads for shops which are unimaginative, kitsch and just far too long (I'm talking about those for the supermarket chains specifically).


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## Purple (17 Dec 2013)

Dogs farting after being fed turkey; Aaaahh, it wouldn't be Christmas without it.


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## Sunny (17 Dec 2013)

Ceist Beag said:


> Would go along with most of this. Overall I love Christmas time, especially spending time with the family (immediate and extended). If there is one thing I don't like it's the ever increasing list of ads for shops which are unimaginative, kitsch and just far too long (I'm talking about those for the supermarket chains specifically).


 
But there are some stunning ads. The John Lewis ad is my favourite this year. I also like the boots one.


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## Sunny (17 Dec 2013)

Purple said:


> Dogs farting after being fed turkey; Aaaahh, it wouldn't be Christmas without it.


 
Handy having the dog to blame!


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## Grizzly (28 Dec 2013)

I must remember next year that the tins of Roses and Quality Street that went on sale everywhere for half price were never actually full price! Also the quality of the Quality Street were very poor. I also must remember that on Christmas Eve both Aldi and Lidl were selling everything at half price from opening time. We picked up a lovely fresh turkey for €5.99.


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## Purple (29 Dec 2013)

Sunny said:


> Handy having the dog to blame!



Yes, yes it is.


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## IsleOfMan (2 Jan 2014)

Finished off the last of the ham and turkey yesterday. Thank God for Vol-au-Vents. Still a lot of other stuff to go.


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## Odea (6 Jan 2014)

Took down all the decorations today and back in boxes. Tomorrow back up in to the attic for another year. This job gets worse every year as I get older. Only for the children, grandchildren and tradition I think I would head off to sunny Spain or somewhere for the Christmas. Any suggestions?


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## SoylentGreen (15 Jan 2014)

Christmas already seems like a long time ago now!


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## Marion (17 Jan 2014)

SoylentGreen said:


> Christmas already seems like a long time ago now!



Not really for me. My latest credit card bill brought the memories flooding back. 

Did I really spend that much? 

Marion


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