Time to end Christmas!

Sounds good I will not buy anyone any presents but I will be accepting gifts.

I'm with you. My ancestors, who were Puritans, did not celebrate Christmas or any Pagan holiday. Their only 'special' day was Sunday, when they went to church and studied the scriptures, often in the original Hebrew language...

They were required to WORK on Christmas and other "holy" days, and were punished or censured if they drank too much at such times (ordinarily, Puritans were allowed to have beer, etc., with their meals, as it was considered safer and healthier than untreated ground or well water).

Ending it in my life this year. Making my own traditions, whatever that will be. Not playing.

It's not only consumeristic, it's bad for the environment. One alternative, would be to make rules for giving such as: all gifts must be practically useful and handmade.

Handmade from recycled materials, lol.

So you're saying Christmas is about giving? I feel for you. :(

Time to end Consumerism!

If you feel it's not about giving...I'm proud of you!
But that's the reality in America and has been for as long as I've been alive.
High time to change that and return to the real meaning of Christmas!
Down with "Black Friday" enough is enough...

Yeah sure, just cause some people (mostly lazy,freeloading, welfare queens) are not happy, lets ban happiness for all so the feelings of unhappy people are not offended.

Sure, that'll solve all the problems in the world. Christmas, thats the real issue here.

It's not ending in my family, but we're not spending like idiots either. Lots of baked goods, homemade stuff, good company, good food, lots of love. Pretty much the way we've always done it.

I don't think it's just lazy, freeloading welfare queens that are having trouble just now.
Although...that may be the case in Canada...but I doubt it.
Hey...Live it up man!
DOn't let me rain on your parade!

That sounds very nice; I just believe it should be that way, perhaps on a slightly simpler and more modest level (in other words: less forced, less intense, less calculated and planned), ~every day of the year.

THE FIRST RULE OF AN ELF: TREAT EVERY DAY LIKE CHRISTMAS

Why be happy only on certain days? Why reserve happiness only for certain people?

NOOOOO,It's time for people to live within their means not above it.Also it's time for people to teach their kids respect,kindness and,honesty. The real values of life or enjoy your chinese garbage and spoiled fuking bratts that have no concept of reality.

Just don't participate. I decided to take myself out of the hectic Christmas trap years ago.

For example, I have a large extended family that gets together once a year (Christmas) and they expect everybody who attends to buy gifts for everyone else. I said fuck it. I am not taking part. Do not buy me anything and I will not be buying anybody anything in return. It's not that I'm broke or that my extended family is broke. It's quite the opposite which made gift giving even more irritating. We do not wait for a holiday to buy something that we want. As a result it is impossible to buy anything for anybody in the family since they already have everything. It got to the point where we were just exchanging gift cards with each other in equal amounts. I hate to shop and/or enter the mall or retail stores (this was years ago before the net and online shopping because what it is) so I finally said, hey keep your money that you would have bought me a gift card with and I'll keep my money that I would have bought you a gift card of equal value with and it will work work out the same with less hassle. I suggested that we pool all the money we spent on useless crap to give to each other and donate it to a charity. They didn't like that idea. They are a bunch of greedy assholes. At first my extended family was pissed at me when I took myself out of the gift giving loop but oh well. They got over it. That was years ago.

Now I buy for my kid only, I have much less stress and I go to the extended fams house to eat a nice fattening meal after my daughter opens her gifts on Christmas morning. I don't cook either so I always mail my cousin (where dinner is hosted every year) a check as a contribution to help cover the expense of what she buys to cook. She likes to cook so it all works out.

I still hate to shop but I love my kid, unlike how I feel about my extended family, so I don't mind suffering to make sure she has a great Christmas every year. My extended family are not worth the effort or hassle though.

Taking yourself out of a loop that you don't want to be in very powerful OP. I highly suggest you do it. It is also very liberating.

Christmas is about family...but not just our families, it the family of man.
Be generous to a local charity this year.

People are hurting and as we go forward I'm afraid it's only going to get worse.