christmas

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white and purple cardboard box
Photo by Jan Romero on Unsplash

The holiday season can be a special, magical time. I have always been a huge fan of Christmas, myself, and usually, the whole month of December puts a smile on my face.

However, one of the reasons this time of year is so special is that we can often get together with family and celebrate all the good things that happened in the year. If your year has not been as good, or you can’t get together with certain family members for some reason, it may not be so special.

A lot of us found it hard to enjoy the holidays during the height of COVID since we weren’t allowed to see family and friends. This difficulty during the holidays extends to more than just pandemics, however.

Redditors have lots of stories about why Christmas Eve is already ruined for them this year.

Some of these stories are funny, and some are sad, but all of them are valid.

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A reindeer leads a sleigh with another reindeer in a snowy forest
Photo by Norman Tsui on Unsplash

It's the most festive time of the year.

it's full steam ahead to Christmas.

One of the best things about Christmas is holiday-themed tv shows and movies.

Who doesn't love the classics?

Watching the best holiday films and passing them on to the next generations and loved ones can be such a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Even if your favorite Christmas movie is 'Diehard,' the jollies are there.

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People Break Down How Their Christmas Was Absolutely Ruined
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Christmas isn't always the happiest season of all.

Not everybody has a beautiful family and presents to go home to.

And some people have family that are so rotten they'd rather be lonely.

The holidays can be morphed from jolly and bright to somber and dark real quick.

It doesn't take much to dampen the festivities.

Redditor bleachspot wanted to hear about the gritty and let's face it, more realistic side of the holiday season. They asked:

"What ruined your Christmas?"
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Men. Why are you so difficult to shop for?

Guys are always like... "anything" or "whatever." It matters guys, make some decisions.

You know you want things, it's ok to admit it.

Now people have had to cobble together a "best of" idea gift list.

That's how many people are lost in trying to shop for y'all.

Redditor bigpimp0 wanted to know the best gift ideas for all the boys, by asking:

"What are good gifts for men?"
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Merry Christmas and Bah, humbug!

The holidays are a time of joy for many, but also a time of turmoil for others.

It's ok to not love this season of "happy" and "merry."

Redditor perfectnegligence wanted everyone to share their worst thoughts about the holiday season, asking:

"What do you hate about Christmas?"

I love Christmas, but that's just me.

I know plenty of people who hunker down and just survive this time.

Mandatory

"The expectation to still give gifts to friends or family who are very aware that you are struggling financially (ie behind on utilities and getting food from pantries). ESPECIALLY hate the mandatory employee contribution to gifts for the boss." ~ FlippingPanda

Happy Drag Queen GIF by Coach Giphy

Too Much

"Grandparents loading my kids with toys. It sounds really nice, but when you have multiple grandparents just going crazy, they end up with a lot of cheap crap. Like seriously, don’t get 7 or 8 $5-$10 toys, get one nicer toy. Or throw some books in there. If it has pictures, they’ll like it, I promise. Or clothes."

"Ask me their sizes, and get a shirt or something. But PLEASE no more cheap toys that aren’t age appropriate or aren’t their interests or that break as soon as they use it. It’s so wasteful and it turns Christmas into an endurance run just to satisfy your own ego because you never actually visit." ~ shelbyknits

I Hate Him!

"Elf on the Shelf. I have an irrational hatred for that creepy little b**tard." ~ KirbyBucketts

"Ha! It’s actually quite fun, we don’t do any of the lore, or 'she’s watching you' crap. We just pose her in funny situations each night and the kids love waking up to see where she is the next day. Tonight she’s being attacked by her toy dinosaurs." ~ Buildsoc

Not Authentic

"How commercialized it is. It has essentially become a big marketing event for companies that guilt you into buying things you normally wouldn't." ~ Tuesday2017

"Shopping isn't even enjoyable anymore. I miss the 90s when I could excitedly save up and then buy the latest CD as a gift, now I spend months stressed, trying to think of something each family member wouldn't have already bought for themselves." ~ Famous_Paramedic7562

What a Waste!

"It’s the end of the year and a cold, harsh reminder that another year has gone by and I haven’t done a f**king thing that was at all meaningful." ~ eggshitter

Sad A Christmas Story GIF by filmeditor Giphy

It really has gotten so commercial on the outside. What I buy you, doesn't measure my love for you.

Not Impressed

"I used to hate needing to come up with cool ideas for gifts for the whole family that's not too expensive. But recently I got over it and I'm not trying to impress anyone anymore, so now I just buy every family member a box of assorted chocolates." ~ PrettyPotapenko

unimpressed country music GIF by Shania Twain Giphy

Rub it in...

"My parents and all my relatives have passed away, so no Xmas shopping, parties, and dinners. No cards. No calls. No gifts. Just getting through the whole month of December, as they ram happy family entertainment into your senses 24/7." ~ DungeonPeaches

"And then people who literally know this rub it in by asking afterward how your Christmas was. How do you think it was, just like the day before and the day after." ~ bay_lamb

That Tree

"Putting the lights on and taking them off the Christmas tree. I LOVE Christmas trees and I LOVE sparkly lights, so when I do my lights I do them right. Every singe branch is wrapped, from the trunk out, and the entire truck is wrapped too. I like the sparkle to come from within. No for needle is spared."

"For example, I did my moms tree a couple years ago when she was sick and couldn’t do it herself. I put 6000 lights on a 12ft tree. She said everyone who saw it was like holy crap, it’s so bright! My mom thinks I should do it professionally, but I hate putting the lights on and taking them off. It’s soooo time consuming, but the pay off is worth it." ~ snowf**kerforreal

'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

"How the lesson of tolerance in 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' is flawed: he is treated with respect only after showing his practical value. This has bothered me for as long as I can remember. Largely because of how very popular the song is." ~ JSanzi

"I totally agree with your sentiment, but I don’t think it is saying that he only gained value due to his usefulness, but that the other reindeers only realized his value afterwards. That’s just how I’ve always interpreted it, I could be wrong." ~ Nice_Entertainment91

Fear

"Gift anxiety. It's supposed to be great, but I loathe trying to pick a gift for someone. It makes my sick with fear that they'll hate it." ~ Glorfindelirious

Sad Season 1 GIF by Good Girls Giphy

Let's try our best. Times are tough. Money is tight.

Let's try to celebrate, even if we have to find strangers.