The adverts promise snow even though we've only had a white Christmas four times in 51 years. The myth of happy families is most definitely a myth since 500,000 elderly people will spend Christmas Day alone and Childline receives a staggering 50,000 calls from children and young people over the 12 days of the festivities. And the supermarket adverts have reminded us in no uncertain terms that someone has to do all the work (it's mum apparently, if you believe it).
I just can't get excited by it. I haven't decorated a house at Christmas since at least 2006 (mostly because I always go away) and the expectation of money spent on gifts just frightens the hell out of me more each year - hence my detestation at the tidal flood of advertising which hits in October.
It's all about money, how much you spend and how expensive the gifts are and I'm sure I'm not the only person who at this time of year feels under pressure to meet expectation when funds are low and the only way to cover everything is to get into credit card debt.
I also dread having to decide who will be let down at Christmas because I have to be somewhere else. I guess that's my fault for living so far from family but I always need to be in more than one place at the same time. It's the same every year and it's been like that for years.
For some reason this year more than most I am not looking forward to the festive season. It's been an up and down year and I don't really feel like celebrating since there have been more downs than ups and Christmas and New Year herald nothing more than the change of a digit on the calendar.
So you'll just have to put up with my festive moanings. Hopefully when December arrives and it actually is Christmas I'll start to feel differently. I saw Christmas puds in the shops in August and I was not happy!
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