None of the things on the list annoy me. About the only things that annoy me during the holidays are the same things that annoy me any time of the year. Large crowds, long lines and people behaving badly. It's a mild annoyance, certainly not anything that ruins my day, and I experience that annoyance mostly if I'm in a hurry and everyone else seems to be dawdling.

Most do annoy me. Christmas isn't my favorite holiday.

I liked the fruitcake my mother made. It was more of a fruited cake. I still make it for my husband. I am gluten intolerant.

I'm not much of a drinker, so no hangovers. Now the loud sloppy drunks.......

I don't mind Christmas decorations being left up till the Epiphany on Jan 6th. One year we had poinsettias out until spring thaw though. They froze into the ground and we couldn't pull them out.

When I hear complaints about too many party invitations. Sorry, but this is nothing to complain about. They instead should feel lucky that they are thought of and included.

People assuming everyone is Christian. I'm not, although I celebrate with DH. I am in no way offended, it just would be nice to be recognized for who I am during the holiday season.

Homes that are overly decorated. You know the ones. We all go to see them because we can't believe all that is crammed and stuffed on their front lawns! Often with no rhyme or reason to how they are displayed.

I do like the dark fruitcake with the almond paste that my local grocery makes. I'm the only one who eats the 5000 calorie loaf of it.

I did get a car for Christmas in 2007 and still have it.

Lack of willpower? - see the remark re fruitcake.

I love everything about the holidays. I love the concerts and plays I see this time of year, the special foods, the parties, the dressing up, the gift buying and wrapping, the warmth of family gatherings, the scent of pine, the twinkling lights, all of it, I love.

Eld, I think it's crummy not to have Chanukah acknowledged, or the fact that you are graciously celebrating a holiday that is not yours, per se. A good friend delivered latkes to my house last year, omg, yum! What a treat that was. This year I am dropping off homemade doughnuts for her.

I like Alton Brown's fruit cake. And there's no mention of music on that list. Hearing some of these songs once is nice. Maybe twoce over a month's time, but that's it, stop already!

I love nearly all the things you hate! Tinsel icicles? Haven't seen them since I was a child and they were a pain to put on properly and a nuisance to clean up (could clog up a vacuum cleaner in a NY second!). No hangovers for me - I barely drink.

I adore a good homemade fruitcake. My grandson helped me make on last year - ate it all very quickly.

Although there's plenty of things that annoy me about the holidays, only one of the above bothers me and it's the car commercials. All the other ones either don't have any affect on me personally or I don't care enough to notice when others do it. And I happen to like some fruitcake, just not the kind with that green and yellow fruit in it. And I'm always happier after the holidays because they are OVER! WITH!

A car for Xmas ... HaHaHaHa. Maybe in my next life.

Yeah, the car commercials. One annoyed the h@ll out of me last year, and this year it’s back!!! The one about the young fellow who buys BOTH an SUV and a pickup and his wife chooses the pickup for herself. Almost makes me sick to my stomach - some people are struggling to put food on the table and buy maybe one small gift for a child. This commercial is too much in-your-face “I have soooo much money.”

None of these really bother me. My husband loves fruit cake, I buy him some every year.

The only thing that bothers me about the holidays is the rampant commercialism. And that they start the season far too early for my taste.

I am also not a big fan of the almost necessary requirement to be festive for weeks on end :-) I can manage a couple of days at most, then I've had enough!! Lol!

But then there is the car commercial where Santa is driving and has to stop so the Golden Retriever puppy can pee. Who can't love that????

Gardengal, I agree. Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was young Christmas didn't start until a week or two before and lasted to about a week after new years. That was the time family and friends visited each other. The festivities didn't end the day after Christmas.

I agree about the car commercials. Hate those being pushed so heavily at Christmas, and I don’t know a soul who has received a car at Christmas.

I do love some homemade eggnog though. A friend just gave me a bottle of hers the other day and we plan to enjoy a sip tonight.

The increased traffic and crazy driver bug me. It’s no wonder so many people would rather purchase online.

Lately, I try to list for myself what I am grateful for every day. I think one's outlook flavors one's life, if you give thanks for what you are grateful for, it is possible that you might actually be happier than if you pore over all of your complaints and aggravations.

I love a good fruitcake and in fact had a very nice slice this evening that my sister-in-law had made. I also enjoy eggnog with a splash of rum. Eggnog and rum at Christmas always reminds me of a lovely professor who taught history when I was a part-time Mature Student just beginning university studies. A few days before Christmas, he treated our small class to shortbread cookies and eggnog, including rum for us to add to eggnog if we chose. I found out many years later that he is Jewish and likely doesn't observe Christmas. His gesture was very much a part of his gentle and kind character, a perfect introduction to university life for me.

......I prefer to sit at the kid table. Always more fun!

My DD's MIL arrived with the Elf on the Shelf and 24 days of little toys from the dollar store for the eldest grandson many years ago. Since that time, little brother also joined the family, and finally DD reduced the visit to one or two weeks before Christmas. Then her brother made her a cute advent calendar with 25 little pockets. And of course there are Christmas stockings to fill. What a chore and expense. I would never wish the 24 days of Elf with gifts on any family; wiser families limit the Elf to the fun of the children finding him each morning (and no gifts in tow).

Sheilajoyce - I didn't know that 24 days of gifts was part of the Elf routine. That's ridiculous. Some of my friends do the Elf bit for their grandkids but they don't give gifts.

And I did get a car for Christmas - sort of....... Five years ago the lease on my car was due to expire at the end of January and we decided to take advantage of the end of the year sales and we purchased a new car. But I didn't get to pick it up until the day after. And I was crushed that they didn't bother to put a bow on it............

The crowds. Even grocery shopping I have to go really early to avoid ALL the people. The rude drivers. Guy almost crashed into us when his lane ended and was merging into ours. DH was driving and would NOT let him in. Crazy! Both of them!

I always let those pushy drivers in when a merge lane ends. They may think they won and put one over me but I always know who the real jerk is.

My husband makes the best fruitcake. He makes probably 36 mini loaves every year, and people gobble it up. It was his mom’s recipe, and he was so sad the first Christmas after she passed that he wouldn’t be having it. Then I remembered I asked her to write it down, he was ecstatic that I had the recipe. It has started a mini competition on that side of the family, as they are all making it now. The recipe was his grandmother’s originally. And I am not really bothered by anything on the list. I actually like some of the car commercials, I like to see the new technology

There is nothing on the list that annoys me. The list itself is annoying. What I do find annoying are the fuddy duddies, Grinches, grumps, Scrooges, whatever you want to call them, that do their best to rain on everyone else's parade. Whoever compiled that list is a good example. A couple more examples can be found on the thread about Elf on a Shelf.

A few posts above, Lucille stated "I think one's outlook flavors one's life, if you give thanks for what you are grateful for, it is possible that you might actually be happier than if you pore over all of your complaints and aggravations." I agree with her 100% !

You are a wise woman, Lucille!

Rusty

I loved Xmas as a child and a young mother but not anymore. Thankfully we don't exchange gifts anymore and I only buy for the grandkids and not that much. I was looking at my address book and almost everyone is dead I used to send cards to. I bought a dozen cute cards so just that many will get cards. Maybe my last year to send. Daughter said absolutely no one she knows sends them. Today how different things are. I never saw a Xmas tree till Xmas morning. There was nothing and Xmas morning I was led downstairs and made to eat a little breakfast and then into the living room where there was a huge lit tree with all the presents. Now my granddaughter puts her tree up Nov 1st.

nothing in the above list offends me. I don't like fruitcake - don't think I've ever had one but if others like it, wonderful for them.

car commercials - usually couldn't even tell you what make of car they're selling. that includes the one where the couple buys 2 - a truck and an SUV? seen it tons of times and have no idea who makes them. if a dog or critter is in the commercial that's what I look at, not the car.

what I don't like is the materialistic attitude toward Christmas. we didn't get much when I was growing up and my kids didn't get much either compared to others (including my nieces and nephews). they ended up with more than enough with the grandparents and an uncle who sent them gifts. I don't buy gifts anymore, I send some money (not much by most standards) to the younger gkids and usually get something for my sister (who needs nothing). This year I'm gonna suggest the 2 of us buy each other lunch at least every other month in the coming year. who knows how much longer we have here and time together is more important than something else we could buy each other. otoh, she often gives me pens and markers (knowing I always lose them or forget where I put them) and I do appreciate that! one year she also gave me a good number of those little sticky pads and I love having a supply of those to use to post notes to myself (I always forget to buy them for myself). and she'll usually buy me a few of my favorite candy bars (they can't be found anywhere close to me, but she and her dh travel and she finds them in other areas). love that too. they're candy bars from our younger years growing up - not popular now.

LOL I would have to agree--your list is either not in my wheel house or doesn't annoy me. I am just glad to read this thread and see that I am not the only one who doesn't have a list of 10 things that annoy me at Christmas. I have three adult children and it dawned on me this year how female heavy the responsibility for this all coming off is. I remember being a young mother and being overwhelmed at the responsibility but I must have grown into it ...but for some reason it HIT again this year. Maybe it is because this is the first holiday season with a married offspring so sharing and coordinating is REAL. I have always swam against the tide on the secular commercial side of Christmas but I guess I have realized to just LET IT ALL GOOOOO and enjoy the parts I LOVE. (not in any particular order)

#1 Nativity scenes.

#2 Baking

#3 Our door lights/decorations

#4 Mass with the entire family gathered

#5 A great gift idea

#6 Christmas letter well executed

#7 Decorating the house

#8 A new find

#9 Finding the right Christmas dinner favor

#10 Baking shared at work!!

The crowds are pretty much my biggest gripe. I can't go anywhere without there being tons of people and traffic on the road. You really do need to go early in the morning to beat the crowds. If you don't think people still shop at brick and mortar stores, just come over here and see it for yourself!

Arcy_gw - you hit the nail on the head about the heavy burden the holidays can have on the females in the family. I sometimes wonder how I did it back when I worked full time, sometimes overtime, raised and took care of a family, did all the cleaning, shopping, cooking, laundry, nurturing, and even most of the yard work and then was expected to be the happy hostess every holiday. I don't have the job and family raising to do anymore and not much of the yard work but I'm just not into it anymore. It doesn't bring a lot of joy and that's what counts after all.

None of that list annoys me. I love the Christmas season. Like Rusty, the only thing that I dislike about this time of year are the miserable wretches that want to put a damper on everyone elses fun. If they are not into it, fine. Everyone is not the same. But really,keep your negative attitude to yourself. What type of person sees people being excited to celebrate something and feels the need to try to ruin it? I hate when people tell me its too early for ME to listen to the music,that MY decorations are too much, that I spend too much on gifts for people that I WANT TO give gifts too. I mean, not even a gift for them! A few people have asked me what I plan to get for SO this year. I always get lots of things. The total for his gifts is usually between 1 and 2 thousand dollars. Not much to me,given the circumstances. He is so good to me all year, so when I get my profit sharing check at work every December,I spend most of it on his Christmas. How in the name of Bob Crachit is someone gonna tell ME that I spend too much money on him? Or that I listen to the music too early? Or anything like that. No ones asking them to chip in for the gifts or to tune their own radios to the music. What's their problem? Anything to be negative. Anything to be contrary. Anything to counteract the joy and excitement of the season. That's pitiful.

I remember the year that an older kid at school had told one of my nieces (5 years old at the time) that Santa wasn't real. She was devastated. That kid was a miserable creature, who thoroughly enjoyed seeing her enjoyment ruined. Luckily, her parents were able to convince her otherwise and the magic lasted for a few more years for her.

So yeah. My list would be fuddy duddies. Oh, and white/clear Christmas lights. What's the point? Although,in fairness,they dont really ANNOY me. They are pretty..I guess it just seems like a missed opportunity.......

I love that dreary winter starts with decorating in warm colors of red and green and the lights make the lack of sunlight less obvious.

Fruitcake - the recipe I grew up with has several pounds of pecans in it, it's gotta be good with pecans.

Tinsel - I use the real stuff from Germany, it hangs beautifully and no static electricity, my pets never touched it.

Lingering decorations - I start un-decorating on boxing day so I'm finished well before the first.

Eggnog - real homemade or from a local dairy is wonderful.

It annoys me that Christmas lasts for 3-4 months, commercially swallowing up other holidays in the drive to buy, buy, buy.

Getting yelled at for not saying Merry Christmas when it isn't actually the 24/25th.

Bad remakes of good Christmas music.

I do look forward to getting my yearly fruitcake, actually a Stollen. I also leave up decorations- I do a winter village in the house, and Christmas gets put in for a week or two around Christmas, then taken back out to just be a winter village again.

Annoying: "Rampant commercialism" -- yup. But we can all "just say no" when feeling social pressure to keep up with everyone else's buying/gifting.

Selfishly, I am grateful that no one on my street goes for those competitive, over-the-top, flashy noisy outside decorations. I'm happy for those that enjoy them, especially little kids, but I prefer a quieter, understated look so I'm grateful I'm a couple blocks away from certain houses around here ;-)

Littlebug, that commercial irks me every time I hear that woman say "I LOVE it!" I was so ticked that it was back again this year! And it plays way too often.

I miss tinsel - I think it really finished off the tree. But with dogs and a cat - there'd be tinsel everywhere, including in the crazy pup who would no doubt eat some of it.

Christmas music is what annoys me the most, followed by increased traffic and parking lots and garages that are full.

I try not to let the little things annoy me, and with so many fighting to stay alive and some losing their battle, it's all just not that important.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but a friends son-in law passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer. A nice guy and only 43. He was a county deputy, Medical First Responder, EMT, 911 operator, and Fire & Rescue. A busy guy! He was an excellent welder and had a talent for creating functional steel projects to make others lives easier.

The commercialization. And the competition/humble brags as to who has spent more for presents, the self-imposed frenzied activity and perfectionism, the pressure for perfection. And the forced togetherness of people who have nothing in common and sometimes don't even like each other. This is why Halloween is my favorite holiday. No presents, no major shopping/cooking/cleaning and entertaining, great spooky movies and lots of chocolate, and one can leave the light off if so desired. :)

Some of the annoying things are just minor inconveniences really. I do try to be joyful & thankful for all things. However, it does annoy me that the season is rushed by retailers. I love Thanksgiving & it gets shoved under the rug.
Most things I just try to laugh at and go on.
TBH I've never had a fruit cake. Maybe I should try it!?

So sorry to hear that marylmi. Prayers to all.