I Don’t Like Christmas! What Should I Do?

At Christmas, all the shops are decorated with Christmas trees, lights and dresses… and you would much rather stay home for a month. Everyone is wondering where, how and with whom they spend their holidays, but you yourself don’t like Christmas. Don’t worry – there are other people in the world like you.

Christmas and its traditions: the upheaval of every December

Christmas carols, birth landscapes, decorated spruces, Christmas cakes… For many people, it is a time of happiness, togetherness with family and congratulations. For other people, it’s a burden, instead of the joy of seeing people again, it just brings problems and quarrels.

It seems like we should all be happy and full of Christmas spirit. Otherwise, we are cheerleaders, boring or negative. Finding “I don’t like Christmas” is like saying it’s from another planet.

People don’t understand you. They may think you’re weird or have a problem you’ve been dragging with you since you were a child, when you realized that Santa Claus isn’t real or you didn’t get the gift you wanted.

However, it has nothing to do with it. It’s about not feeling like a celebration in itself or you’re even against some of the traditions that people always have in December.

Wasting non-existent money on gifts from people who are only seen once a year, or sweating in a hat making a gala dinner for family members who can’t stand. This can be seen as hypocrisy or a lack of realism.

Party or consumption?

Alcohol, gifts, excitement, congested malls: everything is equally chaos in the pre-Christmas period.

Why? Because of a celebration that no longer has any religious significance for many people, it is just unbridled consumption and publications on social media about how happy we are with so and so many people around us.

To all this, it should be added that not only family members but also advertisements bring extra pressure to achieve happiness.

Everyone smiles in commercials, enjoys a huge dinner together, or orders gifts they can’t afford.

If you don’t like Christmas, don’t pode at it for a bad conscience. Diversity often causes misunderstandings. Just as you don’t want others to judge you, try not to judge others.

At the same time, remember that many people  follow traditions without even being top friends during Christmas. You are a brave person when you say you are against it!

Tips for surviving Christmas

In addition to feeling weird about not wanting to celebrate Christmas (the same as saying you don’t like summer or eating meat), you also need to face the situation and avoid being amazed.

1. Think Christmas is like any day

Some people choose to stay home and eat dinner just like on any ordinary day watching TV or reading a book. But to do this, of course, you have to live alone or accept that your family is spending Christmas somewhere else.

If you’re not the only one close to you who doesn’t like the party, you can have dinner together just as if it were an everyday meeting. No candles, Christmas cakes or turkey.

2. Go on vacation

Perhaps the best way to get out of the middle of a party is to leave home for those days. Airline tickets are often cheaper, for example, on December 24th.

Go to a country where Christmas is not celebrated, such as Morocco, Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand or Dubai.

Maybe being away from your family is a “weight” that falls off your shoulders and you can seize the opportunity to stay at a hotel that night just like it would any other day.

3. Don’t plan anything

If you don’t like Christmas, you don’t  have to be involved in planning dinner or buying gifts. Let others take care of them. You can just show up and enjoy the food.

Consider that the fact that you are there may be special enough for someone in your family.

You don’t have to spend two days cooking or cleaning your home, listening to your mom when she talks about her disagreements with your grandmother, or that she needs to buy a gift for your cousin.

Don’t attend anything related to the party, but  maintain your best look during the day. 

4. Surround yourself with positive people

Maybe you don’t like Christmas because every year is similar to the previous one. You see the same people, eat the same food, or talk about the same things.

Have you considered organizing a different party with your friends? It can be anywhere, but without family pressure or traditions to follow.

5. Find the purpose of Christmas

In short, the  celebration should be related to religion and not to consumption or pretending to be happy.

It may be better to go to the hospital to help sick people, to church, to pray, or to help others in need.

Maybe what you don’t like about Christmas are “empty” or defined traditions. Now you can do whatever you want to spend a great time.