How-to Avoid Christmas before Christmas

As I’ve said before, I like Christmas day just fine—it’s the weeks leading up to Christmas that I so dislike. I hate the hustle and bustle. I hate the noise. I hate the pressure. I hate the consumerism. [Pause.] Christmas does not bring out the best in me. So in order to minimize the reminders of Christmas that I’m surrounded by on a daily basis, I basically try to hibernate as much as possible. This is what I do (or rather don’t do).

Avoid going to nonessential stores
Is there any place that I need to go to besides the supermarket? The answer is almost always no. I admit, last week I went to a nonessential store because I had $10 free to spend there (so I got a peeler for a grand total of $0.19…score!). The store already had an array of utterly unnecessary Christmas paraphernalia that I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at. I just hate seeing Christmas crap that is two steps away from being in a landfill (yes, I’m talking to you ugly Christmas tree mug stuffed with hot chocolate for $14.99. No thank you.). 

Avoid going anywhere during peak hours
Too many people=unpleasant experience. I don’t want to be anywhere near a mall during the weekend because the traffic is particularly terrible. And I certainly don’t want to be inside a store when it’s busier and has longer checkout lines. I want to be in and out of a store as quickly as possible. And while I can’t control when everyone else shops, I can control when I go shopping.

Avoid watching TV
When I was a kid, people actually watched TV and commercials were unavoidable. Now with all of the streaming services available, it’s easier to avoid commercials altogether…which is nice. Or you could just watch less TV. Because watching TV commercials for Christmas anything is just awful. Show someone how much you love them by buying them THIS! Of course, once the shiny newness of that present wears off, it’s going in the closet (just like all the other stuff you don’t use) to be forgotten until you do a massive cleaning and donate it to a thrift store. [Sigh.]

So far this holiday season, I think I’ve done a fairly good job of avoiding being overloaded by Christmas. But things have only begun—Black Friday is just around the corner. And I still have another five weeks to go…