You know Christmas is coming when...Sainsbury's starts selling Quality Street and Roses in August.
When you look at the majority of prime time telly at Xmas it's full of soaps, variety and light entertainment shows, and reality TV shows most of which are achingly scripted, poorly produced, badly packaged and full of gurning low rent pseudo celebs. Even game shows are filled with ineloquent Z listers determined to thrust their presence into our living rooms; why is that? Getting on a TV gameshow was the one of the few chances the average person ever had to experience a life changing opportunity, to win a few quid (or half a Mini Metro on Bullseye), and yet now it's seen as better TV to cast tedious celebs in these shows (e.g. family fortunes) rather than giving Joe Public a chance to clear a credit card or pay for Xmas!
I dislike 90% of what I see on TV in primetime hours, let alone at Xmas, it's just utter f*****g detritus. Some say 'it's an escape or a distraction from the rigours of day to day living', but I am forced to question if people find this kind of stuff stimulating or engaging then what must their day to day lives be like?!?!?! Those in charge of Xmas TV programme scheduling obviously believe the average UK TV viewer is an amoebic ****** who thrives on annual repetition, and this misconception gives them carte blanche to keep recycling the same shyte year after year. Xmas starts to feel like Groundhog Day; I'm not religious at all, but I might have to turn to God just to get me through the Xmas TV schedule!! When you also consider:
> supermarket panic buying once they threaten to close their doors for 1 or 2 days over Xmas (and everyone shops like a famine is imminent)
> gridlock of the British transport system once we get half an inch of snow
> the sheer desperation to get out the house, away from the family and into the January sales by Boxing day even if it means spending more money tat that seems cheap at the time (after having the biggest present fest of the year a day before)
For me the only solution is to book a holiday outside of the UK as there are a good few places where Christmas doesn't feel so ball achingly stressful and hasn't degenerated into the kind of absurdity and madness that ruins what could ultimately be a reasonable seasonal break (bah humbug!!).
Many thanks to the OP; that's inspired me to go and book an Xmas holiday!!