Please can we stop making Christmas so early. It’s confusing my 3-year-old
Before the Halloween paraphernalia and pumpkins even had a chance to sell at half price, shops were erecting their Christmas trees.
Well and truly over it
The first of November welcomed Christmas bling, Santa’s Laplands were opening for business and Mariah started screeching from speakers.
Every year it feels like Christmas gets earlier. People seem to be decorating their homes earlier, the advertising on TV starts earlier and the questions from the kids start earlier.
By the time Christmas actually arrives, I’m well and truly over it. I feel ready to shove that big red man where the sun doesn’t shine. If only I had a chimney to do it. Scrooge, you say? Well, maybe I am.
But, being a mum to a toddler (and an eight-year-old), here are some reasons why:
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The waiting game
My three-year-old has no concept of time. He calls tomorrow next week, and yesterday tomorrow. The only real distinction of time in the day is defined by what he eats. Though he will try to get dessert after breakfast too.
So, explaining that Santa isn’t coming for another eight weeks is a complete waste of time. It’s incomprehensible to him. He feels like he will never arrive. Feels like that to me too.
The questions
It’s understandable that a three-year-old is curious about Santa, as well as a little confused. The questions come thick and fast. Some days I lose count.
But when you’ve had incessant quizzing for eight weeks, it’s hard to remain enthusiastic. Not to mention hard to remember what elaborate stories you’ve already told.
The Christmas tree
When the preschool tree goes up, so must ours. Cue the enthusiasm, and helpful hands. But when the tree starts to feel like a permanent fixture, it loses its appeal.
As it does when the baubles start to be removed and thrown around as ‘balls’.
The advertising
What three-year-old isn’t the prime target for a LOT of Christmas TV advertising. OK, sure, I can remove him from all TV viewing, but … sanity.
When the advertising starts, so too does the, “I want that, Mummy”. Before you know it, he ‘wants’ most of Target, so you’re confused at what you should actually buy.
The mental drain
Being a mum is draining enough. Add into the mix the mental load that Christmas brings, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for alcohol-fueled egg nog EVERY.SINGLE. DAY.
Christmas starting earlier brings with it a prolonged sense of stress. We end up overthinking things, over planning and definitely over shopping. Ridiculous when a three-year-old is happy to play with a box, right?
So, please can we stop making Christmas so early. It’s unnecessary and removes a lot of the magic. It ends in an anticlimax and a slump in the armchair on the day.
In the misquoted words of Mariah, “All I want for Christmas is for it to start 4 weeks before.”
