E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Universal Studios
Are you dreading the idea of being nice this holiday season? You're not alone.
You endured Black Friday. You survived the pepper spray and the taser guns. You may have even nabbed an awesome bargain or decided to cut back a bit this season because of the grim economy.
But it's not even December yet. There's still a lot of misery left to endure.
At least that's the take of the venerable Consumer Reports, which asked its readers what they dread most about the holiday season.
Most of the top stress-inducing fears are obvious:
- 68 percent of the respondents dread crowds and long lines
- 37 percent fear gaining weight
- 37 percent fear going into debt.
But No. 10 on the list is a bit of a surprise. According to the survey, 15 percent dread the notion of "having to be nice." Yep, the idea of a forced smile and a "Have a nice day!" is just too much for some Americans. And nearly a quarter of those surveyed (23 percent) just can't stand Christmas music. The Grinch would be so proud.
"For all the chatter about nostalgia, family fun and gift giving this time of year, many people don't like too much of a good thing," said Tod Marks, senior editor at Consumer Reports.
"This commercial overindulgence wears on most of us," Marks said. "The long season appears to sour teh Tiny Tim in all of us."
The poll's results of the survey were based on a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,013 adults.
For the full list, see the story here
What are you dreading most this season? (Be civil, folks.)
Leave a Comment:
Have a nice day :).......
I'm dreading all the comments to come!
I Love Love Love seeing the large family and getting together at this time of year. I Love the cozy fuzzy feeling it gives me when we are all togehter and I Love the fact we do this to celebrate Jesus Birthday (no matter when he was born). And I LOVE even more that the rest of the world celebrates Jesus with us. Why would you celebrate his birth if you don't believe in Jesus? I think all of you are a bunch of scrooges. :)
Merry Christmas - Jesus birth is the reason for the season!
It means families get together and love each other. Forget buying presents. Make a present instead. :)
Actually I am a Christian, but you are dead wrong. Jesus in not "the reason for the season", as December has traditionally been a month for pagan rituals, winter solstice, pagan symbols such as the Christmas Tree, worship and birth of all kinds of Sun Gods and other heathen gods for thousands of years predating Christ. The church didn't even celebrate Christmas in any way until hundreds of years after Jesus, and then only to outdo their pagan counterparts and inject Jesus into December as his birthday, which it isn't. Don't get me wrong, Jesus is one of the reasons, but in no way the reason for the season. Christmas is a secular holiday for the most part, and the whole "war on Christmas" argument is just a bunch of people ignorant of their history, and uptight that the world is wronging them somehow.
Thank you, johnnycakes1.
Christmas eve party with 60 relatives packed into a 3 room apartment. I think I already have a headache.
Why do people insist on such huge family get togethers? 10 people is already pushing it.
LOL, we have 7 kids...9 of us every night... :)
LadyoftheHouse,
7 kids? That's not a family, that's a LITTER. You are using up far more than your share of this earth's natural resources. Use BIRTH CONTROL!
Jack Baptist: I remind you of the last sentence of this article: "Be civil, folks". Your comment to Lady of the House was beyond rude...it was downright cruel and utterly despicable. You need to mind your own business....Lady's decision to have seven children is certainly *none of yours!* May Santa leave coal in your stocking this year..or better yet, may the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future visit you this Holiday Season and give you much needed wisdom on how to treat your fellow man...and woman. Remember that behind these black and white comments are *real* people with *real* feelings.
The comment fits his name, assuming it is his religion........ ignorance run amuck.
Jack's comment sounds like sarcasim. She might have adopted like a lot of responsible loving human beings do.
Can't believe that comment... so rude.
Be thankful you still have a family living.
Be thankful for friends, your health, and inner peace.
I'm dreading the fact that I'll be dealing with Christmas this and Christmas that until the end of the month, and I don't celebrate the holiday. I'm dreading the fact that I'll have to deal with the so-called "War on Christmas" when the people who complain the loudest about it don't want to admit that there are other holidays and holy days at this time of year which should be respected, which they refuse to even acknowledge, especially the television stations. As a matter of fact, I'd love to see the Today Show do positive stories on Hanukkah every day until the end of the holiday, but I'll bet you that the people on the Today Show don't even care to know when or what Hanukkah is, nor are they willing to impart stories about Hanukkah at all. It's not a case of, "I don't know," it's a case of, "I don't want to know, and I don't want YOU to know!"
Today Show, prove me wrong.
Don't worry the NY Times will run plenty of Hanukkah stories since it overlaps with Christmas. And give me a break. We already have to resort to saying Happy Holidays. People seem to forget without Christmas this would even be an issue. So get over it.
I should get over the fact that people overlook everyone's holidays and holy days? I don't think so.
Oh, and I'm not in New York, nor do I see the New York Times which, by the way, won't do what you're stating it will. I'm in Atlanta.
Not everyone is an ignorant arse, Michael. I do respect other people's holidays, I just don't appreciate it when it becomes socially taboo for me to say "Merry Christmas!" If they want to say Happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever they believe in, that's fine by me. Just don't squash my holiday in the name of Political Correctness.
However, I am also dreading the inundation of Christmas everything. Because it is just a sign of how over-commercialized this whole country is, about EVERYTHING. We've lost the true meaning of any of the holidays, and that is just sad.
I don't watch the Today show....but Happy Holidays!
What about Festivus for the rest of us? If the Today Show has to do Christmas and hannuakka specials then they better do something for the rest of us as well.
Catsclaw81, I agree, that not everyone is an ignorant "arse," as you put it. However, the last time someone wished me a "Merry Christmas," and I wished them a "Happy Hanukkah," the response was, "How dare you assume I don't celebrate Christmas," to which I said, "Then why should you assume I do?"
The Today Show doesn't do Hanukkah, but it does do Kwanzaa, which is an artificial holiday created about 40-45 years ago. As for Festivus, I can't answer. But I can ask: if the Today Show can do Kwanzaa, why can't it do Hanukkah?
I really do prefer "Happy Holidays" as a greeting. If someone wants to say something else to me, it's fine. They'll just have to endure my "Happy Holidays" in return. I need the U.S. to stay secular, because I cannot proudly call myself American if it doesn't. Sure, I was raised a Christian, and we have a Christmas tree. Christ wasn't born anywhere near December 25th, so I don't care what we call the day. We don't all have to pretend we're Christians to get through this month; if you're not Christian, please say something in reply to "Merry Christmas" that communicates that there are other ways of existing. It's the American way! And there's not one thing wrong with not celebrating Christmas as a christian, or with not celebrating it at all.
Spot on, Holly! I don't mind Merry Christmas wishes but please don't persecute me for feeling more comfortable saying "Happy Holidays". I'm not attacking Christianity, just trying not to exclude anyone from the "cheer" of the season.
Sticking with the "theme" of this article - I dread the family get gatherings the most, as well as the over exuberant, enthusiastic, cheerful person, co-worker, or loved one who grates on ones nerves VERY quickly. The commercialization of this particular “holiday” has started earlier and earlier each year. Pretty soon there won’t be Thanksgiving or Halloween because this particular “holiday” will have already begun. I wish we could celebrate a holiday in this country on the particular day it is supposed to happen without the commercialization the retailers make of them. It really doesn’t matter what “holiday” it is – just pick one. And for those of you complaining about your “holiday” not being recognized; do you really want the commercialization or the degrading your religious holiday?
Does it REALLY matter whether someone says "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"?
Just answer "Same to you."
There: was that so difficult?
Michael-267231,
Money = press coverage. As soon as all the Haunakah, Eid, Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, etc. celebraters start spending like the XMAS folks, they will get their share of the airwaves.
My 2 cents (rermember when there used to be a "cents" key on the keyboard?)
I remember when you could find a ¢ sign on a keyboard.
It shouldn't be about the money, though.
These days it's all about money. "GREED" so sad
I dread the inevitable relatives who try to to "out-do" everyone else by spending ridiculous amounts of money on the children. I'm sorry; $800-1,000 per child is just plain foolish IMO. Why not spend a couple of hundred and then put the rest in a college fund? I simply do not understand people who feel they have to buy their children's love with a multitude of expensive gifts.
Was there really ever a ¢ key on a computer keyboard? Or are you thinking of a typewriter.
Owl-I agree. We make sure our kids have a "good" Christmas, but I think you send a wrong message when the packages are so high, you can't even see the tree. We participated in a toy drive this year, trading gently used toys across age ranges, and our kids will have a good Christmas will toys still in great shape, for very little money. It shouldn't be about how much you get, but how much you give. In every sense of the word.
Noobster, I could be thinking of a typewriter. I could also be thinking of ancient computers back in the 1970's as well.
Noobster and Michael, that part of a typewriter with all the keys on it is called a keyboard.
Holly -
"Ah, a keyboard. How quaint." (James Doohan, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home")
As far as "fake smiles" go, I hate those year round. Particularly at office parties. For heaven's sake!!! We're with each other 40 hours a week and at the party folks walk around "Oh! HI, PATSY!!! How are YOU???" (Having just piled more junk on her desk to have done by the end of the day.) Give me a break.............. Sigh.
I dread the stupid remakes of classic Christmas shows and movies.
Me too!
I hate the brutal, full-contact, extreme, blood shopping. Makes other blood sports look tame. It's a wonder the stores don't have referees in addition to security.
Don't buy presents....make them! :)
No wonder people seem ruder during the holidays, you'd think they'd make an extra effort to be nice, but they just don't want to.
Um, why not expect people to make the extra effort all year round? And really, what's so great about being fake?
family! ugh
Agreed!
Family is like the sun, the further the better
I moved away from a city so I don't have to put up with most of the holiday related crap. Around here pretty much everybody is friendly all the time, so there's no need for forced nicety. Just relax, enjoy your time off, and do whatever you want to do - don't get pulled every which way by the creeping octopus of American capitalism!
Oh my gosh, what state do you live in? I still haven't found anywhere here where people are polite and kind...
Have you thought that it might be you that is the problem. I have been reading the comments that you post.
I will be spending Christmas with my extended family, where there is lots of love.
Shame on you....what a terrible thing to say. No civility at all.
America is a depressed nation. Not just financially but as a whole. We as American's have grown so cold and distant of our neighbors and of each other it's a very egocentric country now. Growing up in a rural no name town I knew everyone that lived on our street, they'd all look out for each other, watch each other's kids and have bbq's and beers together. There was a time when I could walk home from school which let out at 3pm and wait for mom to get home from work at 6pm because She and I both knew that if I needed anything or I was in trouble I could just go next door. Americans don't hate the holidays because they have to be nice. They hate the holidays because they know that even if they are nice the other guy don't care or appreciate the fact that the effort is being made to be considerate or cordial. Until this country gets out of its funk it's population is going to fall into the same funk not only financially but emotionally too. Its simple human condition.
In other words people need to get their head out of their azzes;-)
Abrupt, Rick, but more or less true. If people really want to get into the spirit, they need to spend some time serving others. Nothing makes you more grateful than seeing kids in a shelter freaking out over the single token toy they are likely to get from a toy drive.
Wow, why the bleak outlook PraziainDFW? You should be happy!!! Go Packers!!! Woo-Hoo!!!
I once had a relative tell me I was being selfish because I said I wanted to buy a gift that was a suprise and unexpected. It was very selfish of me not to purchase the exact thing from a list provided. So here we go again with another X-mas and more lists. Might just tell the relative and spouse I don't have the money to spend $50 on each. Happy Yule all.
Thank goodness I don't have to endure the large gathering which hasn't been fun since I was a kid. So, my holiday includes my boyfriend and parents at my house. That's enough.
WOW-Why how sad--How hard is it to be nice. My smile is not fake and either is my kindness.You can not help how someone else feels --you have to do or give without expectations. I try to make sure my heart is in the right place--I can not control any one else -or how they feel -I just try to do the next right thing--
I absolutely dread Christmas music. But this post probably won't hit the airways. Mine never do.
@pollarder
Woe is you!
I like Christmas music. But not when it is remade by every recording artist in the business that is trying to ride the coattails of the holiday's popularity just to sell more albums. Lazy bums. I prefer to buy discs of the classics, or notable choirs, rip them to my computer, and set my own playlists. Much better than radio stations that slam you with 90% commercials and 10% decent music.
I detest having to listen to Christmas music everywhere I go from October on.
Most Christmas music sucks, anyway.
I dread the people who forget that the purpose of "Christ"mas is to celebrate the birth of Christ, it is not to knock down your neighbor running to get the best sale item. With 82%-84% of Americans believing in God and Jesus, depending on which poll you read, I'd say easily the majority want to hear Merry Christmas. That doesn't mean they are opposed to hearing Happy Hanukkah. The numbers of Christmas believers far outweighs the numbers of other religious or cultural celebrations going on at the same time. Others should expect to hear what the majority believe in. No Christian would be offended by being told Happy Hanukkah and no Jew should be offended at being told Merry Christmas as both greetings are meant as well wishes to the recipient.
Well, just because us Christians are the majority doesn't mean the rest should be silenced. But then, neither should WE be silent just to avoid offending someone. You have a point, I would never be offended by a Jew telling me Happy Hanukkah.
I was in an 8 year relationship with a Jewish man. We celebrated the Jewish holidays along with the Christian. I respected his parent practicing their religion and they respected that I practiced mine. It was fun for good old southern boy to eat all the good foods that go with the Jewish holidays.
@Coconuts I dread being reminded that "Jesus is the reason", when my holiday is the Solstice...he is NOT the reason for my celebration.
@cronewinter Christmas is Jesus and the reason for Christmas. Winter Soltice is something we will all celebrate together as the longest day on Winter.
I dread the idea that my son, who is a Marine, is in Afghanistan for Christmas. I hate missing him.
All my good thoughts to you & your son........ I can't imagine how difficult it is.
Sue: I know you will miss your son. I am sorry he is over there for the holidays. Peace and prayers to you and yours for his safe return!!
Sue: I did the same thing 41 years ago; I was a Forward Air Controller flying over the Ho Chi Minh Trail (no cease fires for holidays there, either). My thoughts and prayers are with you and with him. May he - and his comrades in arms - all come home safe and sound, never again to go off on some ill-conceived war called for by politicians who never get closer to combat than a John Wayne movie.
Hand salute! And I'll buy them a beer when they get home.
Coconuts, your post makes perfect sense. I certainly would not be offended if I were greeted with a "Happy Hanukkah". I would reciprocate with "and a Merry Christmas to you". It's all about what the holidays represent.................. goodwill.
I dread all the time I'm going to have to spend with all of my family (aunts, uncles, cousins etc.)
Silly...then don't...best holidays we've ever had are at home without leaving the driveway except to get cheap fancy coffee at the corner gas station
Every year when my Mother in law comes over we have all the children in the neighborhood pile on top of her and slide her down the hill. Thats what I look forward too.
Good god. You made me spit coffee all over my keyboard with that!
There is a real disconnect with our own goodwill and goodwill towards others. You turn on the news and ALL you witness is man's inhumane treatment of his fellow man. People have become desentisized to other people's suffering due to the constant televised bombardment of the insane and horrific actions of others. Family and friends...maximize the positive, minimize the negative. Control only what you can, which is you.
Sigh. You're right, Mike, there is a real dark side to the Information Age. Every day, multiple times a day, we hear a new story about a mom killing her kids, or a dad, or a rapist with bodies in the basement, or a gunman in a school, or a mall, and it has desensitized us. Little every day annoyances like plain incivility don't even faze us anymore, and unfortunately, it makes us feel like we don't need to be civil either. Do unto others has really become twisted and dark. It's more like "don't bother to do unto others UNTIL they do unto you".
Unfortunately Christmas is not what it used to be. Growing up I loved the Christmas season. Now I hate it. I still enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family and cherish those two nights. For me Christmas is about spending time with my family, friends and being thankful for everything in my life. It's come to the point where their is a definite lack of Christmas cheer. Everyone is more concerned with the gifts they need to buy or what gifts they want. Everybody is in a bad mood shopping and I thought people lacked common courtesy the other 11 months out of the year. Christmas songs were fun until every commercial and radio ad had Christmas music to promote a sale. Now all I think about when I hear most Christmas songs a commercial ad pops into my head. I remember when stores were actually closed on Christmas day and I'm only 22! When people are getting pepper sprayed and tazed while shopping FOR CHRISTMAS you know the holiday season has gone way down hill.
I like the holiday season but can't stand Christmas Carols. I even dread Bruce Springsteen's Christmas song that gets dreadfully over-played every December!
Whoever thought that "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" was a good idea should be shot...
"Santa Baby" is even worse.
Another thing I can't stand is companies changing the lyrics of Christmas Carols to make a buck.