The holidays are usually a happy, festive time to spend with family and friends.
But no matter how jolly most people are this time of year, some of us just don’t like the holiday season. Call me a Grinch, but I’m one of those people – I hate the holidays.
One of the worst parts of the holiday season is the pressure to find everyone the perfect gift.
It’s hard to know what to get your loved ones, but it’s too easy to feel obligated to get everyone you know a gift until your list of things to buy becomes long and overwhelming. If money’s tight, you might feel pressure to spend more than you can afford, and if you order gifts online, you might stress about them showing up at your friends’ houses before the holidays end. I love getting my closest friends presents, but I hate all of the extra worries that come with giving gifts.
The holidays are also hard if you don’t get along with your family.
Now that the world is opening back up, many of us are probably planning to see relatives again – including the ones we don’t necessarily like being around. Spending time with family can be so hard if you feel like you don’t fit in or share the same values that your family does – especially if they all start shouting those opinions at Christmas dinner.
Some parts of the holiday season can feel so shallow, too.
When everyone expects people to be happy in the winter, it can be hard for people like me who struggle with their mental health to express their true feelings. It’s even harder when people reach out to you just because it’s the holiday season, especially if you were struggling earlier in the year. And if you’re known for always giving the best gifts, people sometimes pop back into your life because they know how generous you are.
If you hate holiday music, people might call you a “Grinch” too, but I honestly don’t understand the hype of most holiday songs. Almost every single store plays the same few holiday songs for a month straight – and they’re always the “classic” versions. Pop and country stars release new Christmas music every year, but stores never choose to play the new songs, and all of the old ones sound the same. It’s all so bland – not festive at all.
Most people probably disagree with how I feel about the holidays, but I’m fine being a Grinch while everyone else is trying to be festive. The holidays aren’t always fun and cheerful, and we need to start talking about it.
Featured Photo by Volodymyr Hyrshchenko on Unsplash.
Well for many of us single guys which it is very easy for us to really hate every single holiday when you have no wife and family to share it with.