Is it just ME?
Or should we forget about Christmas until December?
Fireworks, figgy puddings – it’s all one gigantic jumble of commercial greed
FOR the past month, Ocado has been sending me infuriating little emails exhorting me to book my Christmas delivery slot. Christmas delivery slot? In September? Are they mad? More to the point, are they actively trying to drive me into the arms of Sainsbury’s?
Not that they’re much better. Or any of the major food chains. Even John Lewis is at it. Mince pies, Christmas crackers, log rolls — the shelves are groaning with so-called traditional fayre.
What makes it worse is that all this stuff is mixed in with the Hallowe’en tat that has become a fixture of autumn. Fireworks, figgy puddings: it’s all one gigantic jumble of commercial greed.
Even the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia, a magnet for middle-aged mums like me in search of a special yuletide gift, has expanded from a long weekend in November (acceptable) to a week-long extravaganza in late October (infuriating).
Then there are the TV campaigns. What cliches will Marks & Spencer, John Lewis et al unleash to make our heart strings twang and our purse strings loosen? What Christmas cheese and political correctness will be sprayed into our living rooms? Transgender elves? Non-binary vegan reindeers? Anthropomorphic pine cones?
Who knows? Who cares? All I know is that the leaves are still on the trees and my central heating is not yet on — and I’m already tired of the whole circus. Why can’t we put Christmas back in its box? Why can’t it be a rare time that’s about family and friends? It’s a long time since I believed in Santa Claus, but this tawdry cash-fest is just indecent.
I don’t want to eat turkey in October. I want to sink my teeth into that first mince pie and feel I am participating in something truly special, not just another confectionary choice. I want to go shopping on December 23 and not feel like a plague of locusts has stripped the best from the shelves. Just once, I would like to feel the true magic of Christmas.