Ten Things I Hate About Christmas.

1. Adverts.
Adverts seem to get even more stupid and annoying at Christmas time. I don't like them.

2. People that argue there is a difference between 'Christmas' and 'Xmas'.
From what I understand Christmas is the religious festival whereas Xmas is the commercial side for Atheists. Pile of bollocks if you ask me.

3. All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
If there is one Christmas song that makes me want to jump up and down in pure frustration it's this one. I know this contradicts something to come, but it's just TOO jolly.

4. The Polar Express.
God. If I ever have to sit through this shit film again it'll be too soon. Amazingly, one of the only films that actually gets longer the more you watch it.

5. The arguments that come with cooking Christmas Lunch.
No one has a stress free Christmas. This is not a criticism of anyone (hi Mum!) but no matter how well you have things planned there will always be the last minute rush when the turkey needs to come out the oven and get carved, the sprouts need to be drained, the white sauce needs a last stir before it's dished... Oh, I'm getting hungry now.

6. The sheer number of catalogues that turn up in my house.
I blogged about this last year, I think. Every major chain shop brings out a catalogue usually in reds or silvers or greens explaining all their good deals for the coming season. And that's not to mention the increase of email from Amazon, Play, the Apple Store and the like.

7. Christmas lights going up and switched on in November.
Seriously, switch them on on the first day of advent. I know it's to get you in the festive mood, but still. December the first.

8. The same films on nearly every year.
Every year you get The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Snowman, It's A Wonderful Life, a Home Alone film (which isn't about Christmas, just set at Christmas) and some take on A Christmas Carol, be it a take on the book or a re-work such as Scrooged. Don't get me wrong, I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, I watched The Snowman for the first time last year (I've always liked Raymond Briggs' drawing style, there's a fragility to it) but just for once I would love to see something like Hocus Pocus on at Christmas.

9. Santa Claus.
A controversial one here. I have mixed feelings about this myself. If I ever have a child then I don't want to lie to him/her. But then there's Santa. Do I really want to tell my offspring that a big, fat, bearded man comes into the house every Christmas Eve, leaves presents and eats and/or drinks stuff you've left out for him? I only recently worked out that it was probably my Dad that ate the mince pie and drank the class of milk that my brother and I used to leave out for Santa. That said, I'm still waiting on my parents telling me the awful truth about Santa...

10. The thought that someone, somewhere is spending Christmas on their own.
That's not what it's all about.