Other people, well, are a little bit bah humbug when it comes to the holiday season. Maybe they like aspects of the holidays but there are some things they could definitely live without.

One Reddit user asked, “Grinches of Reddit, what do you hate most about Christmas?” Even though we love Christmas and the entire holiday season, the answers are relatable and sometimes very sad. There is truth here.

Scroll down to discover some not so festive things about the holiday season.

1. Many Sad Christmases

   Reddit user temporarycarrot wrote:

   It really amplifies the negative things that may be going on in your life and it’s hard to not compare what you have to others. I was raised by a single mom so spent a lot of time alone, but Christmas is when it really hurt. My mom would always work the night shift Christmas Eve (more $$) so I’d spend it alone in an empty house and would inevitably get really bitter. She would come home in the morning and be too tired to do anything (understandably) My Grandma was suffering from Cancer and during Christmas one year (my mom took this one off, obvi) she went into a coma and died. My mom had to unplug her life support. A very Merry Christmas indeed.

2. Being Around Family

   aimark42 shared:

   The expectation that you must be around family. Many people have very dysfunctional and abusive people in their families. I get constantly berated at work and out and about how I should do this or that with family. No thanks.

3. Too Materialistic

   cynomys09 explained:

   I hate the materialism that goes into it. Having worked in retail for several years, I was told in multiple years that I ‘ruined Christmas’ because we were out of some thing that was critically important to having the ‘perfect’ Christmas. At time, the customer was shopping the week before Christmas and should have expected that popular items would be hard to find.

4. It Starts Too Early

   Daves_no_here wrote:

   The Christmas season seems to get longer and longer each year. I was already seeing/hearing Christmas ads around Halloween. At least wait until after thanksgiving ffs!

5. Writing Thank You Letters

   Lost_the_Spalling_Be shared:

   I used to live with my aunt, who made me write thank you letters for every person who gave me a gift. She would sit me in the living room past twelve because either the card was messy or I wasn’t being ‘sincere’ enough, even though she wouldn’t tell me how I could do better. She ripped bad cards up in front of me and yelled at me for being selfish.It’s a very effective way to put a kid off Christmas forever.

6. No Common Courtesy

   BradC added:

   There are so many extra people out and about. And they’re all so focused on themselves that common courtesy is pretty much non-existent.

7. Gift Cards

   M_Your_Tits_Soon shared:

   The exchange of equal amounts of gift cards.Oh here’s a $50 to a restaurant you enjoy, oh you got me one too? Well that was productive…

8. Too Expensive

   donutshopsss wrote:

   I spent $800 on gifts this year on people… my family keeps growing and I have announced that I will no longer be giving out gifts next year. It’s not worth it.

9. Gifts Aren’t Optional

   Texual_Deviant explained:

   The obligations. It’s so artificial. You give gifts to people because it’s expected that you give them gifts, specifically gifts you think they would like. This person got me a gift this year? I have to get them one back. You’re not doing it out of selflessness and love. If you were, you would get someone a gift at literally any point ever to show them that you care and thought they might like something. You’re doing it because you’re told to when you were a child and were reaping the benefits. This one singular aspect of Christmas drags the rest of the holiday down. Spending time with family? Sure. Decorations? Alright. Music? Fine. But this obligatory celebrating of spending money ruins it for me.

10. Holiday Traffic

    thespawnkiller wrote:

    Traffic. I work next to a mall. Pain in the ass to get home with all the morons out buying presents.

11. Money Does Not Equal Happiness

    Stabiel added:

    People spending money they don’t have to equate it to happiness.

12. It Just Feels Wrong

    JohnDeeIsMe shared:

    Because I am from Florida. We don’t do snow, snow men, snow angels, yellow snow, any snow. We do however receive thousands of snow birds that make living here harder. We don’t do caroling. We don’t do hot cocoa and slay rides.But we also have to listen to the cheesy music for 2 solid months. Then the day after Christmas actually begins (its a 12 day feast!), all the Christmas stuff goes into the trash. Then you realize it wasn’t about baby Jesus at all. It was a religious feast that was basically injected with steroids by a culture obsessed with disposable goods and emotional manipulation to make you feel a certain way. None of it feels right.

13. Santa

    alex878 wrote:

    Teaches kids that rich kids are better because Santa gives them better presents. Also fails to teach kids that their parents work hard to give them a gift and instead has them praising a fake omnipotent being.I actually enjoy Christmas because it’s an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and show your appreciation in the form of a gift but the idea of Santa and lying to kids makes no… sense to me

14. The Stress

    iamfranfine shared:

    It’s too stressful, it’s expensive. I’d rather stay home and cuddle my pets.

15. All. Those. Packages.

    Aeromaster wrote:

    UPS driver here, pretty self explanatory