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Do we go over the top at Christmas once we have children?
Many people go all out in their preparation and celebrations for Christmas. But do some parents take it too far on account of having children?
Even in a secular context, Christmas is a favourite time of year for many people. And the effort made to mark the season will often be commensurate with that. For many, no expense will be spared when it comes to gifts, decorations and festive accoutrements. Christmas dinner will be a cornucopia of culinary delights, without a whiff of austerity wafting from the kitchen, and homes will be transformed into Home Alone-esque Christmas settings.
Scenes of lavish Hallmark Christmases are plastered across our screens. Happy families, full of glee as they open the gifts they “always wanted” on Christmas morning with faux amazement, provide a sometimes unattainable image for families to aspire to. Want to be as happy as the family you can see in the commercial? Then buy this product to secure your festive happiness. There’s nothing like Christmas to mug off a consumer into buying into an experience that might actually be beyond their means.
In the ever-commercialised celebration of Christmas, the season can therefore see many push the boat out, and that’s even more likely…