Top Ten Worst Christmas Traditions

A lot of people do this, and out of those people, some actually do it once the kids are in bed! How backwards is that? Sure, you choose to take part in your favorite things on Christmas Eve, I get it, but how long do you actually get to enjoy the tree when you're only giving yourself one night before Christmas comes and goes? Most people do not keep the tree around for long after Christmas. Most people see that it's gone by New Year's. That's less than a week, people.

I, for one, decorate my tree in November (or at the latest, within the first few days of December), and I'm always sad to see it go once all is said and done. People need to enjoy having this beautiful decoration in their house, and the kids need to be involved. If your family has it where the kids don't even see the tree until Christmas morning, be the better person and change the ritual so that your kids can be involved.

Nobody I know has ever done this. Perhaps Christmases in Ontario, Canada, are uniquely family-photo-free. I don't know. All I know is that I have seen plenty in the media and, more often than not, they're not pretty. Even when they are, they represent the self-centered side of today's culture that I very much dislike. Cards like these are doorways that lead to mothers and fathers bragging about their successes and their kids' grades in school to everyone on their mailing list (or emailing list, if they're sending e-cards). Does that feel like it's in the spirit of Christmas? Nope. That's a tradition that I'd effortlessly toss in the trash bin.

Do I really need to explain this one? If you actually like the stuff, then you have very special DNA, my friend. For the rest of us, it's a nasty substance that tastes worse than it looks.

It's a classic example of a traditional food that people buy because it's what their mothers used to buy when they were kids, and for no other reason. This goes for other Christmas foods like figgy pudding and eggnog, which most people only get because it's traditional, not because they actually like them.

Remember, there was a time when most working-class folk had to make foods out of common ingredients they could get their hands on. The final products were the best things they could come up with. Although times have changed and the availability of specialty food items has skyrocketed, these foods are still made to remember traditions of yesteryear. But if you think these foods are gross, don't buy them. Let them be at peace.

Each year it gets worse. Phrases like "Black Friday has been extended, again!" are consuming the holidays like fire on a vertically positioned kerosene-soaked rope (hope you get the reference). I've witnessed the death of "Boxing Day" and the birth of "Boxing Week," and it makes me sort of sick. This time of year shouldn't be about great "deals" on TVs and denim jeans. It should be about your family coming before material possessions. Of course, religiously, it means a whole lot more, but I'm not here to get religious or political on you and start religious debates. So don't let the MBAs take this wonderful time of year away from us and make it nothing more than a sales event. I want Black Friday and Boxing Day back, and by "back," I mean "back to being one day again."

These songs aren't terrible, typically. They're mostly average, with the occasional decent song here and there. The problem is that certain radio stations and stores play them over and over and over. Lots of people grow tired of Christmas music before the big day comes. It's common knowledge.

I think it's largely because musical "artists" today (that term is very loosely defined here) can't seem to keep themselves from releasing Christmas albums of their own. They needlessly update classic songs or try to make new Christmas songs that they hope will one day become classics. Most of it stinks. Even the guys from 'Duck Dynasty' released a Christmas album, apparently. Thankfully, their stuff isn't on the radio 24/7, but the two songs mentioned in the title are. If I never heard 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' again, it would be too soon.

It's a messy thing, vacationing over the holidays. Airports get swamped, and hotels get overbooked. On top of that, you're playing hooky with Christmas. Of course, if you don't actually care enough about the holiday to take part in it, go ahead, but there are better ways to spend the single most important time of the year if you actually believe in it. Anyways, there's always January or February if you want to fly off when you actually start to get sick of the cold and the snow. By Christmastime, the winter weather should still be new and magical, not something to avoid.

I hate this. It's been the craze over the past decade to decorate your home with a designated color palette of two colors and all-white lights. It's boring, in case you didn't notice, and it works against the whole point of decorating at Christmastime.

The lights and decorations are meant to enhance the otherwise white and colorless setting that surrounds us (especially for those of us who get seasonal snowfalls). Using all-white lights is like decorating with the lights you already use 12 months of the year. It's unimaginative, at best.

And the whole "blue and silver" and "red and gold" color palettes that you see people decorating their trees with are just as boring. A tree that has ornaments and lights of many shapes, sizes, and colors is one that you'd actually spend more than 30 seconds looking at before you grow bored. Take note, rich people. You're typically the worst offenders.

Every Christmas, I go to Canadian Tire (if you've never heard of it, you're not Canadian) and they've got dozens of artificial trees on display and for sale. Most of them are decent. Some are pre-lit, some have artificial snow on them, and some are completely pink. The completely pink ones represent the few that are not decent. They look ridiculous, as do all unnaturally colored Christmas trees. Be they pink, red, white, silver, or blue, trust me, those trees are not for you - or anybody.

I like white trees, but pink, red, silver, and blue look very weird.

Come on, parents. It's all well and good to give clothing as a gift, but a brand new ski jacket or a cool-looking toque is one thing. A few pairs of underwear or a bag of socks is another. Christmas morning is a time for children and parents to share a complete feeling of happiness and intimacy with one another. An easy way to kill the positive energy that flows throughout the living room is to bring pieces of fabric that kids probably wouldn't even wear if they weren't being told to. So, parents, take a hint from AFV and the YouTube videos and save the undergarments for when you need them on an average Tuesday afternoon when your kid comes home after school with holes in their socks and no replacement pairs.