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Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Warmth Back into the Season
Nine years and thirteen printings later, Unplug the Christmas Machine is still the undisputed guide to creating a joyful, stress-free holiday season. Revised and filled with new material, this book will enjoy even greater popularity in the years to come. In the pages of Unplug the Christmas Machine, Jo Robinson and jean Coppock Staeheli answer the questions they have heard most often in their many years of talking with people about Christmas, such "How can I reduce the stress of preparing for Christmas?" "How can I make our celebration more spiritual and less materialistic?" "How can I get my husband to be more enthusiastic about Christmas?" "How can I get my wife to relax and enjoy the celebration?" and "How can I help my children see that Christmas is more than just presents?" Readers will turn to this book for inspiration and practical advice year after year. Sixteen years after it first appeared, this perennial favorite is still the book that thousands turn to for sound, no-nonsense advice on how to combat Christmas commercialism and create a joyful, stress-free holiday season. The authors answer all the most commonly asked questions, from "How can I reduce the stress of preparing for Christmas?" to "How can I teach my children that Christmas means mote than just presents?" and many more.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
9 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Jo Robinson
55 books36 followersJo Robinson, an investigative journalist and New York Times best-selling writer, is the author of the book, Pasture Perfect, and the principal researcher and writer for the eatwild.com web site. Jo has spent the last nine years researching the many benefits of raising animals on pasture. Her interest grew out of a previous book, The Omega Diet, co-authored with Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, that explores the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. While researching the book, Jo learned that meat from pasture-raised animals is very similar to meat from wild game and that both promote optimal health.
Starting with this insight, she began an exhaustive search of the scientific literature from the 1960s to the present. To date, she has identified hundreds of peer-reviewed studies showing that raising animals on pasture is good for the animals, the environment, farm families, and the health of consumers. She gives talks to ranchers, government agencies, sustainable agricultural groups, and the general public around the country. Jo has been interviewed by scores of journalists and reporters about the benefits of raising animals on pasture.
Jo's book, When Your Body Gets the Blues, extended her interest in natural health to human psychology. Working with Dr. Marie-Annette Brown from the University of Washington, she developed a clinically proven, all-natural program that boosts women's mood and energy level and tames their appetite. (The book was featured in an hour-long special on PBS throughout the summer of 2003.)
Jo lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. She is developing a test garden that features plants with exceptional nutritional value that are similar to plants growing in the wild.
Starting with this insight, she began an exhaustive search of the scientific literature from the 1960s to the present. To date, she has identified hundreds of peer-reviewed studies showing that raising animals on pasture is good for the animals, the environment, farm families, and the health of consumers. She gives talks to ranchers, government agencies, sustainable agricultural groups, and the general public around the country. Jo has been interviewed by scores of journalists and reporters about the benefits of raising animals on pasture.
Jo's book, When Your Body Gets the Blues, extended her interest in natural health to human psychology. Working with Dr. Marie-Annette Brown from the University of Washington, she developed a clinically proven, all-natural program that boosts women's mood and energy level and tames their appetite. (The book was featured in an hour-long special on PBS throughout the summer of 2003.)
Jo lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. She is developing a test garden that features plants with exceptional nutritional value that are similar to plants growing in the wild.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
November 18, 2020
This book has been in print for nearly thirty years and is as forceful now as when it was first published back in 1991. It's no secret that the advertising-driven "Christmas Shopping Season" seems to kick off a little earlier every year, in this case just after the 2020 Presidential election. Today, "Christmas" as commonly conceived resembles the football in Charles Schultz's annual cartoon, making the hapless American consumer Charlie Brown. You can play that game if you wish, but remember that every year the real power lies with Lucy van Pelt and her retail football.
UNPLUG THE CHRISTMAS MACHINE offers welcome relief. This is not a Debbie Downer, Grinch-y, 'Smash the Christmas machine' sort of book but a set of helpful suggestions and attitudes to help Americans gently disengage from the worst of the hoopla in the hopes of making the holiday season, if not necessarily more spiritual, at least a little less frenzied and base. Many solutions are given for the individual family and the reader can pick and choose among these ideas, rather than letting television and other mass media decide for us what's good for everyone (with the attendant heavy cash outlays). There aren't too many books of this kind; this one has been around so many years, has gone through multiple re-printings, and I know it has helped people. I think we need it now worse than ever because we only pretend it's Christmas (or even Advent) "buying" Season if we consent to be jollied into it, while the dislocations posed by Covid already put a strain on us.
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Updated November 12, 2020.
UNPLUG THE CHRISTMAS MACHINE offers welcome relief. This is not a Debbie Downer, Grinch-y, 'Smash the Christmas machine' sort of book but a set of helpful suggestions and attitudes to help Americans gently disengage from the worst of the hoopla in the hopes of making the holiday season, if not necessarily more spiritual, at least a little less frenzied and base. Many solutions are given for the individual family and the reader can pick and choose among these ideas, rather than letting television and other mass media decide for us what's good for everyone (with the attendant heavy cash outlays). There aren't too many books of this kind; this one has been around so many years, has gone through multiple re-printings, and I know it has helped people. I think we need it now worse than ever because we only pretend it's Christmas (or even Advent) "buying" Season if we consent to be jollied into it, while the dislocations posed by Covid already put a strain on us.
.
Updated November 12, 2020.
December 28, 2015
I read his book a long time ago, so the outdatedness other reviewers speak of wasn't apparent to me. (and I guess it helps that I don't ever feel obliged to bake ANY pies at Christmas, much less reduce my pie output fom three to "only" two.)
You know that metaphor about the frog in a pan of water on the stove? The water warms so gradually that the frog is acclimated--and scarcely even notices that he's getting cooked. Christmas stress can be like that-- so surrounding and so "normal" that one scarcely recognizes it--until late December, when feeling mysteriously panicky and stressed.
Tihia book identifies ways in which holiday expectations surround us, and it offers some useful suggestions for celebrating in ways that are pleasanter, less costly and more suitable to one's own life. It "gives permission" to step outside of long-established patterns.
It was a genuine help to me.
You know that metaphor about the frog in a pan of water on the stove? The water warms so gradually that the frog is acclimated--and scarcely even notices that he's getting cooked. Christmas stress can be like that-- so surrounding and so "normal" that one scarcely recognizes it--until late December, when feeling mysteriously panicky and stressed.
Tihia book identifies ways in which holiday expectations surround us, and it offers some useful suggestions for celebrating in ways that are pleasanter, less costly and more suitable to one's own life. It "gives permission" to step outside of long-established patterns.
It was a genuine help to me.
October 29, 2009
The edition I got from the library was just a little dated, but full of good ideas and also confirmed much of what I already understand about the holiday season. I loved the section on "men" and their views of the holidays. Some really good insights overall. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels that the holidays have become "too much", overwhelming, depressing or who simply dreads some of the "goings on" at holiday time. Some wonderful ideas on how to pare back without losing the "holiday feeling" -- and in fact, by cutting back you will probably get more of that feeling back.
November 28, 2013
There's a weird phenomenon where I only think of books as outdated if they are older than me. It makes a lot of sense- I'm not very old, and even as I get older it's such a subtle process that I mostly think of anything that happened within my lifetime as pretty recent. So when I picked this book up on clearance for about 25 cents, I didn't give much thought to the fact that it was published in 1991.
But holy crap is this book dated.
It starts off in a semi-promising way, in that it explains that one of the main causes of Christmas time depression is that women feel stressed and overwhelmed with the amount of baking, cleaning, decorating, and gift wrapping they feel compelled to do. My 2013 self thought, "Right, so quit living in the 50s and make your husband help." Instead the book said, "Christmas is not only a religious holiday but a celebration of hearth and home, and it makes sense that women should take the lead." It then goes on to give women advice on how to cut back on all of these womanly obligations, for example, by baking 2 pies from scratch instead of 3. (This "2 pies instead of 3" advice was repeated several times.)
Holy gender roles, Batman! Now my internal monologue is thinking, "Quit living in the 90s and make your husband help you!" Normally I reserve "Quit living in the 90s!" for people who are wearing neon pants. The 90s were like this?! I was ALIVE in the 90s! I lived through a time like this! Mind sufficiently blown.
I'm not trying to be too hard on the book here. It's not its fault that it's so old. It actually makes it kind of funny, and oddly uplifting. I was so shocked that this probably would have seemed radical and feminist to my mom if she had read it during the autumn before one of my early Christmases. My visceral reaction confirms that we've come a long way.
There are some good pieces of general advice, like taking time well before the holiday to ask yourself what you really want to "get" out of it (time with family, charitable feeling, religious observances) so you can make a budget and properly prioritize your activities. There are also some neat specifics where the authors relate family traditions they have heard about to reduce the amount of commercialized nonsense in holiday celebrations. Those are good ideas on their own, and provide inspiration for the reader to come up with their own ideas about simplified gift exchanges and so on.
But overall the book is just too dated and therefore not quite radical enough. The real solution to the stress women face is to quit living in the idealized magazine cover from the 90s and make your husband bake the pies for once. Their suggestions for cutting back on commercialization are also pretty tame- plan to buy gifts for fewer people. Well thanks, Captain Obvious. They do offer advice beyond that, for example getting your whole family to agree to make a tradition of buying thrift store gifts. But overall they still seem to condone the whole mass hysteria that is the Christmas season. Their advice is limited to tips about how to scale it back, not reverse the commercialization trend. I'm writing this at 11 PM the day before Thanksgiving. In 7 hours, Kmart is going to open before daybreak for people who want to buy cheap TVs. Twenty years after the publication of this book, maybe people are ready to more radically disrupt the status quo.
But holy crap is this book dated.
It starts off in a semi-promising way, in that it explains that one of the main causes of Christmas time depression is that women feel stressed and overwhelmed with the amount of baking, cleaning, decorating, and gift wrapping they feel compelled to do. My 2013 self thought, "Right, so quit living in the 50s and make your husband help." Instead the book said, "Christmas is not only a religious holiday but a celebration of hearth and home, and it makes sense that women should take the lead." It then goes on to give women advice on how to cut back on all of these womanly obligations, for example, by baking 2 pies from scratch instead of 3. (This "2 pies instead of 3" advice was repeated several times.)
Holy gender roles, Batman! Now my internal monologue is thinking, "Quit living in the 90s and make your husband help you!" Normally I reserve "Quit living in the 90s!" for people who are wearing neon pants. The 90s were like this?! I was ALIVE in the 90s! I lived through a time like this! Mind sufficiently blown.
I'm not trying to be too hard on the book here. It's not its fault that it's so old. It actually makes it kind of funny, and oddly uplifting. I was so shocked that this probably would have seemed radical and feminist to my mom if she had read it during the autumn before one of my early Christmases. My visceral reaction confirms that we've come a long way.
There are some good pieces of general advice, like taking time well before the holiday to ask yourself what you really want to "get" out of it (time with family, charitable feeling, religious observances) so you can make a budget and properly prioritize your activities. There are also some neat specifics where the authors relate family traditions they have heard about to reduce the amount of commercialized nonsense in holiday celebrations. Those are good ideas on their own, and provide inspiration for the reader to come up with their own ideas about simplified gift exchanges and so on.
But overall the book is just too dated and therefore not quite radical enough. The real solution to the stress women face is to quit living in the idealized magazine cover from the 90s and make your husband bake the pies for once. Their suggestions for cutting back on commercialization are also pretty tame- plan to buy gifts for fewer people. Well thanks, Captain Obvious. They do offer advice beyond that, for example getting your whole family to agree to make a tradition of buying thrift store gifts. But overall they still seem to condone the whole mass hysteria that is the Christmas season. Their advice is limited to tips about how to scale it back, not reverse the commercialization trend. I'm writing this at 11 PM the day before Thanksgiving. In 7 hours, Kmart is going to open before daybreak for people who want to buy cheap TVs. Twenty years after the publication of this book, maybe people are ready to more radically disrupt the status quo.
September 6, 2011
This book was recommended in a bunch of cookbooks I read (Ann Hodgman - check them out - they're really funny and will change the way you think about cooking, even if you don't agree with them). Anyway, it's great - very practical ideas about making the holiday season more manageable. What I like is that they avoid the somewhat obvious ('let's just keep christ in christmas') and encourage you to pick the traditions that are most important to you and your family. While they don't totally trash commercialization, they do point out how it's complicated things and made our expectations unrealistic - and in many cases, ruined the holiday. There are exercises at the end of each Chapter to help you figure out how to incorporate their simplifying ideas into your own celebration.
I've long been ambivalent about the holiday season, and this book contained a lot of good ideas for making things more fun, simple and creative. They also feature budget sheets, gift ideas and good points for taking care of yourself during the holidays. It's easy to read and I highly recommend it!
I've long been ambivalent about the holiday season, and this book contained a lot of good ideas for making things more fun, simple and creative. They also feature budget sheets, gift ideas and good points for taking care of yourself during the holidays. It's easy to read and I highly recommend it!
December 17, 2012
I wrote a blog post "Bartleby, the Scrooge" and one reader suggested that I pick up this book, which was making a similar point about simplifying Christmas. I found the 1982 hardback edition in my library. Yes, some of the examples were a bit dated, but I liked their general approach.
1. Take an inventory of your family members' values and expectations.
2. Take an inventory of your available time and money.
3. Have an open, respectful discussion together and set priorities.
4. Don't let others guilt you into overextending yourself.
The information was written based on workshops, discussions, focus groups on the topic of keeping sanity during the holiday season. It takes more of a pop-psych approach than a religious-spiritual approach, so don't expect this to be a devotional read. It uses more of a time management / resource management approach. Everyone should view major holidays / life events (weddings, family reunions and such) through such a lens every once and a while.
1. Take an inventory of your family members' values and expectations.
2. Take an inventory of your available time and money.
3. Have an open, respectful discussion together and set priorities.
4. Don't let others guilt you into overextending yourself.
The information was written based on workshops, discussions, focus groups on the topic of keeping sanity during the holiday season. It takes more of a pop-psych approach than a religious-spiritual approach, so don't expect this to be a devotional read. It uses more of a time management / resource management approach. Everyone should view major holidays / life events (weddings, family reunions and such) through such a lens every once and a while.
November 7, 2011
I did not enjoy this book for many reasons. Basically, the book is not about getting back to the true meaning of Christmas; rather, it is about simplifying your current Christmas situation. My favorite (sarcasm) part of the book was when a writer described his perfect Christmas saying, "Then we'd all smile and clink our glasses together, feeling warm and together. There would be no talk of Jesus, but we would be very loving and accepting of ourselves and each other."
That's the ticket to a good Christmas -- don't talk about Jesus! (more sarcasm)
In addition to this flaw, the revised book is very out-of-date -- one recommendation suggested ordering things out of a catalogue instead of shopping!
My simple way to get more time this Christmas? Skip reading this book...
That's the ticket to a good Christmas -- don't talk about Jesus! (more sarcasm)
In addition to this flaw, the revised book is very out-of-date -- one recommendation suggested ordering things out of a catalogue instead of shopping!
My simple way to get more time this Christmas? Skip reading this book...
December 3, 2008
A bit obvious in how to simply Christmas. Nothing earth shattering or soul searching or religious for me, but a great help to a lot of folks caught in the stress season.
December 12, 2023
A POPULAR SET OF IDEAS TO MAKE A MORE CONSCIOUS, LESS COMMERCIAL HOLIDAY
Jo Robinson; Jean Staeheli wrote in the Preface to the Revised Edition of this 1991 book, “People often ask us whether Christmas has changed for the better since the first edition of this book was published in 1982. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, we see more people making conscious choices during the holiday season… More families are sitting down together in early November and setting priorities. As a result, they are creating rich celebrations that suit their circumstances and reflect their values, but don’t feel hectic and out of control. We see a greater number of women being more relaxed about holiday preparations… When women let go of some of the control of the celebration, men begin to fill in the vacuum. In many households across the country, Christmas is truly becoming a family affair….
“Some aspects of Christmas have been slow to change, however. As a nation, we are still spending a lot of money to wish each other a Merry Christmas… The Christmas Machine has this power over us because it knows how to woo us; it speaks to the deepest, profoundest, and most sacred desires of the human heart. If it appeared as a monster, we would rise up and stop it…. the problem comes when we buy into the notion that what we long for can be procured by the buying and selling of goods… Another reason we’ve been slow to Unplug the Christmas Machine is that the Machine has a human face… the machine affects us all, each of us differently… The child who is unsure of his parent’s love may generate a long gift list because he wants proof his folks are paying attention, that they care. After Christmas, this same child may shovel his new presents into his room and wonder why he still didn’t get what he really wanted. And THAT, we’ve discovered, is the key to Unplugging the Machine---knowing what it is that you really want. People who take the time to identify their longings, and are realistic about which of those longings can be satisfied by Christmas, can then go on to create a holiday that gives them joy and satisfaction. We hope that what you learn in the following pages will help you do this.”
They note, “One drawback is that because [men] are so uninvolved in the holiday preparations, it’s difficult for them to build up much interest in the celebration. When they’re working hard at their outside jobs right up until the day before Christmas, they can hardly be expected to jump into the festivities with a full measure of holiday joy. In addition, their limited holiday role means that only a fraction of their talents is brought to bear on the celebration. How much pride can a man take in stringing the lights and serving the drinks? As a result, men rarely get the satisfaction of a job well done.” (Pg. 40)
They acknowledge, “There is no denying that drinking is a problem for countless families at Christmas, but in order to understand this problem better, it’s important to realize that not everyone who overdrinks at Christmas is an alcoholic. An alcoholic drinks excessively all year round, whether it is Christmas or not. A ‘simple excessive drinker’ overdoes it on occasions like Christmas. True alcoholism is a complex problem. Whatever cajoling or manipulating you do will most likely have no effect. One alcoholism counselor we talked with suggested not inviting people with a history of overdoing it to your Christmas festivities, and telling them plainly why. As he says, ‘Alcoholics are not fragile people.’” (Pg. 82)
They suggest, “Consider beginning YOUR Christmas dinner with a special ritual to remind you of why you are all together. It can be as simple as a prayer, a toast, a candle-lighting ceremony, or just a few quiet moments holding hands. In addition, here are some more ideas to bring your family closer together: Ask family members to bring items for a ‘Family Museum.’ Suitable things would be old photographs, diaries, heirlooms… Display them in a central place and people will be brought together to talk about your family history. After dinner, tell family anecdotes. Who can tell the earliest one? Who has a story no one has ever heard before? How many versions are there of the same family story?... If you have home movies or videotapes of your family, bring them out and play them for the assembled relatives. Everyone likes to see how people have grown and changed.” (Pg. 135)
They conclude, ‘When the holiday season draws to a close, you might want to have an end-of-Christmas ceremony. Gather the family together to take the ornaments off the tree and carefully pack them away. If you have a live tree, replant it outdoors or put it in a sheltered place until the ground thaws. If you have a cut tree, either burn it (carefully) or decorate it with food for the birds. One family explained to us that making a special occasion of ending the holiday ‘put a seal on Christmas, and promised that it would come again.’” (Pg. 143)
This book will be of great interest to people seeking a less commercial, simpler Christmas celebration.
Jo Robinson; Jean Staeheli wrote in the Preface to the Revised Edition of this 1991 book, “People often ask us whether Christmas has changed for the better since the first edition of this book was published in 1982. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, we see more people making conscious choices during the holiday season… More families are sitting down together in early November and setting priorities. As a result, they are creating rich celebrations that suit their circumstances and reflect their values, but don’t feel hectic and out of control. We see a greater number of women being more relaxed about holiday preparations… When women let go of some of the control of the celebration, men begin to fill in the vacuum. In many households across the country, Christmas is truly becoming a family affair….
“Some aspects of Christmas have been slow to change, however. As a nation, we are still spending a lot of money to wish each other a Merry Christmas… The Christmas Machine has this power over us because it knows how to woo us; it speaks to the deepest, profoundest, and most sacred desires of the human heart. If it appeared as a monster, we would rise up and stop it…. the problem comes when we buy into the notion that what we long for can be procured by the buying and selling of goods… Another reason we’ve been slow to Unplug the Christmas Machine is that the Machine has a human face… the machine affects us all, each of us differently… The child who is unsure of his parent’s love may generate a long gift list because he wants proof his folks are paying attention, that they care. After Christmas, this same child may shovel his new presents into his room and wonder why he still didn’t get what he really wanted. And THAT, we’ve discovered, is the key to Unplugging the Machine---knowing what it is that you really want. People who take the time to identify their longings, and are realistic about which of those longings can be satisfied by Christmas, can then go on to create a holiday that gives them joy and satisfaction. We hope that what you learn in the following pages will help you do this.”
They note, “One drawback is that because [men] are so uninvolved in the holiday preparations, it’s difficult for them to build up much interest in the celebration. When they’re working hard at their outside jobs right up until the day before Christmas, they can hardly be expected to jump into the festivities with a full measure of holiday joy. In addition, their limited holiday role means that only a fraction of their talents is brought to bear on the celebration. How much pride can a man take in stringing the lights and serving the drinks? As a result, men rarely get the satisfaction of a job well done.” (Pg. 40)
They acknowledge, “There is no denying that drinking is a problem for countless families at Christmas, but in order to understand this problem better, it’s important to realize that not everyone who overdrinks at Christmas is an alcoholic. An alcoholic drinks excessively all year round, whether it is Christmas or not. A ‘simple excessive drinker’ overdoes it on occasions like Christmas. True alcoholism is a complex problem. Whatever cajoling or manipulating you do will most likely have no effect. One alcoholism counselor we talked with suggested not inviting people with a history of overdoing it to your Christmas festivities, and telling them plainly why. As he says, ‘Alcoholics are not fragile people.’” (Pg. 82)
They suggest, “Consider beginning YOUR Christmas dinner with a special ritual to remind you of why you are all together. It can be as simple as a prayer, a toast, a candle-lighting ceremony, or just a few quiet moments holding hands. In addition, here are some more ideas to bring your family closer together: Ask family members to bring items for a ‘Family Museum.’ Suitable things would be old photographs, diaries, heirlooms… Display them in a central place and people will be brought together to talk about your family history. After dinner, tell family anecdotes. Who can tell the earliest one? Who has a story no one has ever heard before? How many versions are there of the same family story?... If you have home movies or videotapes of your family, bring them out and play them for the assembled relatives. Everyone likes to see how people have grown and changed.” (Pg. 135)
They conclude, ‘When the holiday season draws to a close, you might want to have an end-of-Christmas ceremony. Gather the family together to take the ornaments off the tree and carefully pack them away. If you have a live tree, replant it outdoors or put it in a sheltered place until the ground thaws. If you have a cut tree, either burn it (carefully) or decorate it with food for the birds. One family explained to us that making a special occasion of ending the holiday ‘put a seal on Christmas, and promised that it would come again.’” (Pg. 143)
This book will be of great interest to people seeking a less commercial, simpler Christmas celebration.
December 18, 2019
It was timely to read this book right now during the middle of the Christmas rush! It is about the commercialism of Christmas and "how to unplug the Christmas machine" and plan a Christmas that is more meaningful for you and your family.
I only rated it 3 stars because it is very dated. It was written in 1991 so it is 28 years old. The author makes a lot of assumptions about women that might have been true 30 years ago but are no longer as valid. A lot of men and women work and share responsibilities at home now. However, when it comes to Christmas I still do think that women today take more responsibility for planning the holiday meal, shopping and wrapping gifts, etc.
It was an interesting read during the holiday season. Just be aware that it is dated. At one point, the author suggests catalog shopping as an efficient way of avoiding crowded and talks about mailing in checks to the catalog company. I don't think many people today are mailing in checks to catalog companies to shop. Today, Amazon prime and other online shopping services are much more popular.
I only rated it 3 stars because it is very dated. It was written in 1991 so it is 28 years old. The author makes a lot of assumptions about women that might have been true 30 years ago but are no longer as valid. A lot of men and women work and share responsibilities at home now. However, when it comes to Christmas I still do think that women today take more responsibility for planning the holiday meal, shopping and wrapping gifts, etc.
It was an interesting read during the holiday season. Just be aware that it is dated. At one point, the author suggests catalog shopping as an efficient way of avoiding crowded and talks about mailing in checks to the catalog company. I don't think many people today are mailing in checks to catalog companies to shop. Today, Amazon prime and other online shopping services are much more popular.
October 15, 2018
I've always shocked friends and family when I told them that I liked my birthday way better than Christmas. Maybe because gifts are not my love language? Maybe because I was single for so many years? Maybe because I get seasonal depression? Maybe because I long for meaningful traditions especially for this holiday so it feels long and empty? It has been better since I've had a family, but I still struggle with not feeling like I'm missing something. This book answered so many questions I've had about Christmas and gave me a path to recovering the joy of this holiday. It was great!
December 10, 2017
I reread this book after 25 years, and it was so interesting to see my concerns when our sons were 7 and 10 years old. I think it is very helpful in clarifying what I value about Advent and Christmas. Some of the Goodreads readers felt it was very dated. I didn't think so at all. I want to give it to Katie, Christie, Rebecca, and Tara, but I know they don't have time to read it now.
December 14, 2024
I read one of the later additions of this book and it changed my holidays! It helped me to simplify without guilt and choose the things that gave me joy and ditch the things that didn’t! I have always been very frustrated by the commercialism that is Christmas And this book helped me put it into perspective. May have to pick up a newer, copy and see what changes have been made! Highly recommend!
Read
September 2, 2025From the back cover, “What appealing women indeed have written Unplug the Christmas Machine. I enjoyed its unpretentious sanity.” — Madeleine L’Engle
Agreed.
I read the original paperback edition from the 80s, which I think made it way more fun, but would still like to pick up the newer edition sometime as well. ☺️
Agreed.
I read the original paperback edition from the 80s, which I think made it way more fun, but would still like to pick up the newer edition sometime as well. ☺️
February 17, 2022
I wish that I would have known about this book in my 20s - 30s while working full time and raising a family. Make Christmas joyful and keep the true meaning of Christmas to make it enjoyable for all.
February 8, 2023
I have a better understanding of how Christmas has become the commercial holiday that starts before Halloween after reading this book.
It also helped me home in on why I have some less than celebratory feelings about the holiday. It was worth my time.
It also helped me home in on why I have some less than celebratory feelings about the holiday. It was worth my time.
December 6, 2018
I re-read yearly.
February 1, 2019
Good review for creating new traditions and less stress.
December 24, 2019
The study that goes with the book is better than the book itself.
Read
December 18, 2021Dated, very late 80s advice
January 10, 2022
ideas to simplify Christmas, some of which I’ve already done—fewer people to give to, importance of traditions, etc.
December 20, 2022
A great book for those who want to make their Christmas less commercial.
December 16, 2023
Written in the early 1990s, this book feels a bit dated-but the chapter on how men are involved (or not) in Christmas made it completely worth my time.
November 11, 2008
I'm going to call this book "read" although it's not the kind of book you have to read word-for-word. There are insights in every chapter and great observations about the differences between men and women (and how advertisers have us so figured out.) It's helpful for those of us who just want to make a few practical changes to stay better focused on the joys of the season, and you don't have to read it cover to cover to get the message and apply it. I attended a workshop where a few people admitted to being Christmas control freaks - perfectionists who have to have every aspect of the holidays planned, packaged, and perfect; who overspend, stress out about family relationships, and focus more on appearances than the meaning of the season. If someone is a complete wreck when Christmas is over, they need this book before Halloween. I loaned this book to someone and now I can't remember who!
December 5, 2007
What I already know. Good to see I am not the only one.
A part of me loves the traditions of Christmas. Even some of the gift giving, when it is given in love and means something, not given because it is Christmas and it is expected of me. It should be all joy, not burden.
What I want is to be full of joy at the celebration of my Savior's birth, and to rejoice with others that know him, and to let my family and friends know how much I love them!
Christmas would mean so much more to me if gift exchange were not part of the celebration. Would everyone gather and travel to be with loved ones? I want to believe it would still hold its importance in our lives. It would in mine.
For those of you reading this that know me. I love you!
A part of me loves the traditions of Christmas. Even some of the gift giving, when it is given in love and means something, not given because it is Christmas and it is expected of me. It should be all joy, not burden.
What I want is to be full of joy at the celebration of my Savior's birth, and to rejoice with others that know him, and to let my family and friends know how much I love them!
Christmas would mean so much more to me if gift exchange were not part of the celebration. Would everyone gather and travel to be with loved ones? I want to believe it would still hold its importance in our lives. It would in mine.
For those of you reading this that know me. I love you!
November 28, 2011
I'm sure in its day it was helpful, but even the updated second edition (1991) that I read is so dated to be almost laughable at points.
I really didn't care for the gender segregation (i.e. Women have this set of problems during the holidays and men have these very different issues). It just irritates me when authors paint with such a broad brush.
There are some exercises that may be helpful to identify what is most important to you about the Christmas season, what is causing you stress, and how to simplify or adjust so that the season is more restful for you and your family. But on the whole, not enough substance to be really useful.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
I really didn't care for the gender segregation (i.e. Women have this set of problems during the holidays and men have these very different issues). It just irritates me when authors paint with such a broad brush.
There are some exercises that may be helpful to identify what is most important to you about the Christmas season, what is causing you stress, and how to simplify or adjust so that the season is more restful for you and your family. But on the whole, not enough substance to be really useful.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
November 19, 2008
I was already sold on the idea that Christmas shouldn't add a lot of stress and gifts shouldn't be the main focus, so this book basically reaffirmed my beliefs. It is a great book about how to have the Christmas you want to have by taking a good look at what is really most important. I like that it encourages you to take a look at what is most important to you - it doesn't tell you what should be the most important according to their beliefs.
The authors include good concrete advice on everything from talking to relatives about changing traditions to buying gifts to planning church Christmas parties.
The authors include good concrete advice on everything from talking to relatives about changing traditions to buying gifts to planning church Christmas parties.
November 12, 2012
The book could use some updating but the ideas are still valid. It is curious that I would even be interested in this book since the Christmas machine doesn't exist in my house, or even in my heart. I suppose it is because I am not a practitioner of "traditional" commercial Christmas that the book appealed to me. Turning off the Christmas machine is like avoiding peer pressure, know in your heart who you truly are and "Just Say No". I have avoided commercial Christmas for so many years that I think it is easy. I celebrate with small handmade presents, and if you don't like it, you don't have to be on the gift list.
August 10, 2016
A good book on stepping away from the commercial consumerism of typical modern American Christmas celebrations. If the section on historical celebrations of Christmas is interesting to you, I recommend Hundred Dollar Holiday as a quick read in addition. There are a lot of practical and actionable steps for not only reducing your reliance on purchased gifts and mandatory busyness to make Christmas special, but also for increasing your satisfaction with the holiday.
November 18, 2009
This book helps you be more intentional about what kind of Christmas you create, focusing on what truly matters. It's a much-needed re-evaluation now that the holiday has become so obscenely commercialized. It includes a lot of tips for families to spend less time and money on Christmas so they can focus on what really matters to them. Unfortunately, I didn't get much from this book. It was mostly aimed at families, for one thing. Most of what it offers aren't all that insightful, but it is good to skim to get you on the right track.
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