I hate the commercial side of Christmas. But nobody forces me to participate in that. My wife does the shopping. Also, I am a patriarch enough that I set the tone at home and keep the spending within reason. This is especially true if I compare us to the other American families in the same socioeconomic group.
What counts for me: The Christmas tree hunt to the woods, baking cookies, arts and crafts projects with the kids and a special meal on Christmas day. I get a lot of fun in fantasizing about Santa Claus and how it all goes down when he comes visits. I still try to convince my daughter that Santa likes beer better than milk. Like others have said, with young children, Christmas is a lot of fun. The presents and commercial Christmas play a very small role in it.
If I were a single man, I would see that I get out of the house and volunteer in a shelter or soup kitchen to put things in perspective. If I would not do that, I'd slip away for the holidays on a camping trip trip to the great California outdoors.
George