S.F.
All I can say is that if you're in hyperdrive, both in terms of time and money, for the "holiday race," then it's by YOUR CHOICE. My husband and I opted out back in 1996 and haven't missed it at all. Halloween is simple costumes and $20 worth of candy. Thanksgiving is spent traveling (weather permitting) to see family. Christmas is spent quietly at home. If we can afford gifts that year, yay for us. If we can't, oh, well. We celebrate all of us being home, healthy and happy.
I was sharing with my husband just this morning that one of my (three) sisters-in-law claimed that my parents-in-law have been "boycotting" Christmas for years. Who knew? We spend a jolly Sunday some time in December with them and enjoy the season together. My husband's reply, "Oh, she just means that my parents aren't up to traveling to see them." THAT'S a boycott?!?! Never mind that it's a 3-5 hour drive (depending on which sister-in-law they see), over mountains and the weather can be dicey in our area in winter.
I submit to my fellow mamas that if you don't like holiday rat race, get out of it. Form your own traditions, rather than being slaves to a tradition that doesn't work for you. If family, the Joneses next door or the world doesn't like it, too bad for them.
Give it a try...it's very liberating.