The Christmas season seems to start earlier and earlier each year. I find that by the time the holiday actually comes, I’m so Christmassed out I’m not even excited. If this happens to you too, I’ve found a way to limit Christmas a little bit: I’ve removed it from my Facebook feed — in my browser at least — until after Thanksgiving. Here’s how to do it.
It’s OK to be a Grinch
There’s a nifty browser extension called Social Fixer that allows you to filter out anything you find annoying on Facebook. Politics, religion, sports — you name it. This is also the only extension I could find that would work to filter Christmas topics.
It’s pretty easy to use, too.
Install the extension (on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and more). You’ll see the Social Fixer extension button — click on it while using Facebook, then click Options. Choose the Hide Posts option on the right side of the pop-up screen. Then, add Christmas-associated words to the keywords and phrases box. Some good words to add are:
- Christmas
- Xmas
- Santa
- gifts
- Rudolph
- reindeer
Just type in keywords to filter the posts you see on Facebook.
Screenshot by Alina Bradford/CNETClick on Save Changes when you’re done and just refresh your Facebook page. Now you’re Chistmas-free until you feel like getting into the spirit. When that time comes, go back to the Hide Posts option, clear out the keywords and save.
Now, this doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. You’ll still probably see memes occasionally (it can’t block just images), but your aunt’s posts about every Christmas tree ornament she bought this year should be gone.
