Christmas Prep Time

[WhyOhWine]

How much time do you reckon you spend preparing for Christmas (ignoring the day itself), including thinking about what gifts to buy, shopping, browsing, ordering stuff, wrapping, decorating, thinking about menus, buying food etc etc

Do you do a couple of big bursts or an hour or two here and there?

And how much time do you spend relative to your DH/P (if relevant).

It seems to take hours and I seem to do a lot more than DH, particularly in the planning and ideas (although he is much more domesticated than me in other ways!). DH says it is because I enjoy shopping (true to an extent) and if he took over the DC would get much less (definitely true!)

[Shnazzyshot]

Hours and hours! But I enjoy it so I don't mind. For me, the run up to Christmas is better than the day itself.

Mainly all the planning buying ect is done in little bits and pieces but I have the occasional time where I'll get a lot done at once.

[goose1964]

We do a little and often. I used to save the wrapping for Christmas Eve, until the year I didn't get to bed until gone 2 and DAD was up at 4

[goose1964]

DD not dad

[MuddlingThroughLife]

I spend days....weeks thinking about, organising, shopping for christmas.

I buy for dh, our three kids, my mum and dad, sister, two nephews, aunt and uncle, two dogs and I also buy for his mum and dad, sister, partner, two grown up kids, two aunts and two uncles. I also wrap it all.

Dh buys for me. And that's his involvement.

[Ecureuil]

Hmm... I spend a couple of hours thinking about gifts and shopping for them. Another couple of hours wrapping. No time at all really thinking about/preparing food as DH does all that. He goes to the butchers to order the meat and the farm shop to buy the veg.
We buy/decorate the tree together.
All in all it’s probably an equal amount spent between the two of us. Probably averages at about 6-8 hours prep in total for each of us.

[Helpotron3000]

The women in my family carry the entire burden of Christmas. I usually start in the summer and do it here and there, my dad buys all his gifts on Christmas day and then complains to us about how crowded it was.

[Helpotron3000]

Oh I meant Christmas Eve, although he'd definitely do it on Christmas Day if he could

[isittheholidaysyet]

In terms of our family, I do Christmas, basically. Hours and hours of thinking, planning, shopping, buying, wrapping and posting.

However, DH probably devotes far more hours, because he is a vicar, to three villages.
So 9 Christmas services, 3 christingle services and a couple of carol services to plan. With their sermons. And lead.
3 village magazine Christmas article to write.
He attends the plays, and parties and leads the carol services of 3 schools.

Then he is expected to attend about 50 million village christmas events.

He wins. I'll let him off planning at home (as long as he buys a present for his mother!)