Tell me about your large family Christmases

[Nomorepleaseeeee]

Only have one DC. Currently pregnant with DC2.

I would love a large family, maybe 4 or 5 children. I don’t know if it will actually happen but I yearn for a big family Christmas with lots of children.

Anyone fancy sharing their experiences of Christmas with a large family?

[rosydreams]

My happiest memory was of my mothers christmas partys .She made lots of nice food invited lots of friends and family.It was filled with music and happy people

I particularly liked traditions

each child having their own stocking year after year
father christmas giving presents in our stocking then running down to see what our parents had for us
going to church for christmas eve mass
baking with my mother
watching tv together

christmas is what you make of it enjoy every one with your children

[mummycubs]

I have six kids all under five (3, 2 year old twins and 3 month old triplets) and I am also one of six kids. We all go home to our parents house for the holidays so there is over 20 of us including nieces, nephews and everyone’s partners. It’s hectic to say the least but we love it so much!!

Growing up with five siblings was amazing. I have an older brother and an older sister, then myself, a younger sister and two younger brothers. We range from 28-12, my sisters and I all being nine months apart (we were always mistaken as triplets growing up because our mum would dress us exactly the same for every single day out ever). My birthday is also on Christmas Day so it is a big thing in our family.

My sisters and I shared a room and so did my brothers, so we would all wake up and go wake our parents up. We’d have birthday cake for breakfast and then do Christmas presents for everyone, and then I’d do my birthday presents. We’d have everyone around so it was chaotic for lunch and then we’d do more presents after that. We usually went for walks with the dogs (we have six) around the woods by ours and we’d all have another birthday cake for supper. We loved it and we’d all spend the day laughing and playing together and it was the only time we really saw our aunt and cousin as they lived so far away when we were kids.

Now we all go to our parents again, but it’s just us and our kids now. Both sets of my grandparents passed, my nana this year, and so did my aunt in April, so our cousin is coming so he isn’t on his own. It’ll be chaotic, especially considering we have nine under tens in the house, two teenagers, two pregnant women, six dogs and my mother running the kitchen , but it’ll be all fun and games like usual.

We wake up when the kids do and we go downstairs. We have birthday cake for breakfast still and then the kids all do their presents. Adults open theirs once the kids are busy playing and we all start drinking around eleven. We have dinner and then go out with the dogs and then we have more cake and just watch films and play board games with the kids. They all love twister and guess who and we play kids monopoly. They go to bed and we break out the proper games, cluedo, catchphrase and tipping point, it’s a competitive night and the winner gets the yearly swear jar (there’s always around £100 minimum in there because my father swears like a sailor, as do my siblings and I). It’s a brilliant time and I loved growing up with my siblings, especially considering we are all quite close in age and can relate to each other. I’m so glad my kids are all around the same age and can have the same sort of relationships that I have with my siblings!

All I can really say is it can be expensive at Christmas, especially if you spoil all of your kids with really big presents every year, but the experience is so worth it and I would have tons more kids if I could!

Merry Christmas lovely, hope you and yours have a fab year!

[Sam983]

Am the eldest of 4, and I remember Christmases to be brilliant, although we always had to wait for the old man to get home as he worked on a farm. Big lunch, presents, games and so on.

Fast forward a number of years and I've got 2 dc (10 & 7) and 3 dsc (9, 9 & 11), and although testing (very!), I'm looking forward to having a lovely Christmas before they all stop believing!

I am switching the WiFi off however tomorrow evening, the bane of my life is electronics!!

We have family here for Xmas eve and Xmas day, and intend to thoroughly enjoy it, although we're both kind of looking forward to a day of peace when they're at their other parents!

Have a great Christmas!

[HomeAlone39]

Wow mummycubs it sounds like you have an amazing family! That kind of chaos and fun just sounds like it makes the best kinds of memories (both growing up and in your current life). How do you deal with the run up to Christmas? Everyone goes on about all the prep/shopping etc, but you must have to do it on a whole different level

[Winterdaysarehere]

11 dc here. Christmas is amazing.

[thecalmorchid]

We have a usual minimum number of 10. If aunts uncles and grandparents come it's more.

Prep ahead.

I shop wrap and pack parcels in November. Stockings are packed in December.

I do advanced food shopping in early December and two or three mini shops in the week before Christmas. I find it less stressful to pop in for about 20 items. I don't like crowds.
It also lets me judge what's short in the main shops and gives me time to get things.

Day before Christmas Eve (today) is major prep. I have two fridges. I do everything that will go in the oven on the day. It's chilled quickly, covered and left in the fridge to throw in the oven on Christmas lunch.

All puddings are made on this day too, cake iced, trifle made, cakes baked.

Veg is prepped and ready to cook.

Christmas Eve is spent with our children, delivering presents and cards to neighbours. Baking or board games.

I really like that, despite catering for minimum of 10 that I can properly stop and have two evenings and a whole day before Christmas Day. The children and I can enjoy carols, games, movies and baking biscuits.

It's worth that whole day. And it is a whole day, it took from 11am until 8pm today.

[mummycubs]

@HomeAlone39 haha thank you! Family is definitely the most important thing to all of us and we make a big deal to drive that home to our kids as soon as they’re born because friends come and go but your family is forever.

There is a lot of planning that goes into it all. My mum takes control in about June and takes note of everything the kids mention in passing (all of us with the kids tend to stay at theirs for most of the summer holidays because they own a farm by a forest and it’s always good for the kids to get their hands dirty). We adults all have a sit down at the end of August and discuss what we want. We usually choose smaller presents so it’s affordable for everyone and that way nobody feels under pressure to buy massive things for someone and others will fall short.

We start buying the presents for the kids in around September and we keep them hidden at our parent’s house. After the summer holidays, we wouldn’t normally make the trip up to see them for another month or two as we live about an hour or two away and with nursery and work it can be quite hectic. We visit and my parents take the kids out so I can wrap the presents and they just stay there then for Christmas.

My mum and dad do all the food, it’s all homegrown and my dad’s best friend supplies the meat for us, so they handle everything, and my cousin is actually a baker so he bakes my birthday cakes every year for me.

It is so hectic and it can be expensive but we try to stagger it for the six months before Christmas so it works out for us in the end and the energy on Christmas Day is so worth all of the stress us adults go through on the run up