Fuck I'm stressed. Is everyone stressed?

[LiviaSoprano]

Sorry, possible Grinch alert.

I'm just fucking stressed and knackered. Working til Xmas eve, loads of crap subs/unavailable items on my Tesco delivery tonight, house it a shithole, beds need changing, 2 obligatory social occasions this weekend one of which requires me to provide a nicely cooked lamb joint for 12 people, everyone at work is imploding at how much there is to do before 24th, cat is a bit poorly but vet can't figure out what's up, and of course the fucking Tories.

End rant. Thank god we don't have to leave the house on the 25th. After lunch and clean up I'm getting in the bath with a bottle of pinot and not moving until the bottle is empty and the water is cold.

Not fussed at all about Christmas this year. Refused to get stressed. Haven't bought any presents beyond DH and baby yet. Haven't done the food shop yet. Don't care. It'll get sorted by Wednesday. Already juggling enough thanks. So fuck Christmas. It's just one fucking day. I'm just looking forward to having some time to chill out at home and eat loads

I'm not stressed. That isn't smug, but we toned Christmas down a lot the last few years because dd is autistic and it is better for her that way.

I used to get sad about it as I missed some of the Christmas build up, but honestly it's so much better. We say no to most things, we spend time at home together, we don't do traditions that might go wrong or need planning.

It's made a massive difference to my mental health too.

Sympathies to everyone, particularly those who are stressed due to lack of money or illness, either themselves or within their families.

I think it's something that gets easier as you get older. Grown up DC have fewer presents (I've asked for specific list) which were ordered on internet. Hosting family Christmases and the pressure to make that perfect has stopped for me as parents moved into care provision and my brother now does his own thing. Yes there's been some very difficult years recently with illness etc but (touch wood) things stable and calm this year.

Christmas lunch will be just me, DH and DS and we'll eat around 5 pm after we've got all visiting out of the way.

I am working up until Christmas Eve this year and because of this I got most present buying done a couple of weeks back so no last minute panic. Nearly all presents have been bought online and (sorry) have been bought without too much fussing as to the ' perfect present' . All presents in gift bags rather than individually wrapped. But again I've had less to buy for this year anyway.

It's definitely true that in most families it's the women who feel under pressure to make things perfect while the men stand back and let them do all the work.

I think shinynewapples makes a good point. It does usually get calmer and less stressful as the kids get older. The presents do get smaller (not necessarily cheaper though!) and there are less expectations to make it perfect or magical. Basically everyone gets to be more laid back about the whole thing.

I am worried about the future of my job as a supply teacher, especially when I read threads on here about how HLTAs and TAs are better value for money than fully qualified agency teachers. I am worried about the future in general now we're under yet another Tory government and what they're planning to do once Brexit is done.

I'm not stressed about this Christmas though; that's pretty much sorted.

I am making photo books today. Tradition dictates that each set of DC's grandparents are given a photo book for Christmas with photos of DC over the year. Making photo books is one of the most stressful things. The websites I use are always really complicated and they don't do what I want. You will say save yourself the stress and don't bother doing them but our parents will be disappointed (especially as my sibling will have done it). It is too late to have them done for Christmas now but we aren't seeing anyone until after Christmas so maybe they will come in time but probably not (added stress but I will blame the company I order them from). I need DH to tell me how to get my photos from the icloud onto the photobook website but he is still in bed.
DC1 claims to be ill today, I am hoping she meant she doesn't want to bother getting ready and going to church and isn't really very ill.
The cat woke DC2 up early this morning. I wrapped some presents after I got home from work last night and went to bed late. Maybe next year I will get a reasonable amount of sleep but I don't see it happening any time this year.

@happypotamus Those books are a total ball ache! Any way you could do calendars instead? We do them for GPs and they’re much easier.

Rainallnight thanks for the suggestion but sadly not. My mum always buys herself a calendar, probably in about August, with the seperate columns for each family member. MIL might have liked that but we already bought a calendar with pictures of something else she likes, but maybe next year I could make one myself with pictures of her grandchildren (especially if I can get SIL and BIL on board) and her pets.

Argh husband was away overnight at a social event while I held the fort at home (after a pretty stressful month of very little break from the kids). I was looking forward to a bit of peace at a Xmas church service this evening while he did bedtime but he's just messaged to say he's not well so I know I won't be able to go out now. Will also have to do some work this evening and tomorrow evening as was planning to catch up on work tomorrow. Obviously he can't help being ill but I'm still allowed to be fed up about it aren't I?? Especially as when I wasn't feeling great last week and we were out at lunch with relatives he lasted ten minutes sitting next to toddler before he made me swap because he couldn't deal with the tantrums.....

Plus I've just spent the whole of toddler's nap time cleaning mud off two sets of clothes plus the pushchair because I stupidly thought that since it was sunny this morning I'd take them to the park for a run around. The park has a lovely hard surface play area but no, 2 year old immediately spotted the large muddy puddle in the grassy area and before I could stop them both children were splashing away gleefully and plastered from head to toe.

Oh and finally we seem to have loads of big black flies in the house in mid December. Why???
(I know all of these issues are pretty trivial...)

Stressed, also can't sleep, 4 hours last night, brain now working separate from body. Eaten nothing but crisps for two days it would appear. But Christmas tree looks lovely, like it's mocking me.

And so it continues.... I woke up at 1am in a panic realising I'd forgotten to buy cream and custard. Why? What was my brain realising this at 1 am while I was asleep.....

Ok, I'm back from the dead (well almost, god bless penicillin) and the great, big klaxon in my head has started to shout PANIC again.

Sent my darling dad to Asda today. He walked out looking like his soul was broken, clutching a pack of toilet roll as though they were his first born.
He's downstairs drinking whiskey recovering.

DD is in bed and I'm starting my pamper time; facial, hair mask, good clarifying hair wash, extracting blackheads, exfoliating, shaving, moisturising, tanning...
Love that though, 'tis no stress - am having to do more than average prep this year due to me looking washed out from illness (lost weight gone from nearly 7 to barely 6 and a half.. and it shows.)

Tomorrow I need to get my nails and hair done, pick up presents for the final 3 people, buy MIL the perfect Christmas card, buy more wrapping paper, sellotape and gift tags + gift bags and tissue paper.
I also need to do a booze shop and buy the batteries for DDs toys (cell batteries!! Who the fuck makes a toy that needs those?!)

Then Christmas Eve, dad is taking DD out, DP is working and I'm sat in front of the TV wrapping all the presents (so I can relax once DD is in bed, instead of being up till 2 stressed.)
No food prep to do though, thank the Lord.

Really looking forward to the day itself now. Can't wait to spend time with everyone, eating, drinking, playing games.
So cheese, but it's a house full of love.

Until then... PANIC. Godspeed to you all.

@missyB1 I've just read the Calm Christmas book too, it's ace and would highly recommend it to anyone feeling like this.

Christmas is going to be 'fine' this year. After being fed up with the amount of food prep I did last year, I decided myself - no roast dinner this year! I'm doing hot turkey and stuffing sandwiches, cheeseboard, antipasti, desserts. Oh, and roast a big pile of pigs in blankets as that will go down well. Serve with booze and much less work and stress all round!

My DS is getting a Nintendo Switch, so we can have fun playing that and avoid having boring drunk conversations at the dinner table with my ILs!

I have finished the bloody photobooks. I probably needed to have done this 10 days ago to get them delivered for Christmas, but, once I have ordered them, if they aren't here, I can truthfully say 'sorry I ordered them but they didn't come on time' without admitting that they didn't come because I didn't order them early enough. DH went to the shop and bought wine and crisps which helped relieve some of my stress, but I am still incredibly tired, have at least 1 ill DC, am working a night shift tomorrow, the house is a tip, have lots to wrap and still have to do the Christmas food shop (I don't even know what Christmas food we need, because this will be the first time we have ever been at home for Christmas and had to sort our own food!)

So despite me thinking I was toning.kt down this year I am utterly brasic.
Today I went to Asda with a list that said cream salad fruit and bread sticks. I spent 80 quid. I remembered DDS boyfriend so for him a bottle of JD and felt the need to get some more wine in case we run out.
I have just spoken to dd who listed the many lovely gifts her boyfriend s mum had bought her so now I'm thinking I'll have to run out in my lunch break to buy random things with my overdraft 😠

@happypotamus I understand the photo books thing. I do a calendar every year for my mum and one for my dad (they are together). It's so hard and time consuming. Hope you feel better now that you've completed them.

The photobook website crashed before I could order them. Am waiting for DH to wake up and fix it. DC1 woke up at 4am, I am working tonight so could be 30hrs until I get more sleep. We still have to go to supermarket, either all 4 of us (2 of us are very sleep-deprived, 1 of us is ill but probably not too ill to shop, 1 of us is DC2 who always plays up in the supermarket) or DH goes by himself and has to make all the decisions about what all of us wants to eat over Christmas. I will probably have to pop to card shops etc on the way home from work tomorrow morning too. Work is short-staffed tonight, and I will be delirious from lack of sleep by then!!

We also do the calendars for the in laws and one for ourselves. I get dh to do them as I’m a total technophobe!

No, not stressed here.
Husband's flight is due in later this afternoon so the kids and grandkids coming round this evening for a takeaway and to collect their presents.
So for now it's just me and the dog chilling around the house.

I reached peak stressness yesterday. I'm fine now, despite the list of unavailable things from my sainsburys shop (seriously, how can they not be able to deliver me sprouts or pigs in blankets?).

And the dogs finding the chocolate.

And the fridge breaking down

And the teenagers being twats.

It'll all be fine.

I'm just back from real life supermarket shopping. There was a sort of camaraderie about it all. Except in the carpark where people were trying to kill each other.

In a car going to dd's. Dh insisted we have pub lunch first so now we're running late and roads are a nightmare.
I'm resisting saying I told you not to order a pudding (which we had to remind them to bring).