Xmas as a couple - Xmas eve & day ideas please!

[Ultimateblends]

So as are millions of families across the world, this year it is just DP and I. DC will be at the fathers, and we do a child friendly round 2 NYE/D.

So looking for inspiration on how to make today and tommorow special and fun for DP and I!
We've (like everyone else) spent so much time at home, it feels like such an anticlimax- and im sick of my own 4 walls..

We messed up having a Christmas drink a few days ago, when boredom drove us to cracking open our Christmas alcohol and then suffering horrible hangovers, so that is out.

Went food shopping yesterday and brought a shit ton of disgusting junk food that we would never usually buy, can now probably feed 500.

So today my small plans are:

Clean and prepare house
Lay the table ready for meal tonight/tommorow
Attempt to cook Xmas biscuits for DBthrow away buscuits when turn out shit
Eat eat eat.
Long bath

Christmas day:
Eat.

What am I missing? Any inspiration for things to do would be great, we have 3 big dogs and would like to walk them, but since March walking them has been a nightmare as every single other dog/child owner is also out, and our dogs just see these dogs as fast running snacks.

Its put a stop to our usual walk the dogs routine, and our original plans to drive out to somewhere more isolated have once again been put on hold due to covid.

So whats going on in your home?

Exercise? We are as far from gym bunnies as you can get, but I'm planning to do a youtube workout in a bit, and DH is going for a run which he doesn't enjoy but you do feel so much better and more awake afterwards and can eat more food

Board game? Cards? Zoom calls to friends and family? Listen to carols from kings? Sort out some stuff to take to the foodbank?

Download a favourite film you could watch together this evening. If you have 3 big dogs you'll need to walk them somewhere maybe early evening when not so many others walkers out - take torches/head torch? or really early morning walk. Some couples like doing jigsaws or playing board/card games together or staying in bed all day reading books, watching stuff on laptop and other things when the mood takes you.Listening to music, having a dance. Depends what your interests are.

We’re icing the Christmas cake today, and doing the last socially-distanced present drop offs, and then having a Christmas Eve meal. We’ll probably watch a Christmas film later.

Tomorrow we’ll have a Christmas breakfast with Prosecco, start cooking Christmas dinner, then do some presents and call the in-laws on video for a while... then eat, have wine and play a board game, probably. We’ve got lots of nice alcohol and we’ve bought food that we like but wouldn’t normally have to graze on. I’ve also tried to make sure that some of DHs presents are things we can “do”, and we’ll probably go for a walk at some point if it’s not crazy.

It’s what you make it, I think. This is very different but it can be good in a different way!

I'm so jealous, that was supposed to be my Christmas day, but mine grew with the new rules as my dad cannot go to my sisters so is coming to me.

My plans for Christmas eve were a quick tidy round, then a tea of party food, bread and pate and a cheeseboard with a bottle of red wine before wandering round the town looking at lights. Christmas day was going to be getting up about 8, opening presents, smoked salmon and poached eggs for breakfast before walking to the beach. Meeting an aunt for a walk around lunchtime to the NT site my DHs relatives ashes are scattered, before coming home to cook a dinner when we get bored of eating chocolate, and then another bottle of red wine in front of the fire before an early night. It was my perfect day all planned out!

A nice long dog walk would be great but it’s a bit of a pain if you have reactive dogs! Can you go for a long one together tonight when hardly anyone’s about and look at all the Christmas lights?

@muddledmidget

I'm so jealous, that was supposed to be my Christmas day, but mine grew with the new rules as my dad cannot go to my sisters so is coming to me.

My plans for Christmas eve were a quick tidy round, then a tea of party food, bread and pate and a cheeseboard with a bottle of red wine before wandering round the town looking at lights. Christmas day was going to be getting up about 8, opening presents, smoked salmon and poached eggs for breakfast before walking to the beach. Meeting an aunt for a walk around lunchtime to the NT site my DHs relatives ashes are scattered, before coming home to cook a dinner when we get bored of eating chocolate, and then another bottle of red wine in front of the fire before an early night. It was my perfect day all planned out!

Oh my gosh, the day you described would be my ideal day! How frustrating for you, the option being taken away! Hope you manage to salvage some of your original plans anyway!

@SatsumasOrClementines

A nice long dog walk would be great but it’s a bit of a pain if you have reactive dogs! Can you go for a long one together tonight when hardly anyone’s about and look at all the Christmas lights?

We will revisit the "how to walk the dogs" part of the next few days.

Xmas last year we took them to the nature reserve for runs and it was just so lovely.

Since March the nature reserve has been an absolute hot bed for families of all kinds - its not like our dogs are nasty, or particularly badly trained. If anything they are over friendly, giant breeds and understandably people are intimidated by them. Also the dogs that are genuinely popular around our area are very small breeds, or breeds who are very pampered... lots of seeing our big ones coming and owners picking up thier small barking dogs, which of course sends our dogs instinct into overdrive!

Its a nightmare, but we will get around it some how!

Do you have any fields you can hire out for dogs near you? We have loads of places around us that you hire out for dog exercise. would make for a less stressful walk and you could take a picnic whilst they run around