Ideas For A Different Kind Of Christmas!

[Tilda77]

Sorry mumsnetters for mentioning Christmas so early!
I was having a conversation with my mum the other day and I said I'd like to do something different this year for Christmas. Am I the only one who gets fed up of rushing around visiting, buying food and presents for several weeks before hand and feels deflated when the day arrives? For us Christmas is about family but we seem to have got stuck in a rut.In an ideal world we'd go away to a holiday cottage for a few days somewhere in the UK but with the rising cost of living and unpredictable weather I talked myself out of that idea! We both agreed that something different would be nice but we don't know what😅 Our Christmas day is usually spent opening presents in the morning, followed by prepping and cooking dinner...which takes hours to make and is gone in a flash! After clearing up the day is almost done with time for a family board game and that's about it. I wondered if anyone had any ideas of alternative things that they do to make Christmas different..indoors/outdoors/big or small? Has anyone successfully changed their Christmas for an alternative? Something that might inspire teens to leave their xbox/phones alone for a few hours😂

By family board game do you mean monopoly/cluedo/other standard game?
Because our family loves playing other games like Just One, River Dragons, Ticket to Ride. There’s been threads before asking for game suggestions and some brilliant stuff has come up, whether your family is more likely to enjoy something competitive and intense or something more easygoing while you all chat and catch up.

Alternatively, what about something that serves the community, volunteering, reverse advent calendars etc. Some local charities will post profiles so you can provide a gift for a child that wouldn’t otherwise get one.

Going away might not be financially great, but what about a day out? I love the beach in winter but I might be on my own with that one!

We usually play a game of monopoly, family trivial pursuit or breaking point. Or a card game like uno/Uno flip.
Love the idea of a reverse calendar I had to Google what it was! I will definitely do that this year.
We do like the beach all year round too but we go quite often as we live close. It's an option for Christmas day as we never seem to make it out of the house! One thing I have said is I'm not cooking a traditional Christmas dinner this year. It takes over too much of the day which could be spent spending quality time together.

In Denmark last year we had dinner at 6.30pm and I much preferred it- didn't spend all afternoon feeling uncomfortable. Went for a beach and walk in afternoon before it got dark (3.40pm) with just a 'starter' and had the meat on whilst we were out , and started rest of it at 4.30pm

Far better didn't feel like whole day taken up making dinner and then feeling too stuffed to do much.

My family share the load of dinner. Whoever is hosting takes care of the turkey and roasties but other people bring foil trays of pigs in blankets, prepared veg, sauces, desserts etc so it just needs to be put in the oven and reduces the washing up significantly. Our day otherwise sounds similar to your but last year I took my tweens to a large country house that had a Xmas display on on boxing Day which broke up the screen time a bit.

We ditched the traditional turkey last year and ordered a Sri Lankan Christmas dinner for DH and me from Dishpatch. You just bung it in the oven. The kids were allowed their favourite food. Gave us so much more time in the day, I definitely recommend it!

When I was talking with my mum youngest DS suggested pick and mix food(what he calls a buffet) sometimes this can take as long as the traditional roast dinner! Maybe we'll have to go with a time saving version of a buffet.

You could go for the Scandinavian julbord - lots of lovely things instead of a huge roast...

Pep buffet day before

We are going out for Christmas Dinner this year, but doing it on Christmas Eve instead. Then on Christmas day I'm just doing a buffet type thing but things like Cheese and crackers, pate and crusty bread, Christmas cake and little nibbles. Stuff that we are usually too full to eat after a traditional Christmas dinner and that doesn't take a lot of effort! Last year I barely sat down due to all the cooking and tidying so said this year will be different! Also have a dog this year so will need to factor in taking him out for a family walk!

We're booking a pub dinner.
Last yr ds ( then 1) was ill. And cried the entire day except 30 mins. Wouldn't nap. Just cried. So we spent the day juggling him, cooking, collecting dsc. Making it magical for others. Building toys.
That night i was in a run down foul mood wasnt anyones fault i was just so deflated. We ran out of time to do games etc. Boxing day wasnt much better. We wasted so much food
So this year weve said we're booking a Meal out with loads of family and friends. Think 24 of us (they always go but i normally prefer to cook)
We have dsc xmas eve so will be with us xmas day.
So up, presents, pastries, selection boxes for breakfast.
Play then get ready to go out. Come back play game. Kids to bed. Dsc home. We chill.

Boxing day. Undecided if host here or ils. If host for games etc. Its take away. I refuse to cook this year.
Ill do my normal big roast ny day tho.

We always have Christmas dinner around 7pm. There's still a lot of cooking done in the day all the same , but it never feels rushed.

We have a big cooked breakfast that tides us over, and we have a festive but quick dinner the night before so there are usually leftovers if anyone wants lunch.

I am seriously toying with the idea of handing the whole shebang over to other family members this year. DH and DD can both cook, and I think it's about time. I shall sit here and expect to be waited on hand and foot. I've been 'doing' Christmas for over 40 years (took over in my teens from DM originally as she hated cooking) and I deserve a rest!

@mathanxiety I did think of the idea of doing a breakfast similar to what DSs enjoy when we stay at a Premier Inn. Then pick and mix later in the day after we've done something or been somewhere.

I like this idea a lot.

We did our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve last year with the (adult) dc, then did gifts in the morning and then the dc cleared off and it was just dp and I plus a pile of cheese on Christmas Day. Was surprisingly lovely.

We always have dinner rather than lunch- much easier to fit everything in ands then go straight onto playing games in the evening etc. We do church and a walk in the morning, presents in the afternoon.

Last year we had a takeaway and did gifts with one side of the family on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we went for a lovely long coyntry walk, dropped into family members for a present exchange and a quick drink, then home for dinner which was a casserole made and frozen in November, then watched festive telly. So relaxing! By then weve had enough, so boxing day is a normal day just chilling.
I think we put too much pressure on to be traditional.
We usually go to a carol concert and a Christmas light thing during advent, so not totally anti Christmas.

We've also gone out for a meal at the pub to have a traditional Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve before then done a buffet on Christmas Day. From memory there was lots of cheese, crackers, pigs in blankets, slices of gammon as well as mince pies and Christmas cake. It's definitely more relaxed and chilled out but I do quite like sitting down for a special meal on Christmas Day.

How about just getting something ready made that you can just bung in the oven? I'm thinking like a nice beef wellington and tray of roast potatoes etc from M&S or Cook? Or else cooking steak and chips or something like that which is easy to do at home but feels like a treat.

I've also toyed with the idea of doing a Christmas day BBQ and cooking a big ribeye steak outside or doing pigs in blankets in hotdog rolls.

Also I have to get out for a walk on Christmas Day, even just for a quick 30 mins after eating and before it gets dark. Otherwise the children just get cranky by mid afternoon and I feel too cooped up and sluggish, a quick bit of fresh air works wonders and it's nice seeing other people walking by and saying Happy Christmas.

Bonfire on the beach with marshmallows and mulled cider. Dinner in the evening.

Get your street to do a living advent calendar.

@ThreeRingCircus DH would love a BBQ on Christmas day. Eating out on Christmas day would suit everyone else but would be wasted on DH. He's not from the UK and would only eat the meat and potatoes. I usually spend Christmas Eve cooking his traditional Christmas food. That's another 3 to 4 hours spent in the kitchen.

Trying to resurrect this thread for ideas. I’m sick of the same old same old. Eldest will not be home this year so I want to break the mould . Where could we go or what couid we do with our other two adult children that won’t be extortionately expensive , give me a break and a change of scene. Go abroad? Stay in a hotel? I’m desperate for ideas.

I still feel exactly the same as you! We still haven't decided what we are going to do this year. I have quite a large family and no one is commiting to anything. Maybe they're all waiting for the best offer😅

We ditched Christmas last year as we got sick of the family politics (both mine and DH side). We see them enough as they all live close by so didn’t see the point in spending Christmas Day with them as well. We opened presents with our children in the morning then let them enjoy the morning together with their new things. Then we packed a picnic and an esky of drinks and set up for an afternoon on the beach. We met a lot of like minded people who were escaping their extended families too! Obviously I’m in Aus so Christmas is usually a hot summers day. We are doing it again this year only this time we have a few friends wanting to join us.

Following for ideas of quick meals and alternative things to do. I might end up having to work this year, but if I don't we've said we want to spend the day just the four of us (two kids under 3 and two adults) at home without any guests and without having to spend hours driving to see family. I was thinking of perhaps driving out to have a nice walk in the grounds of a local stately home.

We're going to plan our day around the 4 of us and my mum if the rest of the family can't make a decision soon. No doubt my brother will make contact Christmas Eve and invite himself Christmas Day after months of asking him😅
As you said @CatSeany I was wondering if anyone had any quick meal ideas ( that seem a bit Christmassy and special)so we can spend the day enjoying our time together rather than being in the kitchen.