Things you wish you had never bloody started...

[ClassicStripe]

Christmas eve boxes.
First of December presents (must have lost my mind with that one)
This long winded fisherman/mermaid game we have to play every time we get out the bath.
Letting tiny toddler DS walk in shops.

Oh no, you missed the briefing that said non-birthday presents are always a book!

Sorting paperwork , I had to stay in for a delivery so thought id get on top of a stack of documents , pension statements , insurance docs , work contracts etc . The delivery came hrs ago and I am still trying to get to the bottom of the pile of paper .

Definitely the bloody elf on the shelf.
I said I wasn't doing it this year as they are old enough and don't believe. The 15 year old said Christmas won't be the same without it!
I think I'm going to be doing it for the rest of my life!

Batch cooking.

And I enjoy cooking but sometimes I get about halfway through, the dishwasher's already going , the sink is full , my kitchen table is covered in Tupperware, I've prepped enough for a horde and I think .... I'm really bored and I could murder a bag of chips.

Elf on the shelf...although last year one of the nights the elf had a sign saying the child could move the elf in 3 days...the child was soooo excited planning it for days and has asked if the elf will let her move it again this year! I am thinking yes!!

Smoking. I was so bloody stupid.

Friday treats.

Solidarity. I sort it into piles on the floor - finance file, pensions file, reviews of books I might want to read file etc etc...then all the stuff for a particular file is all together. And if you don't file it straightaway it sits on the floor guilting you until you do.

Half-joking, but another professional qualification. Sounded like the great idea when I signed up for it. I was cursing at 2am Saturday morning as I was racing to get another essay finished...

Dieting. Nope

Character pancakes, we always have pancakes for breakfast on either saturday or sunday. Once as a special treat I made different colour mixes and did some character pancakes (I can’t remember who it was). I’m now not allowed to make plain pancakes, the whining and moaning is worse than making a bloody character pancake.

But once you start, its tradition and there will be disappointment if you stop.

Elf on the fucking shelf.

Dts begged for an elf, then he got married and they had a baby over the years. We have three of the fuckers now and at 13, they are adamant they are coming back this year. It's kind of sweet they like and remember the traditions so I'm going with it.

That fucking Elf.

Easter egg hunts with clues.

Stopped doing that when DS1 (aged around 5) said "when it is DS2's birthday, can I please have xyz?"

You can outsource the clues to chat GPT

Real Christmas trees. Yes, they're gorgeous and they smell amazing and they're natural, but the needles! The watering! The hoovering! DS is 16 now and was heartbroken when I suggested an artificial one this year.

That was a reply to Watchthedoormat who buys for one child when it is the other child's birthday. Sure I clicked "reply".

Opening and running a Scout Group. It's become a millstone around my neck and I can't be arsed with the entitled parents, people who volunteer then do as little as possible or the politics between the leaders of different sections.

I'd walk away but there's no one willing to take over, if I leave the Group folds.

Really?! Thank you so much I wouldn’t have thought of that 🤦‍♀️

Drinking.

You’re still allowed to leave

The book series of game of thrones!!!

What in the name of all that is holy possessed you to do that!?

Mine is my job

Getting a number of birthday presents that matches DCs’ ages. So five presents when they were 5, six when they were 6 etc.

Only did this because parents in law do it for their kids (inc my DP). I say ‘do’ and not ‘did’ because they still fucking do it. 42 presents this year. Absolute madness.