I had a lovely Christmas Day. Anyone else?

[ODFOx]

Slight glitch on timing led to dinner at 5.30 (an hour later than planned) but we managed to move The rate limiting taxi to 6.30. Otherwise a completely stress free day.
Thoughtful gifts. No arguments. Little walk mid afternoon. Some games. 4 generations. It was busy but those that needed some space took it and no one complained or forced compliance.
19 fed (17 here and two drop off dinners) and we have enough leftovers for a couple of days. 9 for brunch tomorrow.
No stress: it's ready when it's ready. Everyone on good form. Lots of laughs.
I am shattered but it's a happy kind of tired. Who else has had a really good Christmas Day? Care to share?

I've had a lovely day
I hired a house to accommodate big family Christmas this year with all my siblings, their spouses, kids and pets and I would say it's been a success and a lot like the Christmas we used to have when I was a kid.
Kids of various ages teamed up and played, we took the dogs for a nice walk, went to church, had a very tasty lunch and everyone seemed happy with their presents. Then we watched Die Hard after the littlest ones had gone to bed.
There were minor moments of friction but on the whole I think a good time was had by all.

Me. It was ridiculously lovely in every way - including a walk, a bath and a snooze. DH got me Diptyque candles and a Jane Austen jigsaw and a fantastic stocking full of delicious nuts and chocolate and a coaster decorated by a local artist. Our cousins hosted us - fab food, amazing wine, silly jokes and everything looked beautiful. DC had a good time playing games. The dogs all loved it There was a fire, there was champagne.

I have had many, many Christmases that were not like this. I know how wonderful this is and I treasure it.

We did.

I managed to get everything done in time. Teen DS loved his presents, and I loved mine - he's turning into a thoughtful considerate soul - we spent a happy hour out walking with friends, lunch went to plan (also an hour late) and ds managed to beat me at chess and Monopoly.

It's lovely when everything works. 🙂

Me.

A walk with DH this morning, dinner with him, MIL and DS at 3pm, DS GF arrived at 4pm. Presents opened, his GF baked some gingerbread cookies from doughnut she had made and frozen a couple of weeks ago and I got a star shaped cookie cutter out of my cracker so she used that, was very sweet. Played Articulate board game, then a quiz, drinks, Christmas pudding and we all fell asleep watching a film. They are off to her parents for Boxing Day afternoon/evening. DH bought me some lovely gifts but gave me this weird little silver thing, turns out it was a sink overflow, I have been complaining one looks a bit chipped in bathroom, he did his usual homemade joke Christmas card for me.

Me. Despite having an ear infection that’s had a good go at ruining it, I’ve had a lovely day. We’ve spent it away from home with friends and it’s been a lovely mix of relaxing and fun.

My son has been poorly so not the best.

Lovely day - my best friend came over with her mum and daughter plus anfew ithers - 10 in total -we sat down to eat a lovely roast at 2.30pm and stayed at the table until they left at nearly midnight we played games, ate a drunk loads and laughed til we cried.

I've had a lovely day. We had a lie-in and read some books, then DC 'helped' bake a cake. In the afternoon, DC and I went for a walk, but it started to rain really heavily so DH came and picked us up. While we waited, we met a couple of people similarly seeking shelter, and we all played car-spotting. Then it was home to watch Home Alone and eat chocolate.

19 fed is impressive! We fed 8 here but all went like clockwork and I’m now v drunk and silly, and about to collapse into bed.

Yes, I did.
The food was a happy medium between home cooked and prepared, the prosecco was opened early, presents mostly hit the spot and the kids played beautifully together!
We all had a lovely family Christmas (including me). One of the best I've had

Yeah really bloody lovely day thank you!
very chilled with my kids and then dp and his child and grandchild later on. Joint effort dinner, happy children, films, food galore and a night walk, general good feeling and relief as a parent of two autistic children it could have gone very differently but I kept expectations low and felt highly rewarded for that.
Some amazing presents, bonding and general joy
more to come tomorrow!
knackered now , debating trying to watch eastenders but fear I might fall asleep

‘One of the best I’ve had’
cheers to you and wishing you many more

Us.

We had a lovely day with my mother in law and sister in law, in our new home with our toddler & baby.

Really low key, but I cooked all day and it turned out really despite our toddler having a terrible cold 🥰

Really well*

Do you know what, me too. Reeling from a bereavement earlier this year so had planned very carefully for a quiet and simple day, both DS and DH have been amazing. We got up late, presents, lots of phone calls, breakfast, big huge dog walk where DS18 played on all the stuff in the empty park (!), gorgeous but simple 'when it's ready it's ready' dinner, then a bit of telly with both, DS then nipped upstairs to game while DH and I watched Christmas with the Coopers with wine.

Given the circs, it's been perfect actually. I'm very lucky. But oh how I wish my brother and my mum were here.

Yes 😁 Hosted elderly parents (dad is 89 so every Christmas is a bonus) brother, SIL, their two grown up girls, me and DD obviously!

Bit stressful cooking but lunch turned out delicious, roasties were amazing.

Present opening fun after dinner with only a few pressies but really appreciated - some lovely candles (love a posh candle!) then tons of games, quizzes and laughs, much Baileys and Prosecco.

Had an excellent time - had a few lonely/depressing christmases during the long divorce process (which I posted at the time in Mumsnet) with ex so I really appreciate how lucky I am when I have one like today.

Really lovely. DD is 3 and was very happy with her miriad princess dolls and her Elsa costume. One minor tantrum re not being allowed a lolly that she wanted but that was it. No adult drama at all. Fantastic food (my dad makes a nut roast with a recipe that exists only in his head so it's a bit hit and miss, but this was an excellent year👌) and we included Yorkshire puddings for the first time which I think will become a staple.

It was actually lovely. Just me, DH and our three adult sons, plus dog.

I've been having a tough time lately and really wasn't feeling it, but I felt the love of my family around me. Lots of thoughtful gifts, DS1 took over the cooking and produced a wonderful dinner with the assistance of DH. DS2 and DS3 cleared up. I was waited on hand and foot, we all got on, and I felt as happy as I can be at the moment.

I'm feeling very grateful tonight.

I had the best Xmas Day. The DC had to be woken up at 7am and I slept through the night which is unusual (hence 2am posting now 🙄). The gifts were all well received. It was just us mooching at home with hot nibbles and chocolates throughout the day. The ILs popped round for a couple of hours which was lovely. We played games and cards and then did what we each wanted for the rest of the day, no forced fun. All ended up in bed shattered by 10pm.

Ours was lovely. DH and I were getting a little tense with one another Christmas Eve and I was worried it was going to be rubbish but it was lovely. Took DS(3) and DD (5 months) to church, lots of lovely present opening for DS, DD timed her nap so I got to eat Christmas dinner undisturbed, both in bed 730. I’m happy . Now all I need is for this sleep regression to end 🥱

Yes, we had a really lovely Christmas. For once I decided to outsource some food elements and that turned out to be such a great idea. Particularly because I had a suspected TIA on Friday night and was whisked off by ambulance to spend the night in hospital.

It was a lovely simple Xmas here. DD with ASD rang up in a state and I thought she was going to refuse to come (she's stormed out of a couple of Xmases) but she got it together and we had a lovely meal and presents.

ASD DH did not like his main present but was tactful for him about it. It's an antique Art Deco vase and I love it even if he doesn't like elements of it. LOL.

Yes, I did.

After a lifetime of trying, I finally managed to get rid of the troublesome parts. I've been out of patience with toxic family dynamics for years now so have been doing a slow fade away as I try to work out if there's any level of contact I can bear, apart from "none". This year I decided early that I wasn't hosting or visiting Christmas Eve or Day. We ate what we wanted, watched what we wanted, listened to what we wanted and did what we wanted. Really low key and peaceful. I want every Christmas to be like this.

Due to the fallout of my decision, I've decided to step back even more next year. If I'm invited to anything and can go without it causing me any problems then I'll go for a short while to be polite, but I'm not going to be making an effort to carry the conversation or keep the peace, like I usually do, nor will I be staying for hours.

I had a lightbulb moment of realisation that I didn't need to bend over backwards for people who ignore me the rest of the year.