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?

We had a lovely day too, one of the nicest I think.

DDs slept through the night and woke after 7am. Present opening was very leisurely and they opened a few, then played with their new toys, then a few more etc so we didn't unwrap the last present until 3pm which felt far calmer and nicer to be spread out a bit.

DDs played together brilliantly while DH and I pottered in and out of the kitchen cooking Christmas Dinner. It was one of the nicest we have done but next year I need a bigger roasting tray for the roast potatoes as the pan was a bit crowded so they could have done with being crispier. Never mind!

DH bought me some thoughtful gifts including a new Emma Bridgewater mug and lots of bath potions and lotions so I went off mid afternoon for a long soak in the bath and he tidied up downstairs.

We watched Tabby McTat and Zagazoo which were both lovely and DDs went off to bed about 8pm. DH and I then had a Baileys and a quiet evening. Too much champagne was drunk throughout the day and not enough water so I've got a bit of a headache now but it was a perfect day.

It was just the four of us, no stress, doing what we want. Our big family get together is today which will be a lot busier and more hectic but I'm looking forward to it having had such s chilled out Christmas Day.

Lovely to read about everybody's great days!

My husband and I agreed last night that our Christmas was one of the best we have ever had too.

We have both chosen to stop drinking alcohol in the last couple of years and I think that has definitely improved our Christmases much more than I would have expected - just a lot calmer; easier to get things done and enjoy the small things; more patience with elderly family members; even down to not having to stress about who is going to drive where and at what time....

I feel very lucky for the day I had yesterday. Chilled morning with my beautiful daughter and lovely husband, exchanging lovely gifts. Then a meal with my wider family in the afternoon which was more frenetic, but lovely to see everyone. Then a very quiet evening.

Feeling loved and so happy!

We had a lovely day! My DC were awake at an acceptable time and were all really pleased with their presents. Had a nice breakfast before going to my parents for the afternoon. Kids and dog were all really well behaved. Got lots of cuddles from my gorgeous niece. My mum made an amazing dinner. My disabled DD who gets very easily overwhelmed managed really well with only a couple of upsets. We all really enjoyed it!

This sounds magical, I bet they loved it and will remember it always.

My Christmas was also lovely, and I’m glad so many of you had a wonderful day.

Two of my adult sons who live with me tested positive for Covid so I thought Xmas day would be a wash out. Turned out we actually had a surprisingly good day. Luckily they're not very poorly symptom wise. The younger son has barely any symptoms at all, perhaps because he had the booster shot in Nov. DP and I both negative so far. One of my presents was a retro turntable and I dug out all my LPs from 40 years ago and it was brilliant going down memory lane while I footered about preparing Xmas dinner. We set up a table for the Covid Brothers in the front room and DP and I ate in the dining room. I would happily have ate with them as I think I'll more than likely get it anyway but they are trying to protect me as much as possible , bless them. We ended up with a day full of laughter despite everything. Only downside is that guests we were expecting today are unable to come as they have vulnerable family members, one having chemo , so not worth the risk.

The run up was the usual stressing however I finished work last Wednesday afternoon so I had a good few days to finish everything and def doing that again next year.
Usually I work right upto Xmas eve.

We had dinner out this year for the first time ever and we invited and treated my dp and it was absolutely lovely to spend some time with them and us altogether.

The service and food was lovely and it took a huge amount of pressure off

We didn't have to rush up in the morning to get things going and when we got bak from dinner we played family games and had a few drinks before everyone just chilled.

Was an awesome day

Had a lovely few days. Hosted first Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and another yesterday with parents and in-laws and the DC. I love a busy house. Parents and in-laws get on well. Had a lovely walk with the dogs. Our first Christmas sans alcohol and it really has made a difference to how less stressful and tired we are.

Happy to read so many people had a great Christmas! I too had a lovely one. Kids played really nicely all day, no tantrums or hard work. Parents were on fairly good form. Food was a mix of homemade and shop bought which took the pressure off and all was easy enough and enjoyed.

Lots of general chat and the day flew by! All in all, a good Christmas!

Yep! It was absolutely fabulous. DH, DS and I went to my brothers (tiny, temporary!) home and piled in with him, his wife and their four DC, and it was cramped, loud and just perfect. The food was a group effort and divine, the kids played nicely all day, there was no bickering (adults or children!) and we all just had the best time.

Yep, me too. I'm 52 and can't really remember a year when I didn't have a lovely Christmas Day tbh. Oh except maybe the one when ds broke his leg on Christmas Eve...

i did and I wasn’t particularly in a festive mood. I usually host but had to eat out yesterday as haven’t had a kitchen for 6 months so it was visiting family and then dinner for the 4 of us in a pub. Was still a lovey day despite it being a lot quieter than usual. Some of the threads today have made me feel very grateful for my in-laws (I don’t have family) and how they see me as one of the family and not DH’s wife.

We had a lovely and very chilled Christmas. The only thing missing was my oldest DS. He lives in Spain with DIL but we had a zoom link for over an hour with all the family.

DS2 and DS3 joined us with the girlfriends for the first time. The girls were a bit shy at the beginning (understandable) but after a couple of drinks everyone was getting on famously 😁.

DH helped with dinner preparations and the boys and g/fs helped to clear tables and leaving the kitchen spotless.

It's Boxing Day evening in Australia and I'm relaxed with a glass of wine. DH is outside in the garden watching his tomato plants. Bliss!

It was an absolutely lovely day. Kids woke us up way too early but it just made the day longer. Was just the 4 of us. Really relaxed, kids spent all day doing things together, and we finished it off playing games and on the DCs switch. It's dry here today so meeting pals for a long walk which was the only thing we missed yesterday as it was blowing a gale and raining all day.

mixed bag because DS and wife didn't join us. But big plus was DD who has an ED enjoyed her food all day and didn't appear to have any 'issues' with it. I know it will have been an effort but she went to bed happy that she had eaten and enjoyed it. Xmasses are frankly crap for people with EDs. Hopefully this one will help her recovery

These are lovely to read. We had a lovely day. I feel so grateful for it. My teen kids were sociable and appreciative, my partner is kind and considerate and did all the cooking, we visited close family who we had hosted the day before so no guilt at having Christmas Day dinner just us - ate silly amounts, watched a film and everything was low key and happy.

Me!
Only the four of us (we spread our socializing as a wider family over several days and Christmas Day is just the four of us). Two adults, two young-adult dc (one still home and one at uni)
Lazy breakfast.
Only a few gifts including a board game.
Then dh and ds tackled dinner whilst dd and I tended to the pony (sounds posh but he is a hairy rescue who lives in a field).
Lovely dinner followed by board game, chilling, dog walk, Dr WHO, Ghosts and Call the Midwife Christmas specials.
Really really chilled.

Off for an outdoor swim with dd today, ds is out with his friends today, dh is giving blood this morning.
Then we will tackle the left overs 😊

Yes.

I woke up yesterday in a foul mood, for a few reasons but had a word with myself and a couple of coffees!
My DC (4 &6) started opening presents at about 0730, they had held off since 0515 when they had woken up with their santa presnt on their beds. DH got up with the kids and they watched TV whilst I had another hour of so in bed as I'd had a rubbish night.
Both kids slowly opened presents, stopping to play and then have breakfast.
DH had got me some lovely gifts. He also had done a lot of prep for the dinner the night before whilst I was out with DC.
No guests until 1330 so we'd had a slow relaxing morning. My parents and sister and the inlaws and SIL all came, everyone brought what they said they would. Everyone either stayed out of the way or helped a little when asked to bring food out. Basically all I had to do was spuds, puddings and veg!
More presents after dinner, people left around 1800 and the kids played and settled to bed with no issues.
It flowed and was just lovely.

Having a leftover afternoon for family that couldn't make it yesterday today.

Merry Christmas everyone x

Mine was great, quiet and relaxed but still great.

Reading the horriffic threads on here by posters who are screechingly ungrateful or have actually been treated appallingly makes me feel extremely grateful 😀

Yes. Walk with the dog in the morning. Dh cooked most of the dinner. His mum and dad , his green up kids and their mum. It was lovely.

for the first time in years we didn’t have any extra guests (friends, relatives, girlfriends) and that was absolutely fine.

We had a lovely day.

My sister and I both live abroad but are at my Dad's for Christmas.

Minor problem on Saturday meant I spent the day in A and E. Foreign infection meant I had to be isolated so no people watching. I'm now on heavy antibiotics so exhausted.

My sister, Dad and I went to church in the morning while the younger generation went to a park run.

My nieces and their partners cooked an amazing lunch - catering for vegetarians, meat eaters, gluten intolerance and allergies.

We played charades, opened presents and had a generally lovely day.

Similar to someone else I can't remember a bad Christmas.

Ours was lovely. DH has had bad flu but was just about better enough to get out of bed and enjoy opening presents and eating a bit of festive food. Apart from his illness it was fantastic - started with Midnight Mass - DS sings in the choir, then moonlit walk home with him, lie in now DC are both adults, stockings, a walk, mid afternoon Christmas lunch which I prepared alone (I actually love this part of the day, quietly getting the roast dinner together with no one around) and then all slobbed in front of the 1970s version of Death on The Nile laughing at DS2's new found crush on Mia Farrow in her youth.

Bliss.

Same here. There were 18 of us including 6 smallies, but it wasn't chaotic, the food worked out brilliantly and most of the gifts were edible so I don't have to work out how to get rid of 'stuff'.

Yes, we did, slightly against the odds as we had the winning combo of 3 aged grandparents and 2 teenage boys.

Quite relaxed, 7 for lunch, all cooked on time and delicious, everyone happy with their presents, grandparents and teenagers all behaved themselves.
Fizz and blackjack with the teens when the oldies had all gone home, not too late in bed with a new book. Lovely!

Today we're relaxing with the grandparents, who are at this moment playing blackjack with the teenagers, cold cuts and the world's biggest ham for lunch then over to my brother's for mayhem with 20-odd people tonight.

I'm massively also looking forward to tomorrow when I plan on taking to my bed, drinking coffee and reading books.

Yes, I had a lovely Christmas.

Just me and DH with DS & partner for lunch/afternoon . All very relaxed.

And for some reason, I had loads of presents - just small stuff - chocolates, socks, candles etc but all will get used at some point .