If you spend Xmas day with family you live with..

[notworthanything]

Can you tell me about your day please?

I have DH and 3 DC (12, 9, 3). Our usual day is the morning spent at home opening presents/playing and having breakfast and then over to DM's in the afternoon for dinner and seeing lots of family/presents/games etc. Unfortunately, 9yo has come down with a bug. Sick on Sunday morning, sick last night and lots of stomach cramps. So obviously we can't go to DM's. We have food in for a Xmas dinner chicken breasts but the DC are going to be gutted when I finally confirm we aren't going.

Can you tell me about your lovely, small Xmas days plans so we can all stop feeling like it's just another Sunday roast at home?! 12yo DC will be particularly gutted as he hasn't really got new toys to keep him busy and he loves playing games and spending time with extended family.

It doesn't help that I've had a big argument with DH this morning so not feeling particularly Christmassy and feel like the pressure is on me to make it special when I'm on the verge of tears!

Can you leave sick child and DH at home and take the other kids?

She'd be so upset to miss out too but I was considering sending 12yo for a few hours as he has mostly avoided 9yo. There is a baby and an 87yo at DM's though so I am wary of passing anything on.

I think of Christmas dinner as a roast with extras - pigs in blankets, stuffing balls etc. Have you got anything you can elevate it with? Crackers?

I always have the radio playing Christmas music while I cook.

Quality Street and a Christmas special - Wallace and Gromit is on tomorrow. I’d big up how much I’m looking forward to the new Christmas release.

What will you wear? Party clothes? PJs? I’d tell the kids what the dress code is, or make one up.

A lot of what kids like about Christmas is predictability, so if you pre-empt what the day will look like you can make a nice cosy time of it.

We always do Christmas at home. My DSs are much older now but we like a low key Christmas.

It’ll be Christmassy because it’s Christmas. I get up with the dog, have a quiet coffee and enjoy the anticipation of the kids waking. They’re 11 and 13 so days of 5.00am starts are long behind us. When the kids get up I’ll open a bottle of fizz for their dad and I and we’ll all open presents. After breakfast I’ll usually head for a bath with a new book while the kids watch something Christmas like on tv. We have a late dinner so I’ll start cooking around 12, DD will help so we’ll potter around the kitchen with a glass of wine (me) and crisps.

While dinner is cooking we’ll take the dog for a long walk, back home to finish cooking, eat and some board games after dinner. The kids will disappear to their rooms and their dad and I will watch a movie.

Lots of chocolate and snacks will be eaten. Just a really nice, relaxing day no doubt with some tween/teen drama for good measure.

We loved covid Xmas, just the four of us.
We walked the big dog in the morning, then I made the canapés and we drank champagne and then we had steak and chips for lunch which was liberating.

The only downside was I had seriously bad period pains all day, so took paracetemol with every 3rd glass of champagne!

Oh we also had a lockdown puppy who arrived on the 19th Dec so we were in and out of the garden for wees!

In my dreams, every single Xmas would just be the four of us, either here or in Barbados on the beach.

We do Christmas just the four of us as parents all dead bar one and we live a long way from any remaining relatives. DDs 5 and 2.

Stockings on our bed in mornings, they get some pop tarts in their stocking (awful things but it's Christmas!) for breakfast, we go down and they open their Santa gifts which are left by the door, they burst into living room to see all the presents that have appeared under tree. We have a quick breakfast and then the opening begins! We take our time with this as we have no schedule to stick to. Some stuff will be opened and played with for a while before recommencing opening. At some point we will have some chocs and things to keep us going It takes quite a long time but it's lovely.

Then I'll start to prep dinner while the girls play with their new things, youngest might go for a nap, DH will set up any needs construction things during this time. Christmas movie might go on in background.

Then dinner, roast with all the extras we don't usually have. Pigs in blankets are exciting enough on their own then dessert. We usually get crackers with a game in (bowling this year) so we play that after dinner, then we watch the Julia Donaldson and anything else, eat some choccies, then kids go to bed and DH and I watch stuff together and eat more chocs.

I love it!

We had Christmas as just the three of us during lockdown and it was really nice. We got up, opened presents. Had a fancy breakfast with champagne. Dinner about 3 and then Home Alone on TV. My parents were in a bubble with my DB and SIL and their tiny baby but in the evening we did a quiz via zoom (could you do something similar?).

Is there another day over the Christmas break when you can all get together too?