If you had no commitments at all how would you spend Christmas?

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Due to various reasons DH and I have no commitments and no plans over the Christmas period this year. ( Christmas eve, Christmas day and Boxing Day)

No family visiting until after this time

Elderly family members and adult children are elsewhere this year.

We are both off work for 10 days,

We are not sad about this in anyway as we will be celebrating with family a few days later but for the first time ever we have no commitments at all over Christmas.

This means we can do whatever we want for Christmas without worrying about offending anyone but can’t decide what to do.

We have thought about going away but I don’t really want to spend Christmas in a hotel room, a lodge/self catering maybe an option but prices are really high at that time of year.
Can’t go abroad as we want to see family after Boxing Day.

Local restaurants are now fully booked ( my own fault for not looking sooner) but we could travel to a restaurant

We could stay at home eating chocolate or cheese ( this is my favourite idea so far)

if you had no plans for the Christmas period and could do whatever you wanted for those three days, what would you do?

Any ideas welcome!

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'I’m just not sure if I will feel a bit sad on Christmas Day itself?!'

Well, you might do, and if you do, that's ok. It's just me and DP for Christmas which is our choice, and I'm so grateful that we have each other. All the crazy expectations around Christmas can be hard to shake off though, and I do sometimes feel a bit sad or empty that we're not having a 'family Christmas '. We've had lots of those though, and they were not a barrel of laughs, so I'm grateful that we get to have peace and quiet and no obligations. I remind myself that many people would KILL to be able to do Christmas their way instead of running around after others!

Volunteer at a homeless charity which would finish mid afternoon, then head home for a few hours of baileys, cheese and telly

Do you cook?

We’d probably do lie-in (my dream after having kids 😂), bath, champagne, walk, fire, pub etc. Then get a restaurant box or similar and make a really really nice meal, canapés, sea food, dessert, cheese, the lot. Probably throw in an extra nap somewhere for good measure!

I’d go away and have a traditional Christmas of whatever country I ended up in, eat lots of lovely food, see some sights, relax.

Lovely food, including fillet steak and potatoes dauphinoise, garlic mushrooms and mini tomatoes in the vine, a cheeseboard and a retro Christmas jigsaw - I've promised myself this set this year.

Lots of nice drinks in sparkling glasses, the tree twinkling, an open fire, candles and fairy lights.

Oh, and first dibs on the sales online! 😁

You’d be lucky to find availability to volunteer

We are inundated by volunteer offers over Christmas period and I find it heartbreaking how many people keen to volunteer that we have to turn down as no need

Oh I am quite jealous of you OP!

if it were me and DH, we’d head up on to the moors and have a lovely walk, I’d take my little portable gas hob and flask so once we got back to the car we could have sausage sandwiches and tea. Then head home via the local pub for a quick drink, then home and into PJs, light the log burner, watch something funny on TV, do some sewing, eat pate and cheese and just have a lovely relaxing evening.

Sadly this year we’re pinging up and down motorways visiting relatives, with a quick stop at home for actual Christmas Day when I’m going to work. Hope you have a really lovely day whatever you end up doing.

My first thought was to stay home, have nice treats in, movies lined up. But if you’re off for 10 days this could get a little repetitive? I’d prob fly to canaries for a 5 nighter ahead of Christmas and the have a cosy time at home over Christmas itself. I do this over NYE. It’s such a nice thought not to have to go anywhere and I really look forward to NYE home alone with luxury snacks and nice wine.

In a beautiful European city, visiting art galleries on Christmas Day. Perfection!
Why can't you do this, and see family on a different day, instead - does the exact date really matter?

Whatever you decide to do I hope you have a fabulous time. I'd be equally keen on snuggling under a blanket eating crisps and watching crap telly or going to 5* luxury resort. I don't want to shop/cook/clean and host elderly parents as I do every year. Very jealous.

Binge watch only fools and horses drinking wine and eating

Id literally shut my door , stay in pj’s and eat my body weight in chocolate whilst building the new Lego sets that Santa bought .

aaah.

DH is quite obsessed about spending Christmas at home, just the 4 of us and not in a hotel. We all like Christmas with just our family unit though so that bit is fine.

If i had my way, we would go to Vienna or Munich. Stay in a Nice Hotel. Christmas eve day out looking at lights, eating from christmas market stalls.

Then a lovely cosy Christmas eve dinner at the hotel. Full European food overload. Late start Christmas morning - presents and room service breakfast. wander around then dinner in a Beisl.

I would go skiing, especially if it was just me and DH as so much cheaper without the kids!

Me & H dream of this!

We wouldn’t tell a soul in case they felt they needed to intervene and make us join in

We would wake naturally, have morning romance, eat peanut butter on toast, go for a bracing morning walk wishing anyone out Merry Christmas- have a lunchtime wine at the pub, go home, heat up some food, watch barely Christmas movies (Batman returns?)

No cooking
No stress
Little expense

or fly back from somewhere Christmas Day, the roads would be clear you could possibly cycle down the motorway!

see family as and when claiming it was a lovely Christmas and try and repeat it as and when

I go to austria although this year I'm going to switzerland. Christmas eve afternoon is the main event and everything is open as normal on christmas day, public transport included.

Xmas Eve - cinema, late lunch somewhere fancy, pub.
Xmas Day - sea swim, pressies, champagne, seafood feast, bath, loads of sex.
Boxing Day - daytrip to see a show or ice-skating or a big walk in the woods.

Snuggle in the couch watching box sets and eating picky food. Bliss

We’ve got this, this year. Can’t wait! Am planning on picking up a seafood platter on Xmas eve, to pick at on Xmas day, then go out for lunch on Xmas eve. There’s quite often live music on Xmas eve night in one of the local pubs so will keep an eye out for that. On Xmas day, sleep off the hangover, go for a walk then settle in for seafood and Xmas TV or films.

Abroad.

In a luxury hotel in somewhere like Thailand, with a cocktail, by the pool!

Edited to say: I just read the last line of your post which says 'for three days'. I CBA to go away for three days, so I'd probably just buy in nice food from M&S in that case, or if I could find a nice local restaurant doing a meal on Christmas Day, then that.

We have no commitments and are going to a cottage by the coast. No Xmas traditionalfare.. Just lovely food, shit loads of cheese and a case of red wine.

Oh this is me this year!

I love a family Christmas and have done it for 23 years - my mum and step dad started coming during Covid - this year they aren’t and I’ve suggested to the kids (23/21/17) that their dad and stepmom might like a turn!

they will do Santa and presents in the morning then go to his - I’m planning a day of walking then fizz and TV until they come back at night.

in the future I’d like a few nights away

And yes, no cooking or cleaning- just nibbling on nice things

DD and I would love to be in that position. I would book an apartment for us somewhere in Wales by the coast (Llandudno or Aberystwyth most probably). We would get a load of lush low effort M and S food. Sleep in late, do presents when we got up, then eat and watch films or some series we liked on TV (we would probably save good stuff to watch). Maybe go for a little walk along the beach at some point.

If I was on my own actually I would do similar - and I would order myself some gifts!

Sounds perfect to me.

If we were home, we might go for lunch at an Indian restaurant, and go to the cinema if it was open (I believe some do open on Xmas day, but have yet to test this out).