To think people are just plain INSANIO about Christmas?

[HullyEastergully]

In many different ways.

So much upset and pain and worry and strategising.

It's not good.

Think this Elf and hamper business is American so I am not going to feel guilty for ignoring them.
I am loving the idea of semolina on the roasties but trying to get the idea of school semonila out of my mind as in sloppy lumpy goo with roasties in it.
Aldi sell goose fat.
I like a sprinkling of salad herbs on mine.
Has anyone mentioned eggnog yet?

I agree pag.

I don't mind rampant consumerism at the best of times, but a special hamper with a duvet in is madness. I know traditions change all the time but it is just extra cost cost cost for nothing. And if you are on a limited budget how bloody galling that you feel compelled to spend even more to maintain that your child has a 'magical' christmas.

And that elf. I would have to hang him from a door jamb by the 4th December.

My mum used to wrap our presents after midnight mass and then ask us to be very careful not to tear the paper next morning so she could reuse it for granny and the uncles.

I seem to remember the extent to which spechul stuff was done on christmas eve was that the Rola Cola bottle was allowed to be open and we could have a Quality Street each.

I've never had egg nog but I do have a recipie I'm going to try on sunday soon.

As far as I can make out it's just thin custard.

My Christmas

Christmas eve - force DH to take DD to work.
Wrap some presents.
Watch 'it's a wonderful life'
Drink snowballs

Christmas day

Presents from father Christmas
Champagne
Smoked salmon bagels
More champagne
Have a long bath while DH makes lunch
Eat lunch
Wine and wine and wine
More presents
Games, a snooze and a dog walk
More champagne
More presents
Turkey sandwich

Boxing day
Panto - hooray
Cold meats and picky food all day.
Lots of wine

I've never heard of christmas hampers and stuff, but i htink it's fine if you want to do it. I think everything's fine if it doesn't make you all moany and stressed WHEN IT'S YOUR OWN CHOICE TO DO IT OR NOT.

sorry mole - I don't mean to be rude and slag off your traditions.

It is a nice thing to extend christmas - I personally love Christmas eve as well, and always watch Muppers Christmas Carol with dd whislt wrapping presents.

Don't you have a weep Pag? There's no little weep on your list.

And go and sign up for the meet you slacker.

I don't do wrapping paper any more.

I use the zillions of paper bags we get stuff in now (no more plastic bags in Ireland). Cut open, turned inside out, and with last year's christmas cards cut up to make labels.

Much better.

Actually I think that what I will be doing this christmas is taking dd on a driving lesson.

Fucking hell.

You don't want to do that . The roads will be full of drunks and Grannies. You will have a mahoosive row.

When I was a kid and lived with my gran I used to have to wrap my own presents. On christmas eve, and then on christmas day unwrap them and go into fake gestures of gratitude over the multipack constance carrol roller lip glosses.

She hated wrapping presents.

I hate wrapping stuff. Hate it. Me and dh split the wrapping. His is all lovely and anal and mine is great spodgy lumpy packaging with hateful sellotape clumps.

No offence taken.

I can see why it would get on most people's nerves. Up until couple of years back I HATED chirstmas with a passion. Now things have changed for us at home, I've found it a lot more enjoyable and bringing back all the small daft things and odds and sods my parents did for my brother and I as children.

I know.

Slade on the radio and me shouting 'find the BITING POINT, THE BITING POINT' and dd 'STOPTELLINGMEWHATTODO'

I'm not slagging off people's traditions.
If its whatyou do, what you have always done then fab.

But there is an increasing 'let's make traditions' thing.

My traditions - the things that give me the warm and fuzzier about my christmas - are nothing to do with money.

Dad always peeking in the room and pretending Santa hadn't been. Dh does that now
The satsuma in the stocking.
Having the job of making the brandy butter.
The competition to see who could manage a turkey sandwich the soonest after lunch.
Monopoly wars

All that stuff just naturally grew.

I know what you mean Mole, years of shit christmases here and now I AM IN CHARGE AND MY GOD WE ARE GOING TO ENJOY IT

I usually wrap all the presents accompanied by some mulled wine and amaretto chasers. So the first few look all neat, and then after more drinks get lumpy, til the end when the 'fuck this' mood kicks in and I generally just roll up the gift in 3 feet of gift wrap and wind the sellotape around randomly.

last year I wasn't drinking so all my presents were boringly neat.

Motherfucking

Yy . My mum does that. I lost it last Christmas when I bought her a coat and she asked me to wrap it so she could fign surprise.
Every year she has chosen every present she gets and pretends to be surprised about all of them.

Batty

I had unhappy christmases as a kid as well, so make up for it now.

I agree the traditions we have just grew out of habit. Like the same old shite christmas decorations out every year (I bought them when I was 16, so the few baubles that are left are very tacky and shite, but I couldn't get rid of them).

We always throw a party on Christmas Eve for my family. That way I get to keep the day itself all about ME. And the DCs, a bit.

One of my favourite things, either on Christmas Eve morning, or the day before, is going to the Butcher's to collect the metric tonne of meat. Since getting rid of the buggy, I now have to take the wheelbarrow to carry it all home, although the year before last I had to take the sled.

Nailed it in one Hully.

meat on a sled...

God yes it's mad isn't it. I used to have to pretend I hadn't know what she had bought me, when I had wrapped it up 9 hours before.