To ask for your best Christmas shortcuts?

[TammySwansonTwo]

Christmas is not going to plan!

On the the way out to finish my Christmas shopping on Wednesday, one of my twins hit me full in the eye with his fingernails. Luckily I had a friend with me and managed to quickly get round and get it done. Was in awful pain after that, went to hospital Thursday morning and they found massive scratches across my eye and they've put me on drops that are making me feel bloody awful so ive mainly been lying horizontal in between twin wrangling.

I was supposed to clean today, take delivery of food shop and wrap presents tomorrow, then have a nice relaxed Christmas Eve together. Right now I can't even sit up without my head swimming so I'm going to have to nail everything with DH's help this weekend.

Can you tell me your best Christmas shortcuts / time savers for wrapping, food prep etc? I don't believe a good roast potato can be done in advance but other than that, what can I do this weekend so the day itself is a bit more relaxed (and what can I do more quickly this weekend so I'm not dizzy and falling down)?

I posted a while ago about having a more laid back Christmas since the boys are only 15 months - they only have a handful of toys between them, DH and I have only got each other a couple of bits. I've ordered meat from Waitrose that just goes straight in the oven so that will save me some time. Feeling very relieved at all that right now but frankly I wish I could postpone Christmas by a week so my eye isn't swollen shut and I don't feel like hurling.

Best shortcut is to get someone to do it

Hope you feel better soon!

*someone else

My little brother wraps everything in tin foil and sticks a bow on top

How about getting a load of cheap gift bags from b&m or somewhere to save on wrapping?

Is it just the 4 of you for Christmas? If so, then I would just do what you wish and actually postpone it until you’re feeling better!

I has an extremely similar injury - a stick on my eye which caused a huge scratch on my cornea. I felt terrible on the day it happened and not great the next but eyes heal really quickly and by the third day I was loads better. Hopefully by tomorrow you'll feel ok - am sure by Monday you'll be absolutely fine.

*stick in my eye!!

What if you completely cover the injured eye? Then you aren't trying to use it and it might not make you dizzy etc?

(I am not medically trained, just wondering if that might work/help. Even if it does though, stick to light duties only!)

Do you have a friend, sister anyone who will come an do the wrapping for you?
Maybe prep the veg etc?

Get your dh to do it, I’ve just had a baby so Christmas is all dh’s this year

Unless you've someone to come and help, your dh is going to have to own the next few days

If you’ve any presents for adults? Don’t wrap, gift bag them! Wrap dc any old how they honestly won’t care

Prep the veg Xmas eve ( I find chopped/peeled in a tub in the fridge over night is fine)

Hopefully by Christmas Day you may feel a little better

Thanks all - apparently the weird feeling is caused by the drops that dilate the pupil, I feel very weird indeed. Tried covering it but didn't help much. The boys are in explorer mode too so it's been a fun few days 🙄

No one around who can help besides DH so he will be doing much of the wrapping and cleaning at this rate, although to be honest looking after the twins is probably harder work when I feel like this so maybe he'll be in charge of them while I do everything else. House is a blooming bomb site so really need to sort it out first.

Gift bags are a very good idea indeed. Will send him out for some in the morning.

The nurse who examined my eye did say it was a very nasty injury and they want to see me back next week to make sure it's healing okay with the antibiotics. It's insanely painful - I once had my eyelid cut open when I was hit in the eye with a very fast moving fencing sword (don't ask), and and I don't remember that hurting this much. So yeah, really hoping it starts to improve tomorrow, looks like I've been in a.boxing match.

How far in advance can you peel parsnips, carrots, prep sprouts etc? Will have to do the roast potatoes and gravy on the day but that won't be so bad if I just have to whack the meat and prepped veg in the oven.

It is only the four of us so I probably shouldn't even bother but I love Christmas too much to skip it!

I'd definitely keep it covered as the dilated pupil will make you really sensitive to the light and so it hurts more - I couldn't open mine at all and it even hurt more to begin with to try and open the good eye for some reason. Do you have pain killers? It really is a horrid thing and you have all my sympathies! I was amazed though how quickly it did heal - promise!

send someone to Aldi and get the veg and potatoes ready cooked/dressed/prepped etc. Then all you have to do is throw then in the oven.

Fortunately I'm on morphine daily for another condition so pain relief isn't an issue, but it still hurts like a bitch so I guess it must be bad. Right now it's a little better than it was yesterday so hopefully it will continue to improve.

Yes, will see which veg I can get pre-prepped. Have ordered pigs in blankets so they can just go in the oven, and a thing of gravy so hopefully I can nail all that easily.

you can cook them even the day before.after a roast dinner we always have leftover veg so I'm thinking this is only the same thing.then reheat in the microwave.
or just chop them and keep in a sealed food bag or Tupperware.its only like having those ready chopped carrots stick in the fridge to munch on isn't it.and they are kept for a while in bags in chopped form.
top tip for cooking veg is filling the kettle for the water.
could you wear a heads scarf or something that just covers the one eye.
would any heat pack or one of those smelling heat sausage things help to just stick close to it to feel comforted and warming.sometimes just holding something pleasant and wamring close to the damaged area can really help.
make sure you take pain meds round the clock.as soon as you leave a gap thye start coming out ur system so even if it feels ok at the point of taking some more for the next few days keep to a routin of keeping some in ur system.
in regards to cleaning stop looking at it! nothing is as important as people put on cleaning.it really isn't. you and feeling ok and reted is whats really that priority here.itl only be messed up again and will never ever be TIDY enough for us.
do stuffing in the microwave saves hugel on space in the oven.
use water from veggies for ur gravy
do panic.things happen and this year it has to you and that really horrid to be in pain like this.so make it what is is from now going forwards.dont think bacl to the big plans or epic things u wanted to do or planned to.start from this moment.ur in pain u need to relax and make it easy and lovely from how you are right now.
it can still be lovely.but wont be if ur thinking of what you cant.didnt.should.must do.make a a aaaaaaahhhhh time just for how it is.you all together is whats really wonderful.
gift bags.
chop selotape into length and put onto side of table before you begin so you can grab and go as you wrap instead of tryng to manover the bloody reel and hold paper down in one go!

I was also going to say get pre-prepped veg. Open packet, stick tray in oven.

If DH can roast veg this weekend, radio 2 has a thing about doing them before and freezing them. Cook your meat on the day, then when it's resting you put the frozen veg in (oven on full whack) for 10 mins or so. My sister swears by it

Thank you so much everyone - I am way too much of a perfectionist and dream of being Nigella Lawson, sadly that will never be the case 😂 I'll have plenty of years when I have to make it special for the boys but frankly they don't understand what's going on, they'll just be glad to have new toys! And we can just eat what I can make, frankly. Sadly I can't cancel the big joint coming with the shop as you have to preorder them and can't change it, so will be having a big roast regardless but I'm sure it will be mostly better by Monday. Currently clutching a heat pack to my eye and when the boys are in bed I'll have a baileys and watch something festive :)

You can put root veg in oven or microwave and bake like jacket potatoes.

Microwave your Christmas pudding. Five minutes vs. God knows how long in a steamer. Make sure there are no coins in it, though!
Run the plates that need to be kept warm through the dishwasher and take them out as you need them.
Enlist help!

Just get DH to do the essential cleaning, bathroom
And kitchen and quick hoover of the worst areas.

At least you can’t see the dirt.

Prep veg the night before and put in fridge in a bag. Except parsnips because they go brown ( so does celeriac) so put them in cold water, if you can't find ready prepped.
Buy a load of foil trays, saves on washing up, just chuck out after use ( recycle).
Microwave pudding.
If you do a starter get something with no prep e.g. smoked salmon or pate.
Even potatoes are fine peeled and left overnight in cold water then do the par boiling and roasting on the day.
If you do Yorkshire puddings, the batter is actually better left in the fridge overnight ( or buy frozen).

Do the potatoes not get water logged leaving them in water overnight? Thinking of those old osmosis experiences in science! It's probably so negligible it makes no difference.

Okay great, that's loads we can chip away at before Monday. Thanks so much ladies!

i have a broken wrist at the moment so left arm in a cast which means i basically have one working hand so i will peel the spuds carrots. sprouts and parsnips the day before leave them in pans of water overnight and they cook perfectly fine, buy ready prepped pig in blankets, frozen yorkies, instant gravy granules, doing prawn coctails or pate for starters easy to make even buy ready made marie rose sauce for the prawns and ready packaged french toast for the pate, ready made dessert from asda or iceland, carton of custard for the chrimbo pud or a carton of double cream to pour over, so on monday beef and roast potatoes in my big oven veg on top in pans and pigs in blankets in my micro/ convection oven, starters will take temn minutes to prep , and cold dessert cut and serve, christmas pud in the microwave with the custard

We have 5 kids and 11 for Xmas day.
Over the years I have learned to not be a martyr.

DH works but does lots of cleaning, we now put pressies in cheapo gift bags with tissue paper. Lots of prepared veg etc.

Delegate, get pissed, and remember that no child needs knackered parents for the sake of beribboned parcels.

Twins are hard (I understand) but Xmas just the 4 of you should be a piece of piss.

We cook a big beef joint in the slow cooker and it’s ace.
Hope your eye gets better soon