So what will you do differently or keep next xmas

[Cupcakeicecream]

I will buy less for extended family stresses thinking I havent given them enough gifts.
Wine cho late for the adults
Give cash to nieces and nephews
Stop sending xmas cards
Wrap in brown parcel paper wrapping paper was rubbish and kept ripping.

More carol singing. I fucking love carols; every year I say I'll go to this or that concert but I never make it. Next year is my year!

Wasjig jigsaw to do instead of an advent calendar. It actually forced my DH and I to sit together and we enjoyed it
Will get crown and stuffing separately next year as prefer stuffing crispy
Not our fault but hope DS isn't poorly like this year as we hardly got any sleep and made It a bit lethargic

KEEP:

• Pared back gifts (we don’t ever go overboard but we pared back even more this year and I liked it)
• Presents from DH’s family kept back to Boxing Day - too much in one day otherwise and I’m glad we get to spread it out over two days.
• Shopping throughout the year - I’ve always done it but this year was my best yet - some of the favourite stocking fillers were things I got in the Waterstones 70% off sale last February.

CHANGE:

• Only see family on Christmas Day - keep Boxing Day just for us. We haven’t done a big family Christmas for over 10 years but now that we’ve relocated back to my home town it is a given that we’ll do it in future. We were at my brother’s today, (18 of us in total) and tomorrow we’ve got my parents and two siblings coming to ours. It’s too much. Myself and two of our DC are introverts and we are all done in having been with people all day - I wish we were just staying in PJs and having a quiet day at home tomorrow with no guests. Next year I’ll host on Christmas Day and then see no-one on Boxing Day

Save up to go to Thailand for it so we sit on the beach and ignore the whole fucking thing. Eat fresh fish and drink beer on the day.

Next year I hope my bloody boiler won't break on Christmas morning when I'm in the middle of cooking for the 5000 and have a frail 92 year old coming who feels the cold! Everybody wrapped up well and they were all very gracious but god it was a stressful day

Keep - hot roast sandwiches for lunch not the whole shebang. Much easier and less prep.
Keep - less gifts on xmas day. Money was spent on festive days out throughout December instead.
Keep - gave restaurant/cinema/activity vouchers as gifts instead of an actual item. Less shopping and gives recipient things to do in January when skint.
Change - missed going for a walk today as was knackered from work. Must make an effort to get a bit of fresh air next year.
Change - stick to trifle not fancy xmas dessert shaped like a cracker as it was style over substance

Next year I will cook the beef for less than St. Delia advises - it was medium on the timing she gives for rare. Have written myself a reminder on the recipe that she lies.

I will make the (old enough) children tidy up a little more as we go. I will buy less chocolate as we are always given plenty (not complaining though). I will keep the good wine until after MIL and SIL go home as they can't taste the difference and I can .

Keep - staying at home on Christmas Day; kids (teens!) making Christmas Lego

Change - DH asked DD "shall I make broccoli OR pigs in blankets?" DD said "broccoli". When we found out (at the dinner table) DS1 and DS2 and I were
Pigs in blankets next year!

Being well organised worked well this year (unfortunately that's the only 'secret' I've figured out!)
Start buying presents for kids in Sept or thereabouts as both have birthdays around Christmas too.

Having lunch at 12 actually worked out ok (have a toddler who needs to nap after lunch - although he didn't actually nap today!), left lots of time for nibbling and opening presents in the afternoon and less time to keep DC away from presents..

Don't cater for more than us + 2 additional people... only enough room for one pan of roast potatoes in the oven with all the other stuff.

Don't host a million people over the week as I end up spending a fortune on food and drink, and making daily trips to the shops. Although the alternative is travelling with young DC so perhaps it's worth it...

No pigs in blankets!

We will not buy the three bird roast with stuffing, (from aldi or lidl, i forget which) it was minging.

We're going to have Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve. Cooking all that food for 2 adults and a hyper 4 yo was not worth it, she barely licked a carrot and was an absolute horror at the table. We would have been better spending the time actually playing with her.

I won't bother with a traditional Xmas dinner.

I did a buffet one year and I think I will stick with that from now on. All that time spent on it and so much cutlery to wash and dry afterwards. Everyone helped but it is still time consuming and too much effort for not a massive reward.

Also, double-check back door is locked overnight on Christmas Eve so I don't come down on Xmas Morning to find it ajar and have a massive panic (nothing missing but I'm a bit at DH...)

Next year it will be just the 4 of us, at most my db and his dh because they are fun . I'd love to go away but not sure I can stretch to it with work needed on the house this year.

I will remember that I can do fabulous crispy spuds for normal sunday lunches, yet I get sucked into the idea of using goose fat for the roasties for Christmas day and it always goes wrong. I manage nice ones using oils I know every other sunday. I must remember!

Less veg options. More pigs in blankets.

This is the 2nd year on the run weve made sure there was a board game given and it does work having a new one to play after lunch.

Won’t do Christmas cards again but I felt guilty at not wishing a happy Christmas to people we won’t/rarely see.

I’d like to think that we won’t buy so much for the kids next year. They’ve been great, very excited and appreciative of all their gifts but there was too much really. I’d love to bin off the yearly trek around to see so many people but it can’t be avoided. And the kids love seeing their crazy cousins. But we’ve kept it to two nights away this time rather than 4 so that’s better. Next year we need to make more effort with my side of the family.

Oh and this year, I unclenched about DS wanting to just spend a chunk of the day in his room building his new lego set. He loves doing this above all else, making him sit and chat downstairs isnt fair, he was happier, even though I felt guilty we weren't doing stuff together.

Avoid allowing my ex p to join us for Xmas to keep the peace.....

I'm pleased with how this Christmas has been so far.
I promised myself I would buy less of everything, presents, food, wrapping, cards. And I bought no new decorations for the first time in years.
It has been a calm and gentle day. The DC seemed more peaceful, DH and I have laughed and joked more. There was so much less mess, tidying, recycling to sort, plastic to bin. The fridge is not bursting at the seams. I can walk in the kitchen without cringing at the amount of food left over from Christmas dinner that I know won't get eaten. I feel a lot better than I normally do on Christmas night. I hope the rest of the year follows suit.
Next year I am going to try to pare things down even more.
A simple Christmas is 👍.

Insist on presents that are well thought out and not a cheap afterthought. Got two little candles that smell like toilet freshener and £1.50 knickers that don't fit. And a bar of dairy milk dark milk from hubby. Hate dark choc. Can't believe I went to so much expense and effort for him only to end up feeling totally fucked over. It was my birthday this week too and it was a similar shit show and I've had to look at his sad puppy dog face all day because he opened up some excellent gifts and all I had was cheap shit

FFS. Tell him you're returning the excellent gifts you gave him and buying yourself something nice. He can keep the shite he gave you. Seriously. What an arse.

I made dried cherry pickle - that's staying in my rotation.

Ditto for a dried fig and fresh cranberry chutney.

For me, cranberry curd doesn't have a strong enough flavour to be worth making again.

Experimented with some new biscuit recipes - 8 of them were good but not spectacular enough to put into the rotation. I'll keep 2 other ones because they were good to post.

I learned a friend makes excellent sauerkraut with wild mushrooms and I'd be delighted to have that again.

Maybe not go on a long haul holiday returning ten days before Christmas unless I had actually done some preparation before I went.

Keep christmas dinner on Christmas eve, dropping all the activities in run up to Christmas as had a strung out and poorly DD this year.

Keep - Will do the turkey in the slow cooker again,then bung in the top oven to brown,then back in the slow cooker on the warm function,whist the potatoes,pigs in blankets and stuffing cooks. No having to keep checking or basting.Not dry at all,it just fell apart.

Keep - Use the top oven for everything else,stops the temptation to cook far too much and wasting it.

We have had a fab xmas. I told family no presents for adults which has been great. Kept things lowish key so the kids didn't go mad. Lots of xmas films and family time.
Only thing I would change is less food as we have alot of leftovers and are going to my parents tomorrow so won't get eaten.

I'll buy everyone scented candles rather than waste money and thought on presents as apparently all of my family members think they are the perfect gift.