so.. was it worth it?

[peachesandclean]

The money, the stress, the time spent organising and shopping, delivering, the effort of wrapping and cooking, the shopping, the early mornings, the elbow shoving in M&S, the countless arguments everyone has seemingly had,
was it worth it to you, or are you waking up today feeling deflated and poor

We had a lovely day!
Totally worth it

Don't know about you but my Christmas didn't involve any arguments or elbow shoving in M&S (or indeed any shop). I've had a very relaxing time and still will be for the next couple of days.

We had a lovely day as we always do but I didn't do anything you mentioned.

We had a brilliant day but went low key this year so stress free.

We had a wonderful day. But as with other posters didn't do any of what you listed.

Great day here. Ds who is 11 was so thankful for all his stuff. I cooked dinner for in laws who I love but they bloody wouldn't go home. We wanted an hour to relax it was 10.30pm beforethey left.

I had a lovely day yesterday, and the minimal effort I made for it was completely worthwhile

We had a relaxed Christmas this year, it was lovely. The only problem is we now want to stay home e every year as it was fun for the kids and so relaxing!

The key to it being a lovely day is avoiding all the stuff you mentioned. We do a pretty low key Christmas, it’s been lovely and we are all feeling happy and relaxed as a result.

I enjoy giving gifts at any point of the year, it doesn’t feel like a chore to me. I also enjoy cooking when there are no other pressures like work or having to be somewhere, which was yesterday. My husband helped and I enjoy cooking things together. I didn’t do any fighting in the shops, our Christmas shop for presents took 34 minutes. We both picked a meat to have but if that had been out, we’d have had something else and it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. The money, I stay within what I can afford.

I’ve had a lovely day yesterday. I’ve woken up feeling deflated this morning but not because of the reason you are saying. Realistically I still have a week until I’m back at work but now that Christmas is done, it feels like I’m on the downside to going back. I’m not looking forward to going back, so I’ll probably spend the rest of my break not really relaxing and hunting for a job.

We had a quiet Christmas. Lots of relaxation and good food. I didn’t feel stressed at all and I don’t think any of us did.

Not being smug.

I’ve just learned from Christmases past to keep it simple and focus on the people you’re with, not al the hype and expectation.

So yes, it was worth the extra expense of presents and food.

I'm lucky enough that I love Christmas. I'm doubly lucky that it doesn't make me feel stressed or cross.

It's been a great few days doing relatively little.

We had a lovely day! Morning at home with DS doing presents/playing with toys and generally relaxing.

Afternoon/evening at SiLs for Christmas dinner - again lovely and relaxed.

The run up was fine - mostly shopped online and avoided shops after the 22nd so no elbowing here!

Not feeling poor as we never spend beyond our means. It was OK. But it's always just OK, not the "most wonderful time of hte year" that everyone bangs on about.

And the world has moved on from starting Christmas on 25th december and it going on for 12 days. Christmas now starts in September so by today everyone's sick to the back teeth of the whole thing.

The money❌, the stress❌, the time spent organising and shopping✔️, delivering❌, the effort of wrapping and cooking✔️, the shopping❌, the early mornings❌, the elbow shoving in M&S❌, the countless arguments everyone has seemingly had,❌

I am in 2 for 7😂 Yes me shopping online, making food list and sending DH into the ASDA because I can't be arsed with crowds was totally worth it😁

Spent day watching movies, napping, munching, drinking. Perfect. Only "work" was putting meat in the oven, peeling veg and showing it into oven after parboiling it. Basically we just showed stuff into the oven in a timely manner.

Blessings of having families thousands of miles away and doing alternate years🍷

There wasn't much stress. We didn't go overboard and not hard up anyway.

We gave some great gifts. The kids were sooooo happy. There were no arguments (although I might be about to start one!!)

The money
Bought less than previous years and just stuck to what people wanted with a couple of surprises for DS and DH.

the stress
Changed my expectations and didn't try for ridiculous ideal of Christmas. Planned to do less.

the time spent organising
I spent more time organising but planned to do less. Much more efficient

shopping
I like shopping

delivering
Everything I order online is done before 1st Dec.

the effort of wrapping
I employed a wrap as you go strategy which has worked well.

cooking
We don't go full traditional. We go for something that is chilled and what we actually will enjoy

the shopping
Still like shopping

the early mornings
What early mornings? What the fuck are you on about?

the elbow shoving in M&S
Er now you've lost me

the countless arguments everyone has seemingly had
Speak for yourself.

was it worth it to you, or are you waking up today feeling deflated and poor
Nope smug and happy about how to do Christmas well rather than going ott and living in a fantasy of how it should be and how I wished I done similar in previous years.

No stress, no arguments, no early mornings, no m&s elbows. A lovely day with the family, and again today. Worth everything.

We had a really lovely day

The run up was fine - mostly shopped online and avoided shops after the 22nd so no elbowing here!

I have a solstice rule. 21st is a cut off. DH went every day to get few fresh things because like that he just used the self check out since manned tills had queues of 10+ people with GIANT trollies each. All non perishables were purchased bit by bit on top of normal weekly shops in December.

I had a mild stress when Amazon looked like they could not deliver on time but DS was happy to wait until Friday for his present and Amazon literally came through at the last minute so he had a nice surprise yesterday. I didn’t cook yesterday but I regularly cook huge roast dinners for extended family so that Would not have been a stress.

The what? I've spent a bit, but had a modest windfall this year so it's nice to be able to push the boat out for a change. Did the shopping off-peak due to helpful work shifts. Long phone call from the 2 DCs living at the other end of the country, nipped round the corner to DSis for exchange of gifts, will be visiting the DGCs today. Cooked for two, don't do bloody turkey so I didn't have to go ape on all kinds of tricks to make it taste like something - the only thing I did that doesn't usually happen is peel potatoes, and my word those spuds were worth it. We were too full for dessert so I've just had some of it for breakfast. What's not to like?

We had a lovely Christmas and yes, it was worth it. I didn’t go near M and S (boycotting them since they allowed men to use the women’s fitting rooms), and did all my shopping peacefully online anyway.
We had a lovely Watchnight service at the village church, loads of yummy food, and a 4 mile walk under blue skies along the river to the estuary, ending with a glorious sunset over the hills. Listening to carols by the Christmas tree, with the smell of pine branches and cooking turkey. Pulling crackers at the table with my much loved DDs.
Opening presents together and being chuffed at the thoughtful choices everyone had made for each other.
Yup, a wonderful day and well worth the cooking, wrapping and preparation!

But its not over yet? We've still got boxing day to go and the 'hazy days' between now and the 2nd where we continue to chill. Relax and scoff food. To me, Xmas is all about the lead up, the nights out, meals with different groups of friends, Xmas eve etc. Not just the day itself. That would be madness!

I just counted it. We watched grand total of 7 movies yesterday 😂