Boxing Day - most stressful day of the year.

[DJA1511]

Every year Boxing Day is completely pants.

My house is a tip, there’s toys everywhere. Laundry to catch up on after missing yesterday. Dishes drying on the rack to put away. My wheely bin and recycling bags are over filling.

I’m googling storage solutions for toys my family have bought the children.

Whilst wondering if we could build an extension t a play room? 🤣🤣

Kids want to go out and spend their Christmas money just to bring more stuff into the house.

Half eaten chocolate all over the kitchen sides!!

Anyone else??

Well, I still have a lot of clearing up to do from yesterday- I only had a 20 minute break in between hosting here and then going out to my sister's in the evening, so there's a lot of pots and pans to do.

And then I woke up this morning to find my boiler had broken down, which meant a chilly start and frantic googling/texting people to find an emergency boiler repairman to come out. The boiler is now temporarily fixed but I still feel a tad discombobulated

Quite relaxed here, did laundry yesterday and ( mostly) tidied the kitchen last.

I have already taken a huge box of unwanted chocolates and biscuits to the food bank at Tesco this morning, and filled bags of unwanted gifts for charity donations.

I think it is the most relaxing day of Christmas.

My house is a bit messy but that can be sorted tomorrow or as we go along today. I got up at 11.30 and had trifle for breakfast :) Leftovers today with Jacket Potatoes, cheese board and snacks etc for tea.

I love Boxing Day.

I have done most of the stressful things yesterday so I get to lie in and chill today :)

(Chill still mean I spent couple of hours clearing and cleaning this morning!)

Left overs for breakfast

Unfortunately when DH is in relax mode, and there's two lively DCs rained into the house, it's not very relaxing
Why should he be allowed 'relax mode' and you have to bear the brunt? You work hard too.

I agree. Me and dh were tidying up for hours this morning . Recycling and getting organised for the day as I have fam coming again.
I've cooked and feel quite organised now but my mum will be here soon with bags and bags of stuff 😳
Looking forward to tonight when everyone has fucked off and we can kick back and watch crap telly.
My kids range from 35 to 8 so I've been doing this a bit too long now.
Next year I'm going to hire a little air b and b and have a relaxing couple of days with dh and the younger ones as the older have all got partners now so can happily do their own thing
Can't wait

Chilled here but my 2 are adults. I worked last night so catching up with soaps that i missed last night.

Should really go to bed got work again tonight.

Our friends who arrived late afternoon Christmas Eve have left now.
Me, DD (15) and DP are having a Golden Hour where we blitz through getting straight. DD has stripped their bed and remaking it, DP has done the bins and bathroom, I’m sweeping through and will quickly mop the kitchen floor. We’ll be spick and span by 1pm.
This afternoon is TV, chocolates and slobbing on the sofa.
Dinner (venison casserole) is in the slow cooker. I just need to peel some spuds. I’m going to stick a wash on too.

Its my mum's birthday today so we'll be around there for dinner with my partner and kids, my brother and his partner and my nephew, should be a nice day. I spent all day Christmas Eve tidying the house and getting laundry done, I do have another basket full now but its not like its school uniforms that need to be ready quickly or anything like that so not going to worry about it today! I've also decided not to concern myself with all the piles of new toys everywhere! Tomorrow I'll probably be fairly busy baking a birthday cake for my son's birthday on saturday and planning our day out and on saturday there will be even more piles of toys and stuff!

Its not my favourite day. After having 15 for lunch yesterday - today I've driven my kids to the airport to go see their father. I bought a jumper in the sale and have come home. Done more washing up and tidying and am now contemplating the rest of the day on my own watching netflix. I will have a bath later. Its an adjustment and it feels a bit mis.

Love boxing day. DC currently play quietly with new toys (this is putting me slightly on edge!) I'm cooking a load of beige buffet food for family arriving soon.

Sorry you are stressed OP. I can't help for today, but two things have helped me over the years.

The thing we learned to do when ours was little was to sort through the playroom before Christmas, and get rid of forgotten and broken toys then. It meant the bomb of Christmas presents was easier to deal with!

I don't know the nature of your DCs' additional needs (we have this here too) but I always sort the wrapping & packaging recycling as they open it. Child open presents, DH detritus to me. I started doing it when something was thrown away by accident in the 'rubbish', so I started doing it to prevent lost toy meltdowns.

I'm sending you a virtual slow cooked turkey curry for today .

Take an hour to tidy up and Hoover, then let the kids get their toys out on a clean floor, sit in your pjs and chill.

Same here OP. As much a I cleared up some of the toys there are still some to be built and others left out from playing. Kitchen looks like a hoarders paradise. Don't stress. its a week till new year. By that time like it looking good. New start and all that.

Love Boxing Day. Christmas is a whirlwind of exhaustion and runn8ng around after everyone. Boxing Day visitors fuck off home, DH always goes to football, DS has left home and DD is in bed after a night shift. I have put presents away, cleaned all the house, loaded the car with rubbish for the tip tomorrow when it opens, prepped dinner from leftovers for tonight and now I’m done.

DD is getting up soon, we will go for a long walk then sit in front of the TV until bedtime watching Christmas films with no visitors, the fairy lights on and a box of chocolates.

Today is my Christmas.

@AnnaMagnani and and even ..make DH entertain them while you put your feet up

I've just done a huge load of ironing which I had been putting off! Maybe we will go to the pub for a drink later and then I will cook dinner. No leftovers for us as we didn't have turkey as DH doesn't like it! I am having one for New Year instead! Looking forward to that.

You see, you've missed a trick haven't you?

What you do on Boxing Day is abandon the house, kids and all responsibility and leave everything in the hands of some sucker another responsible adult, and go to the Next sale. You then spend hours wandering about at your leisure.

OK yes, it is still all there when you finally return, but at least you've had some precious time to yourself

It's day 360 of the year, if this is your most stressful day so far this year then you are extremely lucky. Count your blessings.

Sounds like a normal Boxing Day. I tidied last night and put away some of the things I thought could be messy (locked away in a cupboard) so I didn’t wake up to a huge mess. I have my first load of washing on, dd1 is poorly and in bed (lost her voice which is a bonus), dd2 is trying to undo all the tidying I have done, I have packed all their new clothes away, taken everything out of packaging and packed as much as I can away. We are off to see family later and chances are the dd's will be given another load of tat that I will have to find homes for. Luckily I have a child free day tomorrow so I’m going to the gym and sorting the house before they want to go shopping Saturday to spend their Xmas money in the sales 😭

Thankfully our rubbish and recycling were collected this morning so I put it all out last night and the house instantly felt much tidier. DH took DS out for an hour and I quickly blitzed the crucial stuff. Now back to relaxing :)

Thank you all. We spent all day in and out the car yesterday visiting family. My parents and siblings, my grandparents and the in laws. So didn’t have much time at home. I am grateful but they’ve bought DC toys that are difficult to store and I have no idea where to put them.

It is never ending in this house. I did clear up last night bug today is when Dc have been opening most of their presents. My shed is over run with recycling. Thankfully it’s collection day tomorrow.

The dishes are always done but often stacking on the draining board.

Oh doesn’t clean up after himself at all. DC make a huge amount of mess.

I’ve hoovered 3 times - (cordless so I keep whipping it out 🤣) put laundry away. I have a massive pile of ironing but that can wait. I struggle to leave things.

The toys are all piled on the sofa so I could hoover. No one can sit on the sofa 🤣

Feeling considerably less stressed than this morning.

the kitchens a tip
theres toys all over the floor
the laundry pile is growing
theres wrapping that needs throwing
the bins are full

and you know what ,it can all wait.My other half is playing with our daughter on the switch. There's mountains of left overs and party food they can help themselves.

It can all wait till tomorrow mum is chilling out today lol

I prefer boxing day to Christmas day. Nothing to do except watch TV and eat leftovers! Had a tidy round yesterday and this morning! Nothing to do now! Easy peasy!

I'm having a lovely boxing day. I slept in. Cooked some bacon and sausages for breakfast, worked on my Christmas jigsaw, now I'm settling in to watch a movie.
The house is a total mess, but Im back to work tomorrow so I'll leave the mess for dh and the kids.