If you take this time of year off as annual leave, what are you doing?

[HairdryerMary]

I've always worked until and including Xmas Eve. The kids go to a mixture of holiday clubs. When I hear from friends who seem to be struggling with very excited children, crap weather etc or see parents try to go do the Xmas food shop with kids in tow, I think why? Why would you put yourself through it? Surely it's nicer to have annual leave in the summer or spring. Otherwise you just have ten days off in a row?

We always travel at Christmas so I'm off 22-31. It's such a super break and a highlight of our year, every year.

I now have 17 days off - the longest break I've had in 20 years!
I don't have kids and find the Spring and Summer really easy - light mornings and evenings, with the ability to go for a run or walk in the sunshine after work. We would never holiday in July or August as it's too busy and expensive.
So I'm taking some leave now. I'm going to lie about watching TV and films, go for long slow dog walks with nothing to rush back for, have a lie in every day, go to the gym, wander into town for lunch with DH, play board games, read a book.
I'm quite controlled with my lifestyle through the rest of the year, so it's a treat for me to eat festive food in December - Stilton and crackers, mince pies, port, honey roasted cashew nuts, Christmas sandwiches, champagne, pate 😋

I take 2 weeks at Christmas - we get lots of jobs done inside the house, and the kids love doing Christmassy things like going to look at peoples Christmas lights. Then we have lots of family spread out, so go visiting or have people to stay.

I’m off from tomorrow until the 2nd. I have a generous leave allowance plus we can buy extra days (which I always do, up to 38 total) and work gave us tomorrow and the 29th off as a Christmas present. So it doesn’t stop me from taking plenty of leave at other times of the year.

We’re seeing various family and friends over the period, carol concert tomorrow after I do all the wrapping (😬), and I think we have a couple of free days when I’ll try to do some serious decluttering of our study/spare room.

I concur about taking your kids to do the Xmas food shop though (unless teens who can help) - it’s hellish enough on your own, I mostly get deliveries now.

The benefit of taking annual leave this time of year is that there’s not much happening at work and so less stress getting work done before going on leave and fewer emails to come back to.

Normally we’d slot in a visit to family who live other side of the U.K. And take the kids to do their Christmas shopping, force them to go on a couple of walks followed by movies.

This year we’ve gone abroad as the schools broke up so early and it’s amazing. It’s quiet, warm, but no ones getting heat rash or burning. In the summer I resent going away as we live near the sea anyway, so this is the new way forward.

Currently sat at home with a 4 year old with a sick bug. Funnily enough we had one at the exact time last year too to the day! There's something going round her holiday club and she was there only Monday this week. I took this week except Monday off to avoid the bugs etc in the run up to Xmas as it's been spoiled every year for the last 3 with one of us being ill! And that's how it's turned out anyway so yay - just hoping the adults dodge it as I didn't last year.

OP I think you have forgotten that some of us actually don’t get a break at Christmas! I’m an NHS Nurse and have taken this week off to spend time with DS as am back at work on Christmas Day and also working several days between then and 4th Jan when he goes back to school. However, as I have Covid most of our plans for this week have had to be shelved 😭

My work closes for 2 weeks which is nice but also a bit boring this time of year. I end up doing life admin, house jobs but try and do things for me - read in the afternoon, daily yoga, meet a friend for coffee. DH at work, 1 DC at school and 1 at home so can't really do family trips.

I love having time off at this time of year. We catch up with lots of friends that we don't get to see the rest of the year. Drinks parties, dinner parties, some house renovations, maybe get skiing if there is any snow (Scotland). Also lots of relaxing too! I don't prefer summer time off but I am not too bothered about what the weather is like outside and we don't go abroad in the summer anyway as cannot afford it.

I always take two weeks off at Christmas, mainly to cover the school holidays because my partner works shifts that includes bank holidays and Christmas is the only time of year they aren't allowed to book time off they have to just wait and see what the rota is like so I have to be home. I enjoy it because it lets me hibernate and wake up when it's light and enjoy some daylight and winter walks to break up that experience of going to work in the dark, work under artificial light and come home in the dark. We do a mix of getting wrapped up and going out and baking/arts and crafts, cleaning, playing, etc. There's generally a lot of festive events going on.

I do take a couple of weeks off in spring and summer too but if I had to pick I'd choose winter leave because in the summer there is so much more light to enjoy the evenings after school and work and the weekends feel longer somehow in summer so I don't feel as much need for a break.

Public holidays + extra gifted leave + some annual leave = 3 weeks off

It's the only time of year I can take 3 weeks and not all on annual leave

It's the only time the whole family can get together in the same geographical location

Hogmanay is nearly as important as Xmas

There's so much to do - nights out, theatre, Panto, parties, days out etc

I'm tired and need and rest

I like holidays in summer too but need this one.

I have to take time off. The company I work for is closed next week plus we can't carry annual leave forward. We won't be doing much more than long walks with the dogs and pottering around the house. It's been a bad year so we could do with a low effort, low stress Christmas.

Back when I used to work in a 24/7 sector, I always volunteered to work over Christmas. I loved it. But I was single with no kids, my family was 100s of miles away and it meant I could save my leave for months with more daylight. And I got extra pay!

Childcare availability in the week before Christmas can be very limited, my friends have struggled. A CM that serves our school decided to take her holiday as of Monday, which caused consternation. And while we have quite a lot of holiday clubs on over summer where I am, they're not on now.

I'm finishing at lunchtime today for my Xmas break. We're travelling tonight to spend the weekend with family, then a week of pleasing myself.

Tbh, I have several not very nice things to do with my leave this year. Talking to my divorce solicitor just after new year, for example, because my utter bastard of a STBXH got his solicitor to send through something yesterday setting an extremely tight deadline for return (ignoring the fact there’s Christmas in there). He absolutely did this on purpose because he’s a dick.

What’s truly incredible about this is that, in the spirit of doing the right thing for DS, I had already agreed to his father spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. And now he’s pulled a serious dick move in the days running up to this.

I’m furious. And sorely tempted to tell him that he’s no longer welcome at my Christmas (which he will not financially contribute to).

He produces all these ridiculous narratives about how our relationship failed because of all these external actors (although conveniently leaving out his ongoing toxic relationships with his ex and his family from that one!). He’s wrong though. The relationship failed because he isn’t a better man. And I was an idiot who recognised I’d picked a dud too late.

Fun stuff. But I will put a smile on and make some Christmas magic for my kids despite him. And then make plans in January to be far less accommodating and helpful to him than I have been. He won’t get a chance to spoil any more Christmases (he’s spoilt every one since I met him in some way).

With slightly older children it can be more chilled. I don’t feel the same pressure to get out and about and do stuff if the weather is crap and they’re happy to chill at home

@NormaSnickers I'm with you on that one, the last time I had a decent break over Christmas was for mat leave (DC now at university). Have to apply for leave in September then it is allocated and priority given to those who live away from family.
Luckily DH worked somewhere that effectively closed for two weeks.
Yes I knew when I started that NHS never closes - but at the time very few people had long Christmas breaks

We are forced to take leave between xmas and NY as our work closes down, so our entitlement is essentially reduced by 3/4 days depending on how Xmas falls. We make the most of it and take a couple of extra days off and go skiing. This year is a bit pants, but next year I'm using just 2 'free' days (plus the 3 that work dictate but I don't really count those as they are the same regardless of what you do with the time, just assume I only get 22 days leave) and having 12 days on the slopes!

I always take a day off around now, and don't tell anyone I'm doing it.

I get up as if I'm going to work in the morning, leave the house and go for a long walk, find a greasy spoon to have a fry up. Then it's off to a bookshop to pick a good book that I can then spend the afternoon reading in the pub.

I head home at my usual home time and if anyone notices I'm a little squiffy then "we had a couple of Christmas beers in the office"

I'm a massive introvert and really struggle over Christmas, so this is what I do so that I can be "switched on" over Christmas. It's beeny little ritual for over 20 years at this point.

DP knows I do it, when we had a kid and she moved her in I let her know that I'd always save a day's annual leave for this, but I never tell her what day it's going to be on.

I just need a day where I'm uncontactable and noone has any expectations of me.

I am exhausted and cannot wait to sit on my arse for a week in front of the TV. The sheer thoughts of doing absolutely nothing is what dreams are made of!

My kids are young adults now but when they were small I found the build up to the Christmas the best bit. I wouldn't have wanted them in childcare until the end of Christmas Eve. I took leave and we did lots of xmassy outings. Miss those days.

@Bobbotgegrinch that sounds like a wonderful day! I might pinch that.

I was going to sit on my backside, but I need to just finish off decorating the eldests bedroom. I had only one and a half weekends to do a complete repaint before we got him from Uni last weekend and it's a pretty big room.

He's working today, so I can cut in the wall that is a different colour to the rest. Hoping 20 to 30 mins to do that, tidy up and then go bleed and rebalance the radiators.

Fun times!!

I'm off for nearly 2 weeks, it's a long haul up to the Christmas break at work and I'm absolutely knackered and need a break. I will spend time with DP, the horse, read books, see friends and family and enjoy pottering. No kids here!

We take a week off and do Christmassy things combined with just letting the children have a rest as they're tired and need some decompression time with us. I think the run up to Christmas is the best bit so it seems a shame to deprive them of that.