Anyone have a nice Christmas and want to show off with me?

[Banananananabababybel]

I feel like everywhere I look it’s people complaining about having a shit day yesterday, so don’t want to post this publicly. But I had such a lovely day yesterday! Eldest (ASD) managed really well. Youngest (tired and emotional aged) only kicked off once and then rallied. Got some nice presents, had some great food, spent some lovely time with family. So many people in my personal life and on here are say how bad their day was, so I thought it would be nice to have a show off thread? Tell me about the lovely present you got that you weren’t expecting? The nice food you ate? The funny thing that happened? The good tv show you watched and enjoyed?

At last some positivity on MN. Yes I had a lovely day, turned out exactly how we wanted and no drama

I agree, it's miserable seeing all these threads.

Our day was lovely. First proper Christmas back home in the UK since 2017 due to a combination of pregnancies and COVID. Two DC, ages 3.5 and 11 months. It was honestly such a lovely Christmas with DH, 2 DC, DM, auntie, uncle, two cousins. Great food, games, laughter with tears and surprisingly no family arguments /bickering this time. I thought the baby would be grumpy and overstimulated but he had a great time with all the attention and new toys to explore. Plus he enjoyed his first Christmas dinner...

Ds1 was so excited and understood Santa for the first time so it was very rewarding seeing his happiness.
All in all, a lovely Christmas

We had a lovely day as well. It was just our nuclear family - me, DH and our 3 teens. Everyone was happy with presents, everyone contributed in someway to the prep. I think managing expectations and no extended family was the key to our success. Nice to see so many families with ASD kids having a good day on this thread. Our eldest is ASD and no “forced fun” is the way forward I think.

Dc were over the moon with simple presents like packs of cards, and happily came on a walk after lunch. Dh bought me some thoughtful gifts that i'll use loads. The lunch was a joint effort & came out really well, food was great. Visiting family didn't outstay their welcome - politely helped tidy then toddled off early evening leaving us a couple of hours to ourselves to wind down, eat a few chocs with a glass of baileys. It was lovely

I'm actually really glad to hear other people have had lovely days - genuinely. It makes me happy, and gives hope that next year will be better!

I had a lovely Christmas Day. It was our first in 4 years with just the 3 of us. We weren’t rushing around, we ate when we wanted, played games, watched Christmas films and wore PJs all day. All had lovely presents and that was that.

I did miss seeing other people but only for a few minutes. We were sociable Christmas Eve and will be out today so Christmas Day was our bit of time just as our little family.

We had a lovely day too. First without dd1 whom at 26 was spending it with her in laws to be.

Dh myself and the youngest 3 20-24. Lots of food laughter and watching movies on the TV. Ended it with Christmas vicar of Dibley. And a cheese board.

Children appreciated their gifts. An unexpected high favourite from dd3 was her zelda kazuu/Ohuhu she said 'my poor flatmates" 😄

Dd2 loved her new turntable and dh and ds had a great.time with their new Guinness nitro surge. They spend 1 hour together at the table watching videos aboit it and discussing the pros and cons. It's exceptional apparently (I don't drink Guinness)

Drunk a nice bottle of red given to me by one of the gents at work
dd1 sending WhatsApp messages about her day. (10 of them in total there to our 5) and overall I just enjoyed spending time with my dh and our lovely adult children.

It was a lovely day. DC's both adults and spent the day with their partners.
DH and I are both NHS. I worked 7-1, him 7-6. I came home and cooked, DD brought my grandson down.
DH came home, we ate dinner then put our pjs on and opened presents before watching tv.
It was such a chilled day (apart from work of course) with nobody to please except the 2 of us.
Merry Christmas all! Back in work this afternoon.

Really lovely day, just me and DH. The last 3 Christmases have been shit due to cancer and the pandemic so we kept expectations low and it was perfect. DH produced an absolute triumph of a Christmas lunch and for dinner we had the best trifle I have made so far. My only regret is we couldn't face the cheeseboard but that's today's job.

Lovely day here. I've had covid for the last few weeks which has meant many cancelled plans but DH outdid himself with the presents and made a fabulous lunch. The yound adult DC helped clear away after and we all watched Dr Who and Christmas films in the evening.

We had a nicer day than it might have been. We've had a run of difficult Christmases(all health related). Last years ended in my dad being in hospital Xmas eve until 27th. Then my mum went into hospital 28th and died on 3rd Jan.

None of us had high hopes for this year but we had a chilled day that was enjoyable and not as sad as it might have been. Think it was nicest one in about three years. I got some nice gifts too.

We had a lovely day. Our first Christmas Day just the 4 of us and I cooked my first Christmas dinner. DC were in a good mood all day, presents well received, DH got me a wearable blanket as I'm always cold and it is amazing! Everyone left me alone to make dinner and it was bliss, I had Christmas music on, a glass of Prosecco and some peace and quiet for a couple of hours. Dinner was good, DS1 ate everything and declared himself completely full, he's 12 and like a bottomless pit at the moment so I felt I'd achieved something. Had a little doze on the sofa in the afternoon. Didn't watch much tv but it was a lovely chilled day. I am full of cold, which I could have done without, but hopefully I'll feel better in the next couple of days.

@Tinselburn I hear you, and get where you're coming from. However, I think some people might benefit from knowing that Christmas can be a happy, peaceful time in future, even if 2023 was a dud

Lovely day here. First Christmas without stbxh in the house, and it was just so calm. No arguments, no stress, no moaning. I grew up in a chaotic household, and so this was actually my first truly calm Christmas in over 5 decades. Dcs were so happy.

Had such a lovely day with my family. Opened presents first thing, lovely breakfast and then Christmas dinner with my parents and in-laws. My parents have only recently moved to be closer to us so it was the realisation of some long held wishes! Kids loved their presents - had a leisurely afternoon and picky tea before their bedtime and then myself and DH stayed up with a new board game, baileys and a ghost story for Christmas on catch-up. My presents were great - two new books from DH and various nice bits from parents and in-laws. Couldn’t have had a better day.

I am putting this year down as a win.

My son has emotional and behavioural difficulties, and has felt overwhelmed some Xmas days. So now it is just the four of us for a low key day. He did not have a blow out once, loved all his gifts and played games happily all day. My daughter happily used her new art set and helped cook dinner and my son set the table. We had nice food and drinks - nothing fancy but just a bit nicer than usual. Watched Matilda the musical, walked the dog, had a disco, played some games and we're all in bed by half nine.

My partner and I decided to get each other one vinyl record for under the tree as we don't really need anything. We both meant it and nobody was upset. We listened to the records as we did Xmas jobs in the evening.

We will see extended family after a day of rest today where we will play games in our pjs and graze all day.

Like you OP I am feeling content and at ease with the world.

Lovely day! Up early with DS & DD, all gifts well received, yummy goodies, 40 winks, DH cooked a delicious dinner AND did the dishes (I'm in charge of gift/food organising, buying & wrapping), fun family time, a delightful nap, an evening of goodies and merriment and all into bed about 11pm. Calm & bright ❤️

Yesterday was one of the most perfect Christmases I've ever had, certainly the best as an adult. We've had some truly awful ones in recent times (think child undergoing major brain surgery and in critical care), but yesterday was just heaven. In my gorgeous family home with my parents, siblings and nephews and nieces, all healthy, and all at an age to believe whole heartedly in Father Christmas. We laughed non stop from Christmas Eve until this morning when people have started to head home. The children all coped so well, played so beautifully together, wore the matching pjs, cuddled us and watched films, we all had amazing food, children fell asleep like dreams, we had cocktails and games in the evening, and just were so damn happy to all be together which only happens every 2 years or so. It's been a really difficult and fraught year, so this was absolute heaven. I am a chronically anxious person who is always waiting for the piano to fall, but I appreciated every second of it. I'll remember it for the rest of my life and be grateful for it ♥️

Lovely day here, although it started badly with all the electricity in the kitchen going off so no dishwasher 😂 Really enjoyed seeing my family, was especially lovely as my sister’s children are little and so excited about it all. Didn’t fuck up the cooking, got some nice presents, now planning a day lounging about drinking bloody Marys, watching Ghosts and eating Christmassy leftovers. Merry Christmas, everyone 🎄

Gently, there are at least 8 active threads already to commiserate about rubbish Christmas days on, it isn't wrong to celebrate pockets of joy where they can be found. I think 'goady' would be going on those threads and showing off, but to have one thread where people can share their joy is just lovely. I've had a huge smile on my face reading about people having lovely days, it comforts me and makes me happy imagining these people and the love and joy they've shared, even though the day was hard for me. I'm sorry if Christmas Day is a hard day for you, and if reading about other people's good days is difficult, then maybe give yourself a mental break and don't click on these threads. If it's not, then a very Merry Christmas to you and yours. I'm wishing you all well peace and joy ♥️

DH and I managed to do a decent spring-clean beforehand which I felt so grateful for , eg when relatives were looking in our cupboards for crockery, dropping things behind sofas, etc.

DH cooked a great Xmas dinner and DD baked an amazing pudding. Both kids were lovely, DS helping with washing up etc.

I found a good Xmas quiz online and I was quizmaster, and I think it went well.

Happy about all these things!

Mine was lovely.
Saw all my family apart from 1 DIL who is NHS and was working.
Did not involve expensive gifts
Did not involve copious amounts of alcohol
TV didn't go on at all! We had lovely music via a smart speaker, then after a fab dinner cooked by my son and DIL we played games at the table.
No arguments. No prima donnas. Just family enjoying being together on a special day.
Bliss.

I always think Christmas is over hyped and people set their expectations far too high. We had a lovely day, everyone loved their presents, dinner was tasty and everyone went home by 7.00pm. Peace was restored and I enjoyed a cup of tea and mince pie, it's just a day in December after all 🙂

Lovely thread OP although I'm a bit uncomfortable with the phrase 'show off', as I feel truly sorry for those who had a shit time.

But for us it was lovely. Just me, DH and our 3 adult sons who absolutely love spending time together. Great food (cooked by DH), lovely presents and so much laughter over the board games.

They're all staying until the day after NYD and we intend to make a week of it.

It's nice to celebrate the positive but if you are like this girl you might want to think about your language and how you come across.

The irony. You've called a grown woman a girl and she might want to think about her language??