Childfree Christmas plans

[LoobyDop]

Please note that this is a thread on the Childfree board, for non-parents to discuss their lives. It is a not an invitation for parents to provide judgment, or tell us about your family Christmas plans- you have the rest of the site for that.

So I’d love to hear about your beautiful and carefully themed decorations, plans for parties from sophisticated to messy, your own personal shopping wishlist, and itinerary for time off work that doesn’t need to involve end of life care or intercontinental travel.

My DH and I are planning to walk to a local restaurant and enjoy a delicious three course Christmas lunch with lots of wine.

Before that we have pork pie for breakfast, then open presents while drinking coffee. We'll go for a walk and then doze until we go out for our lunch mid afternoon.

I don't suppose we will do much when we get home - maybe a Baileys or two...

We're seeing family before Christmas and for New Year, so Christmas Day is just the two of us. It's lovely!

Please note that this is a thread on the Childfree board, for non-parents to discuss their lives. It is a not an invitation for parents to provide judgment, or tell us about your family Christmas plans- you have the rest of the site for that.

Just to reiterate....

In terms of time off work, I work in a school and my DH in an organization that shuts down between Christmas and New Year, so neither of us have to rip holiday entitlement away from the more deserving parents of little tiny children with sad eyes.

I posted this on another thread about not having a lot of family to celebrate with

Maybe I'm being ungrateful and there will those who will be totally alone on the day and I wondered what they do

My family are either dead, people I haven't seen for years (with good reason) or on the other side of the world.* I order decent food and wine from M&S, buy myself some Fortnum treats, rummage through the bumper Radio Times with my highlighter for stuff I want to watch (never watch most of it but it's the thought that counts), meet a mate for a good lunch pre Xmas and then hole up and read, watch TV and go for walks.

Bloody marvellous. Then on Christmas day I come on here to check out the threads on 'it's 10am and we've ALREADY had a row with MIL/turkey is too small/kids don't like their presents/SIL is being a bitch' threads.

*I do have DB but he has to organise around his teenagers so see him before Xmas, as well.

Adding to that trips to see the Christmas lights and the shop windows decorations (sitting on the top of the bus like we did as kids) and a trip to Windsor Castle to see how the other half live at Christmas 😋

Our christmas tree is mostly decorations we've collected from our travels both together and with work. So decorating the tree is one of my favourite activities because it's full of memories and also being thankful that one of us isn't overseas with work this year.

Christmas day is a wander to a local pub for a couple of quiet drinks whilst the meat roasts low and slow (not turkey, something different every year).

We then crash on the sofa with a film.

We (my DH and I) are going to a hotel in Harrogate for Christmas. Its our first time going to a hotel for Christmas, we are there for four days and I'm really excited. We often host the whole family so this year we have no cleaning, no cooking, a huge pile of books to read and some knitting to do

All this sounds lovely! I am extra excited about decorations this year. They’re always one of my favourite parts, but we moved house on December 22nd last year so didn’t even have a proper tree. So I’m planning:

• warm white fairy lights around the front door, and simple wreath with real holly and ivy
• twig tree in the hall with metallic and glass baubles
• some kind of abstract lit up cone thing in the kitchen dining room. Got to admit, this is supposed to be home made, and it’s not going that well so far
• snowy branches going up the stairs
• real tree in the living room with gold and lime green decorations
• fairy lights in my office (permanent feature already in place)

Also thinking about a wreath for the front door. I go a bit mad with poinsettias, as well.

DP and I aren't very Christmassy. He will probably have to work and I will do nothing! However if he doesn't work then I've suggested we rent a cottage an hour or so away in the Yorkshire Dales and hole up there with some tv and M&S food. We'll see what's what nearer the time.

I love Christmas so much. My mum subscribes to the idea that Christmas is for children. Every year I tell her that I can't physically imagine a Christmas with children, they'd only bloody ruin it.

I love making my house look warm, cozy and Christmas-y.

I go mad and spend ££ on Christmas-themed smelly stuff so it smells all festive too.

Me and friends go DIY wreath-making every year so that hangs on the door for several weeks.

Then its food, drink, TV, books, games, more food, more drink.

Thanks to shifts etc, this will only be mine and DH's second Christmas with just the two of us.

We were going to go out but we're pescatarian and DH can't have lactose so it's not really worth it. Instead we're ordering a ginormous seafood platter which we're going to pick at all day, and then salmon en croute for dinner.

We're going to wear festive clothes, DH is already inventing some festive cocktails, and we're going to eat, drink and play games in paper hats until one of us passes out.

The house will look like the B&M Christmas section threw up on it from the end of November.

I can't wait!

The beauty and joy of being childfree is that you don't have to "do" Christmas AT ALL! So a nice European capital with some art galleries or a sunshine holiday in a non-Christian country would be my two favourites.
Or just hibernate at home and have beans on toast and a bottle of wine for dinner 😂

That sounds lovely. I'll have to try and get us some gluten free pork pies for breakfast.

DH and I are child free. We usually see my DSis and her kids in the days around Christmas.

Christmas Day itself will be spent with my mum, who lives alone. She comes to us for just before 3pm, so we can watch the King together. Then DH and my mum cook together (something they love doing). We never cook a special meal. Something simple like salmon or spaghetti bolognaise so that nobody slaves in the kitchen.

After dinner is presents between just the 3 of us. And then coffee and pudding. Mum goes home mid evening for dinner alone, as she prefers.

DH and I open presents between each other on Christmas Eve.

She comes to us for just before 3pm, so we can watch the King together

Is it just me or does saying 'the King' STILL feel a bit odd? dunno why because I never even used to watch Her Maj's Xmas speech.

Yep every time.

I do think Charles is doing very well though

Ok, I have a confession...I often say on here that my partner is a vet, but that's because I've openly admitted a lot of private stuff including my actual job and he always dreamed of being one. So it was a way of providing smoke and mirrors. He's actually an exec in an ICB. Anyway, that's not going to be relevant any longer as he's submitted his application for VR 🎉

There are two of us consultants in the dept - me and my wonderful Muslim colleague. He willingly works most Christmases unless he and his wife want to take advantage of the bank holidays to use only a few days of leave and so go to visit their families in Pakistan. I work Eid and any other BH he might want off.

anyway, now I've set the scene....this year.....we are staying home, just the two of us (and the million pets we've acquired) and lots of fab food that we will actually have time to cook, good films to watch and good wine to drinkand not seeing anyone. Then on NYE we are going to a close friend's wedding which is in our favourite hotel in the South West - so travelling there afternoon of the 30th. Having a very special pre wedding dinner with our friends that night. Partying all day on the 31st and seeing in the new year on top of a cliff. NYD is a spa day and then back home on the 2 nd for work on the 3rd.

Can't wait after this year.

That sounds lovely. I don't have any family - parents dead, no siblings, no children - and I intend spending the day alone at home, other than going to a morning church service. I did much the same last year, apart from a brief visit to my DF (he died a month later) who was in lockdown due to covid being in the rest home where he had an apartment, and I loved it.

I will get in some special food, hopefully it will be warm and sunny (I'm in the southern hempishere before you all think I'm going mad!) so I will go for a walk or two, sit in the sun and read, and watch TV. I've never had a big family Christmas due to being part of a small family, and although some friends might ask me to join their family I will politely decline.

My exDH has spent most of his recent Christmas Days alone, and loves it. Each year people suggest he join them and feel sorry for him - those same people spend their first day back at work moaning about their family Christmas and how awful it was! We live in different towns, otherwise we probably would get together on the day.

Sophisticated parties, beautiful decorations & wishlists?

Er, none of the above apply.

Christmas is very low-key in our childfree household. Neither of us are religious or materialistic or particularly sociable, so there is no tree, no decorations, no parties, no extravagant gifts & no turkey. We both only take the BHs off, so it will be back to work between Christmas & new year.
We do see family on Christmas Day, eat & drink too much & participate in the family secret Santa, then it’s off to a sporting fixture on Boxing Day, usually Rugby or horse racing.

What we do instead is spend the money & use the annual leave which most people spend on Christmas to take a lovely holiday somewhere warm & sunny in February or March.

Everyone's plans sound lovely.

Me and DH go a bit Christmas mad and spend it just us two. So lots of decorations, up early to see if Santa has been and open the stocking presents he's brought us, a delicious breakfast, call or message family and friends, presents, Christmas episodes of sitcoms and Christmas films. Christmas music on while we cook, a nap after lunch and then a walk on the beach and on the evenings food, films, games, dancing and more presents. Lots of parties and family and friends and stuff in between Christmas and New year but we like Christmas eve and Christmas day to be just us doing all of our favourite things and eating our favourite food and being cosy and talking and laughing.

We live abroad. We have 2 nights booked at a nice hotel in the mountains for skiing and eating and drinking

lovely

I haven't done anything for Christmas for years, ever since our five cats made putting up decorations a really bad idea! I don't even own decorations now, two moves with drastic downsizing meant they all had to go. I don't bother about it at all. My sister lives interstate and Mum won't know what day it is. We'll probably get served turkey and ham from the community kitchen, hopefully better than last year's, which was dry. 🤢

I am happily childfree and some of your plans sound heavenly. I will have to do a lot of crap stuff with people I don’t like to please a DH I don’t particularly like either - maybe next year?!!

Have you considered divorce? That would solve the "D"H problem.

That sounds lovely.

We were supposed to have my mum over this year but we moved and temporarily don't have spare room + plus my sibling is expecting (like 4th ivf) so we all easily agreed mum stays back home. We do year on year off.
So it will be DH and I and we always enjoy it. Not sure about his side of family joining who are now close to us geographically. Probably will end up making goose and ducks because one of them already had my Christmas dinner and loved it😁

We usually lazy around and have fun cooking.
Christmas eve we have schnitzel and Christmaa Potato salad, presents and then drink and board games or movies.
Christmas morning we open stockings, get nice breakfast (we don't usually eat breakfast) and start on the goose or duck. Christmas movies, naps, dinner, nap😂 Then we get cheese board for dinner with some my stuff thrown in like pickled sausages I made. Movies, games, chat, drink.

I adopt friends on years we are not with my family (small fllats/houses!) if they are alone and they are welcome for either Christmas eve or Christmas day (depends which is the main one for them) for a day. I always did this because my first immigrant Christmas eve in UK was rather not nice and quite lonely so my door are open to natives and non natives alike. Had muslims, Christians, non beleivers, orthodox, pagan etc over, over the years.

We were both in hospitality for decades, he still is so we really enjoy the quiet time with feet up.