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.

If you like whiskey a bit, Chivas sells mixing kits where you can mix your own or replicate theirs. Great bonding time for my DH and mum after few sips😂😂😂😂

To add on decorations. I have like 70m of garland, tree, old german glass baubles not same set 😁), candles, pinecones, snowflakes, fairylights, snowman statues, stickers for windows, Christmas plate for sharing.... And Christmas print toilet paper😂

I'm hoping to spend it with my family for the first time since 2019! We'll probably go out for Christmas dinner.

We love Christmas here! I will decorate a lot (DH likes it a lot when it’s done, but doesn’t have the skills to make things look beautiful himself). Each year we add a new ornament to the tree which we’ve picked up somewhere while we’ve been away, so our tree is very much the story of us. We will go to the local lights switch on when it happens, and have a walk each evening after dark to look at all the decorated shop windows. I’m having almost three weeks’ leave, so I’ll go round and about visiting people, picking up last minute bits annd pieces, and cook lots of good things to eat in advance. DSis and DBIL will come in on Christmas Eve, and as we are still lucky enough, despite being middle aged, to have two sets of parents in more or less full working order, one set will come on Christmas Day and the other on Boxing Day. Then we will have some lovely time together, eating all the stuff which has already been cooked or purchased and enjoying some restful down time. It’ll buoy us up to get through those horrible dark January days.

I'm one of those christmas lovers! We go all out in our house with a huge real tree and lots of (tasteful) decorations. Basically we turn the huge into a scandi-style cosy grotto. My family don't get why we would go to all that bother when there are only two of us and no children but I love it.

We make a list of christmas movies and watch at least two each week from 1 December, huddled under fleecy blankets with lots of candles, plus the christmas tree lights. I have a massive christmas playlist on spotify with music ranging from classical to Mariah.

We go to christmas markets as much as possible to soak of the atmosphere, drink gluhwein and maybe some ice skating.

We'll overindulge in food and drink for a full month. There are loads of christmassy and hearty wintery recipes which will be made, including a roast duck in the week before christmas so that I can collect the fat for the roasties. There will be cheese galore.

Christmas Eve is the main event for DH and I. Christmas Day is always spent with his family which wouldn't be our choice (they are quite difficult) but there's no getting out of it so we tend to grin and bear it through the actual day and focus on the 24th and 26th as our favourite days. On 24th, we'll go to the really traditional, old-fashioned cinema in our city to watch a christmas film and then head to the markets for a few hours. We'll then come home and have a baked camenbert, charcuterie board and nice bread with wine which we'll graze on all night while watching Die Hard and then playing some board games while playing christmas music (we'll be in christmas pjs too). On christmas day we get up really early to open presents before heading to the in-laws around 9am. We'll be home around midnight. We'll have a lie in on boxing Day then go to the beach for a cold water dip. Home for leftover turkey sandwiches and a mug of soup (if not hosting, I buy a small turkey and cook it for "leftovers"), then a long walk in the hills until it gets dark - home for my mum's recipe turkey curry (it's not boxing day without it) and crack on with christmas TV.

If we're hosting (not this year) there will be a lot more cooking and cleaning involved, but also we tend to invite my sister and some of our friends to balance out the challenges of DH's parents.

Oh I like this thread! @Girlfrom15YearsAgo that sounds perfect!

This year is probably going to be a bit of a non-event for us - first Christmas married but DH thinks he'll be working 24th-26th (the folk on that other thread will be pleased he's not forcing a poor defenceless parent to work!), and although I'm off I'll be back to work on the 27th 🙃 we're hoping to both get the 23rd off and will do something nice then.

But Christmas lasts the full month for me too (in fact I start earlier with the films because otherwise there just wouldn't be time) so we'll do some nice things in the run up. Think I'll be stealing some ideas from this thread and starting some new traditions - cheese, charcuterie and Die Hard for a start!

May I reccomend trip to Prague for Christmas markets and nice beer, mulled wine and atmosphere if you have time before Christmas 😁 You can get proper cheap deals

Nice thread! Christmas Day itself I'm going to spend by myself, taking the hibernation route of hunkering down with lots of nice food and TV. Then seeing parents and wider family a couple of days later, which suits me as I then get the Christmassy effects of tree etc at my parents and leftover xmas food, but not have the pressure of the day itself.

Lovely thread, and I'm really not a fan of Christmas! DP's parents are no longer around, and my family live overseas so it's just me and DP for Christmas. That's just how I like it!

Neither of us are Christmas people. He puts up a little tree and a few decorations, I wouldn't bother but I'm fine with it. Don't bother with presents - we're both winter babies so go all out on birthdays instead. On the day we make a slap up roast chicken dinner and have some lovely wine, mince pies, Christmas cake etc.

This year we're going to Lille for a couple of nights in between Christmas and New Year so that will be a nice break ☺️

On Christmas Eve, we have the fire on and sit in our Christmas PJs listening to Fairytale of New York. We have a gin and watch a Christmas film before having an early night.

Christmas Day is an early start! We open our presents in our PJs, then get into 'nice' clothes and walk to my mum's. We spend the day there and have Christmas Dinner, board games, and bingo with my large family. Then we walk home at night after a good drink and plenty of merriment.

Boxing Day we lounge around the two of us and normally go a nice long walk if we fancy it.

I love everything about Christmas and it's still so magical to me even as a childfree adult! My DH loves it too.

Poo. We’ve just been “invited” to the in-laws for full family lunch on Christmas Day. It’s “my choice” whether or not we go. 🧐

Unbelievably lazy pair here. Just a few battery fairy lights on the mantelpiece ( but they look great!), a cinnamon or spice candle and that's it deco wise.

DP has no family living anywhere near us. My own family each do their own thing including us, so no pressure to alternate hosting. yippee. My sister however kindly has a Buck's Fizz and nibbles gathering at around 11am. We all meet up at hers for an hour or so to catch up, toast the season snd give the kids their gifts. Then we all peel away to do our own thing. Best. Thing. Ever.

I'm not a Christmas lover at all, but that arrangement suits. Then it's off to the races next day. Fun day out for sure and we do it every year.

This is my first Christmas with my OH and I'm very excited! I really like Christmas but my family really stress me out and I usually sit and get ignored so after spending the day alone last year (which was pretty good!) I'm looking forward to just us this year.

We are both shift workers working into Christmas Day so after a quick sleep (well for me!) I plan to crack on with the prep I did the day before, wait for partner to wake up, cook a traditional dinner with all the trimmings as we both like to cook, whilst sipping on something fizzy and hope to get suitably squiffy into the evening in front of the tv.

😂😂

You decide (no), he tells them the outcome. Share the load 😁

Friend and I, both single and child free go to a hotel on the coast for Christmas. We drive up on Christmas Eve, walk down to the quayside to see the Christmas lights then back to the hotel for a lovely dinner. Christmas morning, have breakfast then up to either room to open presents which takes a while as we spoil each other. Delicious long lunch then probably relax in our rooms until a late buffet. Boxing Day is a walk along the huge beach after breakfast, then more food and maybe a drive along the coast road admiring all the Christmas lights in the villages we pass through. We leave after breakfast on the 27th but go via the beautiful local stately home for their candlelight tour. We have lots of food, drink, conversation and laughter. We love every minute.

@AppleDumplingWithCustard , what an absolutely lovely post. Such a special way to spend Christmas. You and your friend must have a wonderful friendship

@SoRainbowRhythms Im lactose intolerant too. Its really shit. Now when im in town and im cold i cant risk a hot drink from anywhere.

We do. We’re very similar in that neither of us want an ‘in your face’ Christmas and similarly we each like our own space. Hence we always have separate rooms and appreciate that we don’t need to spend every waking moment together. It’s a lovely relationship.

I’m decorating on the 1st November as I do every year. I absolutely can’t wait and have taken the day off work special for it.

For the actual day, I’ll be heading to my parents where it’s just the three of us and my two dogs and their two dogs which is fun. We’ll do the gifts around the tree in the morning, have a glass or five of Bucks Fizz, snack on chocolate and other treats until dinner.

We’ll probably pop a movie or two on throughout the day and listen to Christmas music.

Then in the evening my dad takes me
home and my bf comes over and we do a gift exchange, eat snacks and watch movies until
we fall asleep. It’s nothing special but I like the chill vibes of it and just spending time with people.

However I’d kind of love a Christmas alone- slabbing in PJs, good food, wine and movies and a good book would be fun.

Your dining table is stunning!

I'll be alone, I don't really do Christmas much
Lots of nice food, films, exercise and naps for me!

I’ve taken som annual leave in the run up to Christmas because every year I feel like I get busier! I don’t even know what I spend my time doing, organising food and gifts I think.
So I will let DH share the load and do some food prep this year.

we have his parents over on Christmas and it’s a joy. Lots of Christmas films, music and lights.

I'll probably go out with my work colleagues and get smashed the weekend before, and then play videogames all day on the 25th, with a microwave meal.

@Sauerkrautsandwich your Christmas sounds lovely and welcoming! We normally have cheese fondue on Christmas Eve however we live in a hot country so it's not always ideal. I think I might try your schnitzel and potato salad this year instead - what makes yours a 'Christmas potato salad' rather than a normal one?

@Habibtihayatiii i usually eat eat just at Christmas, 😁
It's traditional. Most people have it with fish, carp to be precise, but my family prefer normal schnitzel.
We do simple one, some people add celeriac, peas etc, we like simple one.
Boiled potatoes and few carrots in skin, peel after. Hardboil eggs. Chop all into small cubes (like 5mmx5mm approx, some people like bigger chunks), pour over a bit of brine from gherkins while veg is still warm, it sucks it in. Delish. Grate in gherkins, salt pepper, mayo, mustard. I mix mayo and mustard on side with bit more brine and add bit by bit so i don't end up with too much.
Lasts days.