anyone else putting themselves under ridiculous pressure?

[wewishyouamerrylissiemas]

this is the first year that Im not working over christmas. I am unable to work due to a bone condition which is particularly painful at the mo. but as a result I have decided that this year I will be ubermum. make mincepies myself, christmas cake myself. i am cooking christmas lunch (this is the first year I have learnt to cook - am 32!) and have taken total control of present buying.

and Im terrified it will go wrong. that the turkey wont defrost, that the puddings will be a disaster... eeek.

tell me im not alone!

Nope not alone,am supposed to be in the supermarket but dh is Sat fannying around on the pc,so getting worked up.
Have to present drop in next town,house to blitz as his reles staying xmas,arrive tomorrow,have more presents to wrap and the kids are falling out,or running around being silly,oh and I have a driving lesson tomorrow-rather pleased I booked 2 hours now just for the quiet!
If only I had passed my test most of my stressing would be a non-issue grr!

Most houses usually a some sort of cock up along the way.

I gurantee each year I serve lunch, then whilst washing up I find a pan of cooked veg I have forgotten to serve.

I also tend to forget something like double cream or stuffing and there is nowhere to get it.

Then there are the wrong size batteries for whatever dc have been given.

Relax, if anything goes wrong, you will not be alone

I'm quite organised this year, pressies all wrapped, turkey to be picked up either late tomorrow or 1st thing Friday, baking to do tomorrow when dd1 is at nana's. No more visitors this week I don't think so house doesn't have to be perfect.

Just a mountain of pots from lunch to wash....although I think that dp may have 'forgotten' to do last nights tea pots & left them for me thinking I'd not notice

glad im not alone. im all done, presents all bought and wrapped, food all bought... but im worried that i will do something wrong and this will be the christmas that lissie ruined!

I have most things done :) just got a couple of ds's bigger pressies to wrap but have to leave it last min or he'll see

I am going food shopping in a min though so dreading that and really worrying ive missed something of the list or wont have enough which is ridiculous as Im at my mums x mas day and eating out xmas eve and with sister on the monday... why do we do it to ourselves

Oh well it is Christmas :)

Ruining something is part of the fun of Christmas - there will always be something which gets burnt or left off the plates, or pressies with no batteries, or don't work. The trick is to have an attitude of "Hey we're having fun together anyway, it's no biggie!"

Agree with AMumInScotland - if things do go belly up, try and raise a laugh.

I am someone who always put enormous pressure on myself over Christmas. For the last 3 years, I have made sure that even if I run around like a blue-arsed fly in the days before, I will not be doing anything demanding on Christmas Eve. It makes such a difference to have that day free to just hang out with the kids, play some games, go for a walk, watch a movie. They get me more in the Christmas spirit than any amount of faffing Nigella-stylee will :o

Make some time for yourself - run a warm bubble bath and get DH to crack open the champagne.

i am doing as much as i can in advance, the cakes are iced and presents are distributed as much as possible with the weather, i just want it to be perfect

The trouble with "perfect" is that what people enjoy most isn't what the colour supplements sell you as "the perfect Christmas", it has to be something which fits your actual family rather than what some idealised family "ought" to be. So, for instance "the perfect" recipe for sprouts which has them stirfried with pancetta and nutmeg (or whatever this years special ingredient is!) may be lovely if you like it, but not if your family like their veg plain boiled. Your family's perfect Christmas may be one where they feel relaxed and know you are relaxed and happy too, and not stressed to make it "perfect" - so you may need to tone down the stress and "perfection" of the day, in order to get the kind of Christmas that is actually fun to have and look back on.

It'S JUST A DAY

I repeat

IT's JUST A DAY