Any lessons learnt for next year?

[Guitargirl]

I think mine would be to try and get less stressed! Easy to say now of course but I got myself in a right tizz on Christmas Eve worried that one of the DCs would wake to find Mummy Father Christmas sorting out the presents and it would all be ruined.

Next year I must remember to NOT STRESS!!

We were pretty stress free amazingly.

My main issue is not as many presents next year - what we got was very good value, didn't spend much but DD had too much to open.

I am really really chuffed though that I got all my shopping done very early as with the weather and various other issues there is no way we could've managed it in December!

Go to sleep Xmas eve
wake up bocxing day

Not to invite family members to stay when every year they cancel at the last moment and hugely disappoint all my kids. Basically my kids end up feeling they're second-best to other members of the family and not worth bothering about and visiting, so their attitude is increasingly "stuff them". Which is not good.

Get on board with stir up Sunday - sounds like fun.

Same shit, different year.

Get everything bought, wrapped and sent in September. At same time get tree and decs down from the loft. If you don't, like you didn't this year, you will be ill and bedridden from November to January and miss the bloody lot.

Come 12th Night, meticulously wrap the fairylights round cardboard tubes and put all the decorations, stockings, etc neatly away in a box marked 'XMAS'...then remember where you put it.

Keep up with the buy early and wrap early tactic but make a list of what's been bought and wrapped cos unwrapping and rewrapping is really boring!

Get christmas card done at beginning of December

Order heating oil earlier!

Actually we had a fab christmas this year, mainly because I took the chip outta my arse and went with the flow. Relaxed me, relaxed house. Twas lovely. (bit annoying that everything hinges on me though)

Stay in our own house Christmas Eve rather than with family - they can all come to me next time!

Also, I plan to book time off work before Christmas next year. I felt far too unprepared because of working right up until the afternoon of Christmas Eve.

I had a dreadful Christmas Day and it seems I'm all to blame. Teenage daughter announced just after lunch that she was off to her boyfriend's even thought she'd promised to spend just this one day with us (we're a very small family). My sister then offered to give her a lift so I told them to go straight away. Two gin and tonics may have added fuel to my anger but I was cross! I'm not an over-cosseting parent and I didn't think I was being unreasonable. Anyway, husband not speaking to me as he thinks I spoilt it all, spent three days re-building relationships with daughter and sister by flagellating myself and offering loads of apologies. My son says it happens every year when I get stressed (not sure how true this is!). Anyway, next year I'm going to volunteer at the local animal shelter and they can all sort themselves out. We try too hard, we mums and a fat lot of good it does! Husband just announced that he's off to see his friend on New Year's Eve and won't be back till Sunday! How much punishment am I supposed to take! Really fed up now, but secretly looking forward to breathing space!

For years I've been irritatingly excited about Christmas - this has never abated through my childhood and on through adulthood without children and through the DC's early years. This year I did better than most years at being organised but I found it all just a bit...meh. I feel wrong. (Have horrid virus so hoping it is that).

Don't buy so much food, have actually jut wrote a list for next year and put it in with the decorations of what got eaten and what didn't - can't stand wasted food.

Don't plan to cook loads of cakes/tarts/pies etc Christmas eve - they never get eaten and makes Christmas eve very stressful. As does leaving all the present wrapping till Christmas eve (great idea dh!)

Don't host again!

I think I would like to go away next year actually. Doubt I will be able to afford it but it would be lovely :)

I have a Christmas cake and a Panettone left I do not want to open (and eat), and a massive opened box of "heroes" (snobby continental choc emoticon).

What am I going to do with all that?!

Don't bother buying dh anything - just give him money
Don't spend any time with BIL
Quarenteen entire family for the month of December
Drink more
Eat less

MiasMARY I agree with the quarantine idea - my dcs are still ill!

1)My plan would be to order everything from Amazon in September, wrap it as soon as it comes.
2)Buy less for the dcs as they got way too much - again!
3)Feed the Christmas cake and ice more thickly.
4)Write the cards, address them and put stamps on in November ready to post on 1st December - in fact I could write most of them now!
5)Stock pile mincemeat early as everywhere locally sold out.
6)Give my SIL and MIL the gift receipts in an envelope when I give them their gifts

First year I've3 not had the Christmas Eve tizz and the first half of Christmas Day spent running from kitchen to living room desperately trying to do everything.
Reason - we went away on holiday abroad!
Lessson learnt - do this more often!

Start wrapping earlier - but then I say this every year.

Not to spend a whole bloody day with DW's family and DW's hyperactive nieces and nephews winding DD and DS up into a frenzy with their stupid pellet-firing guns... Although this probably isn't feasible.

Ideally, would like he four of us to take off for a couple of weeks somewhere abroad and not tell anyone where we are going.

Start buying presents when I see them throughout the year.

Do not buy as many things for DD as she had too much to open - again!

Buy and write christmas cards at the begninning of December.

Start to buy non-perishable food a bit a week in October so the christmas eve shop is just fresh stuff.

Although to be fair, this is the same list as the past three years - I just never learn!

Ive learnt that we atre not next year going to be the only idiots doing the running around seeing people.

We are the only ones with dcs but we travelled to my family xmas eve till boxing day then we are going to dps family new years eve.

Im fed up with it it is a 2hr journey normally to them which can be 4 hrs at xmas.

So next year we are doing what we want. Not what everyone wants us to do.

do not spend all your money on xmas it is a total waste!
and I did it only because I wanted great xmad for my DD
and now I regret it coz I still got bills to pay lol

Unquietdad that is what my dh would like to do too.

To remember to plan for dd2's second birthday a little bit better. Didn't really make a difference this year as she had a few presents left under the tree to open yesterday & family came to see her. But no-one (not even us really as she's poorly) made a huge fuss over her.

I'd also like to start planning a bit further in advance rather than struggling to find gifts that are suitable for everyone.

But other than that, I'll stick to how I did things this year. Lots of lists and a "To Do" board helped me loads!

Don't assume that DX will be thrilled with the lovely and expensive bike that we bought for him.

He saw it and started screaming that he wanted a skateboard (despite having spent previous 3 months asking for a bike).

He is 5 and he ruined Christmas day for me. His behaviour was appalling. I was ashamed.

Next year he will get a goat for Africa or some such.

Grrrrrr.

Be more organised
Finishing shopping earlier
Start wrapping sooner
Start saving earlier
Do more cleaning before the party starts
Train my nehpew not be scared of my dog
Train the dog to stay upstairs when he is told to.
Buy a bigger house and/or less gifts
Try not to get ill this time.
Expect the dc to attempt to murder each other on a daily basis over the holidays.