PLEASE TELL ME HONESTLY...

[NanaNina]

Now that the Christmas ads have started appearing on TV I am finding myself wondering the same thing as I do every year. Are there real families who sit in a perfectly cosy, tidy large room with a lovely Christmas tree in the corner, with a couple smiling happily at each other (maybe Christmas eve) and the snow falling softly outside......And the one on Christmas morning with 2 sweet kids in fluffy dressing gowns who are enraptured by their presents and a smiling mum and dad. Later the turkey is carried to the table by a woman with beautiful hair, lovely make up and dress, (no sign of being hot and harrassed by cooking the Christmas dinner) to the grateful cries of the rest of the family. DO they exist?? If you are one of them Please Tell Me. Thanks

I really, really try my hardest.
I have lovely tree decorations that I have collected over the years, some gorgeous stockings for the boys and do the whole mince pie and carrot thang.
I used to loathe Christmas pre-dc (bad memories from childhood) now I go all out to make it fabulous for them. Which makes it fabulous for us.
This year I don't have to cook (again!) which is a massive bonus and my Mom is coming with us to SILs, with SIL's PIL and DH's family. We did the same last year and it was very lovely.
I love Christmas Eve and putting the presents out whilst drinking copious amounts of wine. I am normally rather hungover on Christmas morning, but I do tend to hide it well.

You know those handbag clips things invitations to thieves that you get in the Lakeland catalogues? Sort of a weighted keyring with a hook attached? They'd support a stocking. Not full, obviously, but for the hanging up bit. Weighted bit on mantel, hook hangs down

Thanks, I'll try that . I have no ILs and my own parents are too old to travel so it's just myself, dh and two dds. The good thing is we can have exactly the christmas we like (presents on Christmas eve and we also have St Nicholas coming on 6th Dec ). The downside is that by Boxing day we are bored and I'd almost wish for some slightly obnoxious relatives to drop in to give dh and me something to snigger about.... (I sound like a charming person...)

We have the chaotic mess part here in the morning and then relocate to my parents for the 5 star dinner with everyone glammed up and beaming (read mildly intoxicated) for the evening.

Unfortunately out of the last 6 Christmases since having children i have been pregnant for 2 (vomiting stage for one, unable to waddle stage for the other), had mastitis for one, had a vicious cold for 2, woke up dying with period cramps for one (crouching on the floor moaning for 2 hours til the pain relief kicked in) and have been sleep deprived for all, so I generally spend the earlier part of the day huddled on the couch in my pjs cradling a cuppa and attempting to simultaneously assemble toys, take pictures, referee fights, console overstimulated babies, stop children from opening all their presents at once and convince small people that there are other nice christmas breakfasts other than an entire chocolate santa

For the first time in 7 years though this year I'm not pregnant, not breastfeeding, all the kids are old enough to 'get' christmas but not old enough to have lost the magic so I'm optimistic that as long as we aren't hit by a plague/power cut/zombie invasion/flood this year should be better

The worst years were the years I attempted the 'lets stay at home as a family and I'll do the dinner' years. Utter disaster with small people.... much better to let my parents do all the hard graft and be served a 5 course gourmet dinner in a clean and tidy house with children who had an afternoon nap in the car on the way there

DM bought me a couple of special heavy metal stocking hangers which sit on my mantlepiece (late Victorian is "period" right? And it is still a fireplace even if the chimney was blocked up and the grate ripped out decades ago). One is a reindeer and one is a Christmas tree, and the big embroidered felt stockings hang off them nicely (wouldn't work when fully laden but Santa kindly delivers them to the DC's beds when full).

Objectively speaking they are kind of naff, but I like them and they do serve a purpose - I think she paid a couple of euros for them in a car boot fair.

LeQueen I am with you on the wine goblets with the fleur de lys transfers [shudders]

Who thanks for the idea [wanders off to google stocking hangers...]

LeQueen your Christmas sounds divine!

My MIL's goblets were metal (not even shiney silver) more a brushed steel - grim - and used to make my teeth jangle!

My Christmas is perfect for me - I try and make as much as possible - puds, cakes, sweets. I let the boys (5 and 2) 'decorate' the tree, and we have a 'beginning of Advent' pressie, a Christmas Eve pressie (PJs), we light the outdoor tealight lanterns so Santa can spot us, plus the oats/glitter mix for the reindeer, plus a magical musical Christmas tin we wind up and has a little something in every morning for the other one who didn't get to open the wooden Advent calender. But they happily share the picture Advent calendar! LOVE LOVE LOVE the magic of Christmas, but good job it only comes once a year! Too much organisation remembering to put things into 'magic tins' etc!!

D'oh... there are loads of stocking hangers to buy on amazon etc. I now feel quite a mug to never have looked into this before! Thanks to you lovely lot on MN the girls' stockings will hang properly this year and not be secured dangerously by a heavy candlestick (to be pulled down on herself by curious toddler)

Ooh, I wouldn't mind some in a fine Christmas goblet, fleir de lys transfer or no - suppose I better wait until I've picked up the DCs from school

• Might distract myself til then by popping round to my friends for a coffee ( she did mention Friday afternoon !) and seeing her new house. Ooh yes, how exciting
• a plan !

< ought I to apologise for hijack rambling off on tangents ? .... >

Juggling Depends entirely on the quality of the wine...

No-our last 10 xmases have gone like this-

Dcs up at 7am-after a good nights sleep. I on the other hand have usually been up half the night doing last minute wrapping

dcs open presents-living room is chaos

I spend 2 hours trying to tidy up all the wrapping paper,find somewhere to put all the new toys.

Dh spends an hour swearing while he tries to assemble/find batteries for various toys.

Give dcs a very quick bath-moan at dh because he is enjoying his bubble bath rather than help me get dcs into nice clothes

Go to inlaws for a horrible xmas dinner-remember the aunts bessies thread-I think my mil owns shares in aunt fecking bessie!

Try to sneak off to bed shortly after dcs so I can avoid mil becoming maudlin and dh and fil getting pissed

But......

This year we are staying at home. Dh doesnt know this yet as he has refused to discuss it reasonably and goes into a strop about not going to inlaws.

I am sticking to my guns and the dcs and I are going to enjoy our own xmas in our own home

Oh well if it's Blue Nun in the wine goblets I won't be joining you after all

I want Lequeens xmas tbh.

Ours is good, just me and 3 dc in the morning. We get up around 8am, open stocking pressies in my bed and then wander downstairs.
The dc open all of their stuff and then xp comes round for an hour or so, during which time i tend to bugger off upstairs to get dressed.

Normally my mum is here for xmas but that might be changing this year, if i have the guts to bring it up in covo sometime before the day

We just chill for the rest of the day, trying to figure out how toys work, and eating chocolate.

Who ever it was that asked lequeen how you hang the stockings, Tkmax have heavy metal xmas type ornaments with a hook on the front that you sit on the mantelpiece. Quite a few to choose from too.

LeQueen

I pin the DCs velvet stockings to our mantlepiece and hide the pins with artfully trailed holly and candles and ivy from the garden (well, the holly and ivy are, the candles I have to buy!)
the key bit of Christmas for me personally (not speaking as a mum) is when Carols from Kings comes on on Christmas Eve. I do ALL the work organising Christmas and the ultimate deadline is that EVERYTHING must be done, house clean. candles lit and me parked on the sofa with a glass of chilled champagne before the first choirboy opens his mouth. it is a RULE and I will not have it broken EVER.!!!
whew, got all shouty there. . The DCs know it is my time and for years have had previously sullen, comatose, unhelpful lumps of offspring suddenly realising the time and leaping into bedroom tidying mode muttering "What time is mum's programme on?". After that, I don't really care how it goes as long as everyone's happy.

Im a bit the same dementedma, I can't have a decent Christmas unless the house is all perfect and clean - it just puts me on edge otherwise. Of course in truth the mess is still there but it is just all shoved into the spare room.

The illusion of organised perfection is everything.

Oh demented you are truly living up to your name. Carols From Kings is broadcast specifically in order to help you peel potatoes - surely everyone knows that?

I send the kids out with money for a movie and popcorn on xmas eve morning and have a total full on blizz.

That will be a second one after a really good clean in the week before they break up from school.

After two weeks of Christmas fun and very little chance to clean the house is back to being a pig sty but ho hum.

I always have a stinking cold/flu/stomach bug by late Christmas eve. Usually donated by DD, DSD or DSS, and which they have by that stage completely recovered from and are bouncing around like billy-o in a manner I might find charming, were I not at death's door. Other than that, yes, Christmas is PERFECT at our house.