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

That reminds me MoChan, last x-mas eve i spent the night glue to the loo, then woke up x-mas day with tooth ache, my lovely mother brough over some strong pain killers and i spent christmas day high as a kite on whatever it was she gave me (wasn't the best of christmas's, just shows that things never go as planned)

Yes Le Queen you are right I did ask if anyone did have a Christmas like the ads and as others have pointed out too, you only answered my query. I think the thing that I find so distasteful about your posts are the insulting comments you make about your ILs and their fleur-d-lys wine glass and tepid Blue Nun - they are clearly not as sophisticated as you. On the other hand maybe they can't afford all the stuff that goes on in your wonderful family. Just out of interest how come you married someone from the working class if you don't mind my asking. Did you not check out the wine cellar of the in-laws beforehand, or the wine glasses, or their taste in films. Goodness you should have done- very remiss of you..............

Same as angryfeet can't guarantee snow though.

It is pretty close to that in my family. But that is because my mum is awesome.

I dread having to take over the Christmas alpha female role. I am not even close to her league.

Lay off LeQueen, OP - she answered the question you asked! 'So distasteful', my arse.

Those ads you posted about are full oif snobbery and aspiration and labelling and all the stuff LeQ has said relates directly too it. She wasn't saying 'this is how you should live'. You asked her to 'PLEASE TELL ME HONESTLY' and she did and now you being a bit of a

Marne - that reminds me, i once had such bad toothache one christmas night my mum gave me really strong pain killers and because i was drinking too i ended up sleep walking that night in my underwear into her room!! that was a loooong time ago though. im sure in just a few years it will be my teenage son stammering about. dreading that phase.

Oh I wouldn't worry Lemondifficult - I think LeQueen is well able to stick up for herself............

NN - so you didnt actually mean "PLEASE TELL ME HONESTLY" in your OP

Well it's a good job then. But is it really a valid reason to be spiteful and chippy with her? Completely agree with what Lemon said.

Let's not spoil a nice thread.

Anyhow nearly everyone knows that there are better/posher wines than Blue Nun and that white wine might be nicer after a little while in the fridge. It's not rocket science !

Equally with the transfers on wine goblets you only have to watch a couple of Antiques Road Shows to guess that's going to be the £10 goblet not the £100 or £1000 one !!

But as I said I wouldn't turn my nose up at a nice glass of wine with Christmas dinner - cooked by someone else - whatever recepticle it came in !

Bet LeQueen will be giggling and spluttering over her Blue Nun in the fleur de lys goblets this year ! I hope so !

We have lovely Christmases. Lovely lovely lovely lovely.

My top tips are

Never leave wrapping till the last minute
Get dh to cook everything because he is both brilliant and unflappable. He cooks whilst wandering around chatting and having a drink
Make the dc go to bed early. I need chill out time the night before.
Go for a walk after lunch. Loads of people in the house all day will cause friction.
Have champagne/bucks fizz/whatever you can drink first thing without people talking about it, for breakfast. Early drinking stops me worrying about much else
Lastly. Most importantly. NO extended family on Christmas day. In laws, gps etc etc are Christmas eve, boxing day or new years.

We had the snow falling last year. The rest is clearly fiction

Mess, stress & chaos is more like it here/ though yes to excitable kids and the odd frazzled, unglamorous soppy moment with DH!

Oohh, we had snow here last year and went toboganing at the park after lunch !

Soooo Christmasey ! The fact that DH got carried away afterwards and did a few gentle hand brake turns on the icy car-park, drove slightly too fast up the lane and then skidded into a tree ( at about 5-10 mph) will be conveniently written out of the family archives. (Averagely priced family car Haha - is that what they say on TopGear ? written off but no real harm done with hindsight.)

You don't have my extended family....

Ds2 needs it quiet too

But we do family stuff other days. Just not the 25th.
And boxing day is a walk through town to the panto which is lovely too.

Goodness the old inverted snobbery raises it's head yet again on MN. Why is it seemingly acceptable to take the piss out of posters when they make a bit of an effort etc?

Would it be ok to snigger if LeQueen said she decorated her 1980's Barrett home like a scene from the Next Directory?

Good for you LeQueen. Sounds fabulous.

I have some fantastic siblings. I adore my eldest sister in particular, probably the nicest woman I will ever know.
But my family have a terrible dynamic (which I alone have managed to avoid) where they are a sort of job lot.
Inviting my sister would lead to my mother coming too. That is fine. Also nice.
But she can't help herself and would soon tell my other two sisters who would be either genuinely hurt or would chose to be offended and affronted and then the whole drama would begin. Then my brothers would be contacted and there are another four of them.......

I would love a couple of them and their dc. But my family don't function like that.

Mulled wine only works if you are cold.

So, long walk in the cold/snow = mulled wine by the fire.
Any other time. No.

We used to do this fantastic local trip where you walk through this beautiful stately gardens place, after nightfall so with torches and the dc in wellies until you reach a Santa grotto in a crystal cave (a Victorian folly). It was a half hour walk with little ones.
The mulled wine served to adults when you reached the cave tasted fantastic. I am sure it was cheap shite but it was lovely.

We went on a fabulous walk with friends (who live in a village near us - we're in town) on Christmas Eve last year. It was wonderfully snowy and Christmasey and they gave us all mulled wine when we got back !

I think sometimes it can be a bit too strong ... but probably not after a 5 mile walk !