To tell you that it is only

[RabidEchidna]

307 days till Christmas

Do I have the record for the first Christmas thread of 2012?

It really cheers me up when I read this thread!! Whenever I mention Xmas in rl, people look at me like I'm mad.

I agree with 70, you have to get an Elf on the Shelf. We got ours last year, and it was great. On Xmas morning, DD was more interested in the elf than her presents! We also did the Xmas eve hamper for first time last year too, I put in new pjs, bubble bath, new toothbrush and a chocolate Santa. This year I think I'll put in DVD/colouring books too. These have all been stolen from mumsnet! We did the new ornament thing anyway, started when we got married.

I was looking at my mums Studio book yesterday and they had some really cheap personalised Santa sacks in them. I really wish I was more arty so I could make them myself? Also had some cheap trees too.

I love hearing about peoples Xmas traditions spo I can steal them them

Oh well, my first attempt at strike through was unsuccessful!

I like spotting this thread in active convos.

I might ask dh where we are going to put the tree this year. We put it in the same place every year but it really winds him up when I mention it months in advance

218

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm now officially planning Christmas!

Ds will be 2 this Christmas and I have been adding traditions to the list each year, I am determined that he will remember his childhood Christmas's as being fun family times! Or at least as times when mum forces him to do Christmas stuff!

Traditions we already do:

Writing and hand delivering Christmas cards to the neighbours - this is for me and ds to do, it is something I used to do with my nan each year (I would get a pound off every neighbour it was great! )

Visiting a Christmas market in early December, last year we went to Manchester and I loved it, definitely doing this every year now.

Christmas eve hamper with new pjs, slippers and a christmas book/dvd plus a new Christmas bauble for ds.This year I actually have a wicker hamper to do this with so super excited lol!

Snowman soup, I don't like hot chocolate but as we always visit MIL and her kids on Christmas eve I have turned this into a little present we do for them. Dh said it's the best hot chocolate he has ever tasted and they loved doing all the stirring etc, it went down a treat - literally!

Watching Mr Bean's Christmas episode with dh on Christmas eve - he made me watch it on our first christmas together and I thought it was stupid, but now it holds sentimental value to me and I have to watch it with him every year!

Traditions we are going to do:

Pine cone picking in the local cemetary - sounds morbid but it's something both dh and I did when we were little, in the same cemetary! Very strange thinking we might have met as little children so we are going to start this with ds this year. Dh's mum used to put the pine cones in the fire because they smell nice and mine used to spray paint them gold and silver and made wreaths and decorations from them.

Elf on a shelf, ds has started to "find" things in books etc so I think this will be great fun if we start this year.

Advent calendar - I'm going to find a reusable one this year and find little treats to put in it.

Christmas tree shopping - as ds and the cat both conspired to destroy my artificial tree last year it is going in the bin (or freecycle if anyone wants it) and we will be buying a real tree each year - or maybe one of those that you replant.

Leaving a refreshments for FC and the reindeer - can't let them go hungry can I?

Panto - I hate the bit between Christmas and new year so I think this would be something nice to look forward to. Probably not this year as I doubt ds will sit through it but maybe next year.

And I am on the look out for more traditions so ideas are welcome

We go to London before Christmas to see the lights and go to Hamleys (we never buy anything big though, having to drag it back home).
We take ours out for the day (WinterWonderland Hyde Park for example).
Last year they did an adventure activity day.

DH and DC go to a film while I do the Christmas Food Shop.
And we save £2 coins-last year £200. The rules were- DH and I got a present (DH put the money in his bank account, we bought our presents online. DC bought a decoration and got the rest of the money IIRC £40-£45 each to squander on bits and pieces)

Mine are too old for panto now (they will be 10.6 and 13 by Christmas) so DD and I go to a ballet and girls dinner.

DH and I take a day off work to go shopping at the end of November. Then we have a family shopping day in the week before Christmas.

217

We always go to the winter wonderland 70

DH did a at me on Sat when I raised Xmas and whether we would travel or stay put this year. (I wanted to know so I could start looking for a cottage for us to stay in seperately to family - we can retreat to peace at different stages between the 2 families).

I have loads of little traditions.

We don't do EotS yet (but that's YET!)
I do Xmas Eve hamper, and a Xmas story every night in December.
We have lots of Smas DVDs
DD loves collecting cones and decorates a good few of them (I steal lots for the fire).
DD and I have an afternoon "Xmas shopping" in town in late Dec - she doesn't need to buy much at that stage, it's more about wandering and enjoying, and having a nice "coffee stop" together.
DD makes cookies on Xmas Eve for Santa - if we have time and energy, they're from scratch, but if not, we just slice a log of dough from the freezer and bake those. And she HAS to leave milk with those, and carrots for the Reindeer.

She made "Reindeer Poop" for everyone in her class last year (I got bag toppers from a website - linked from Magical Holiday Home I think) as her birthday treat to them all (26th Dec). The previous year, I'd made a Santa or Snowman for everyone wrapped around a 2 finger kitkat - that was SOME labour of love!! They all loved them, I just was worn out by it with all the detailed fiddly bits.

DD also made a few "Snowman Soups" for cousins and freinds on the road, (again, I got topper from internet). The 2 of us made the Soups together, while she dragged her 2 friends on the road into making the Poops (we set up an assembly line operation in the kitchen!!).

We all spend some time in town together on Christmas Eve if we are staying at home - I have to go into work for a while so DH and DD wander together and then we all have lunch together and grab any last minute bits before going home and doing the last of the tidying, wrapping, peeling veg. And hopefully getting a walk in the afternoon too.

216

This week I WILL make the pickled onions for my sisters hamper.

215

Seven months to Christmas Eve Eve

Now, we need to make sure we have cold, crisp weather for December and some snow on Christmas Eve til Boxing Day. (Enough to be pretty but not enough to make travelling pain in the bum)

Yes! we need snow! I also need some pifco cinderella carriage lights so if anyone has any chuck them my way please

I really really love Christmas now I have ds. Actually I have a new found love for Easter, Halloween, Bonfire night... all of it. I can't wait to see the excitement on his face!

214

I asked my sister to Xmas dinner, along with my 99 yr old man and my sisters brood that brings us to 11 including new baby who can be born at the latest on the 1st Dec although if I go 2 weeks overdue I will kill someone

I need a bigger table

7 months to Christmas Eve

Titsalina why not get a trestle table to add onto your own table to increase space.
Lakeland have them (online only) and I saw them somewhere else -Possibly Aldi website. There will be loads round at the moment for Jubilee Parties.

I got an Ikea table with 2 fold down bits. It can seat 8-10, but I could add on another smaller table if need be. We only use it fully extended at Christmas or when we've got visitors.

(Do you mean 99yo nan rather than my 99yo man )

I didn't question the 99 year old man statement as my DH acts like he is well over 100 :P

213!

(sorry if I stole your post RabidAnchovy, but it is 7 months to Christmas Day today yaay!)

213

You have to make it bold , but no feel free x

Gosh yes I did mean Nan! I can assure you DP is 26 and although he may act ancient at times he isn't quite in his 90's yet! :)
I need a new table anyway tbh, we have a butterfly leaf one that can sit 6 comfortably but the chairs with it are horribly uncomfortable, the dining room is being decorated next anyway so we'll be giving current table to MIL and getting and extendable one, the dining room is tiny so I wouldn't want a huge one in their all the time.
I am planning to have the house as minimal as possible by the time baby comes which will give me way more space to fill it with Christmas stuff come December it's a wee bit cluttered atm!

Ooh 7 months to go!

We are moving next month so will be in our new house for Xmas. I have already invited people round for Xmas dinner! Everyone was a bit , I made Xmas dinner once before but ended up a little pissed by early afternoon . I dropped the deep fat fryer all over floor (it wasn't hot thank god), and my mum and mil had to finish dinner. I was put to bed at some point That was preDC so this year I will stay away from the booze until dinner time!

We will have no more than 8, including DH, 2 dcs and I, we don't have a big table either. The dcs will be 4 and almost 1, so they can sit at their little table although I'm sure they'll be too high to eat anything!

Oh it's a lovely idea to give the DC their own table. You can decorate it just for them, get some crackers and poppers if they are old enough, or tie balloons to their chair if not.

(I used to give DS a plate of sanwhiches for lunch "From Action Man" to keep him ticking over. Only the cook has to stay off the ale in our house. Which is fine because I don't drink and DH doesn't cook )

You've earmarked your space in the new house for The Tree I'm presuming