Do other people's DHs...

[belindarose]

...show any interest in Christmas whatsoever? Presents for DCs, family? Decorations? Food?

[Scuttlebutter]

DH doesn't enjoy the run up to Christmas the way I do - it's a time of the year I love, but he is very involved. We both went to order the turkey on the weekend. We discuss together the Christmas card list, and the gift list and agree what we are buying for who and the budget. We make quite a few of our presents, and he has already made damson gin and will shortly be doing his marmalade. I do sewing/crafty gifts, and make the cards we send. We go together to get the tree, he makes a wreath for hte front door, and we decorate together (he does the outdoor/climbing up ladders bits). We menu plan the Christmas food and he always cooks on Christmas Day - he is very good at it. I tend to do most of the gift wrapping as he is away a lot, but don't mind as I really enjoy it. Generally, he's very organised and he always buys me absolutely beautiful gifts and a gorgeous card.

[ObiWan]

My husband doesn't play Christmas music in July, or write lists in a little notebook - he leave the madness to me.

He does: travel miles in search of my perfect tree, agree to buying a turkey of ridiculous and unnatural proportions, take the children (one at a time) around the toys shops in November to see what catches their eye.

He will happily balance on bits of furniture, risking death to put the decorations up properly, we do the present buying and wrapping together. He really likes the whole family aspect.

He cooks most of the Christmas dinner, and makes fabulous puddings. And he doesn't mind people coming to stay, or visit over the holiday. Which is really nice, because I remember my own father begrudging my uncle a plate of Christmas dinner.

I think it helps that my MIL hosted really lovely Christmases.

[KinkyDorito]

DH:

buys my gift
Buys gifts for his dad/SM (I wrap these)
Gets the tree out of the loft
Putting the lights on the tree as I lose the will to live doing this

He will also be on de-boxing toys and lego construction on Christmas Day, though I suspect he will enjoy that.

[Convert]

My DH does nothing. I research and buy all of the presents, I write the cards, I plan the food and buy and cook it all, I generally do the decorations, I plan and go on outings with the kids.
I don't mind because he runs a restaurant and December is manic, he has to organise all of the decorations, planning, menus etc and I love Christmas so much I like doing everything.

[WaitingForMe]

DH wasn't into Christmas before me. My inlaws seem to do it under sufferance yet go overboard.

But I get so excited and over the years I've infected him. He can't get enthused until December but gets very loved up over my planning. When we viewed our house he said it was a Christmas house (it has the greatest fireplace) and I knew he was getting there

I plan everything and he prefers to be delegated to but I'm ok with that.

[fuzzpig]

Yes! We both had crap Xmases as children and when we got together we spoiled each other rotten each year. We spend ages planning the food and presents although I'd say he's a bit more relaxed about it than me and is slightly more able to say 'enough' with the DCs' presents. Only slightly, mind. :o

[fuzzpig]

Oh and DH generally does all the cooking as he used to be a chef so it's easier for him.

[Thisisaeuphemism]

Gosh, surprised by early responses to this: I thought asda man was a myth!
Yeah, he'll do as much as me, probably more if we host.
It's nice to buy the kids presents and the tree together, isn't it? I'd be furious if I was left to do it all.

[BertieBotts]

Probably more than me I'm a bit useless at planning etc. He surprised me last year with a tree and decorations for it - unluckily I was a raging mess of hormones at the time and was all grumpy about it because I'd wanted to pick it out together.

He's more into making it magical etc for DS whereas I want it to be a shared family experience (and lack any kind of skill in making that happen :() for example last year he brought back a load of "snow" stuff from work, and sprinkled it over an un-hoovered floor, so it would have looked great, but it was all mingled in with biscuit crumbs etc and looked a mess :(

[lynniep]

he insists we buy a real tree. we all go out and buy one. I think thats the only think he really takes part in - but he's happy to take the boys to see santa. He does however suggest ridiculously expensive presents for the boys which I dismiss because I'd rather get second hand as the boys dont care.

[memphis83]

My dp buys his own family presents and I buy my family presents. His family are very fussy and will tell you if they think gift is crap so I used to be too nervous to buy for them and it has stuck.
He has finished his shopping including mine and even bought ds some things...although probably things I would never buy! But I have to do all the wrapping and the food shop...and decorate the tree.

[mrsnec]

Mine buys the meat gets the decs out of the loft and writes the cards. Nothing more. He only writes the cards as he writes like an 8 year old girl and I write like a doctor! His parents decided a few years ago that we weren't doing presents but DH still thinks this applies to presents between us too!

[gemdrop84]

Slightly, I'm doing all the xmas shopping this yr and doing it early as I'm now nearly 31wks pg and will not be wanting to do the xmas shopping come dec when all the shoppers are out and I'm huge! also dp's a teacher so doesn't really get chance to do much til the last minute when he breaks up fro xmas holidays. He's happy with that and has said he'll help by wrapping presents/write xmas cards. He's also inviting his family over to ours for xmas dinner and will be doing that by himself! Me and dd do the decorations/tree because I like it done a particular way and he'd just throw it together!

[ToriaPumpkin]

Two years ago DH told me I should be glad he was interested when he was telling me I was trying to buy the wrong kind of Christmas tree (he has opinions on fir vs spruce apparently,and has always wanted us to get an artificial one). We then came home to put it up and he buggered off into the spare room not to be seen again. That was the most interest he had ever shown.

Last year we had a colicky and refluxy newborn. I think Christmas happened about week nine.

This year I capitulated on the tree issue and agreed we should get an artificial one. We went and looked around the shops as Tesco have their voucher exchange on and thought we could probably get one there. He took one look, looked like a sad puppy, turned to me and said "Shall we get a real one?" I think having DS has made him see things differently, he loved his birthday even though I wrapped the big present which he wouldn't have done and watching him get excited about it all.

His family are like a PP's and do Christmas under sufferance. They have a tiny tree, which is hidden behind the TV, the decorations go up about the 22nd and come down New Year's Day and it's awkward as sin on Christmas morning. They all get up and washed and dressed and sit around the dining table. The first year I spent with them I had no idea and wandered down to the living room (always beautifully deocrated, open fire etc) in my PJs expecting a bacon roll to find them all sipping tea round the table.

They also view me having a glass of wine after dinner as decadent in the extreme and want to play board games all evening. Which is fine, I'm all for a bit of Triv from time to time, but if BIL or MIL loses then we have sulks til Hogmanay, so I can see why he doesn't see it as exciting or magical really.

He is very good at choosing presents, but I have to remind him weekly from mid-November to pick something up for the ILs and one or two of his friends. I do the rest as I actually enjoy present buying and being a SAHM have more time to do it.

[roguepixie]

Another 'nope' here. I think my DH was the model for the Grinch - he could happily do away with Christmas altogether.

I: do the tree, decorate it and the house, buy presents (even for his family), wrap them, write and post cards, do the food shop and all food prep and cooking.

He: eats it all and moans.

[badtasteflump]

Yes - he's pretty good really

He loves Christmas shopping for me & the DC - he leaves extended family to me though. He also likes planning the food & does the big Christmas food shop (and cooks some of it - Christmas dinner is a joint effort). The only thing he doesn't do is the decorations. That is my domain and if anyone tried to put anything up instead of me I would probably just move it anyway not that I have ocd

[FeuDeRussie]

Yes, we do it all together - choose presents for our families and our mutual friends (he's very good at present ideas, much better than me), buy a tree together (but we do argue over how big it should be. I think huge. He thinks practical and small), decorate the house together, cook dinner together, write cards together. It would be a bit miserable if he was just sitting harumphing on the sofa! If he wasn't into Xmas I think I'd make sure we went away for it and did something he did like, or at least went out for lunch on Xmas day. I couldn't be arsed to make Xmas happen all by myself.

[Fluffycloudland77]

He's stockpiling alcohol.

Does that count?

He does love buying my present though.

[ProbablyJustGas]

Yes, and we egg each other on. He'll do Christmas fairs, parades, shopping, decorating, caroling, present-wrapping, card selecting/writing, and picking out the Christmas tree with me and DSD in the forest.

TBH, I couldn't have had it any other way. I've dated some guys who were real downers about the holiday. I have the emotional maturity of your average six year-old when it comes to Christmas. Santa is real, y'all.

[DaPrincessBride]

No. In fact, he has told me that we don't have room for a christmas tree this year

I will bloody well MAKE room for a tree.

[CarefullEugene]

In DH's head, his mother is in charge of presents, food, decoration, etc despite the fact he is over 40 and we've been together for 18 years.

9 years ago ago, I managed to work, cook, shop and 'sort' out Christmas DH could n't even with the invention of the internet and money in the bank organise a single present. After that I stopped sorting out anything to do with his family. They now tend to get something late/not at all/ thoughtless. I just get something unmemorable/thoughtless. I do everything else but the lack of appreciation of my efforts is what gauls me particularly since to listen to him you'd think only his mother can shit proper tinsel and that purchasing it from a high street store is somehow letting the side down.
When we split up, I'm getting the baubles, over the years it's me that chosen them .

[Lavenderhoney]

My dh is mad busy round Christmas due to the restaurant but makes time to take the dc round the shops to choose my present. He loves it all and buys and makes all the food. He leaves all the present stuff to me for the dc and others, which is ok as I am a sahm and he is flat out. He also organises the drink:)

He does all the songs, helps decorate and is so lovely even though we hardly see him as he is busy making customers Christmas perfect.

New year is a bastard though, that's a big night too, and I am generally alone for that, though he does drop off some nibbles and champagne. And I know his customers appreciate him...

[LadyLetch]

No, my DH does very little towards Christmas. I do the children, my family, our joint friends etc. He does his family and frequently forgets to do even that!

I do the lion's share of the work, but he is hugely excited about Christmas and happy to do stuff as a family so I can't complain

[Binfullofgibletsonthe26th]

Daprincessbride - if my DH ever said there was no room for a tree, I'd find a husband sized one and banish him to the garden.

This year DH has been involved in a lot of shopping, he's found out what DS wanted, and then I ordered online.

He has taken DS into the forest for pine cones for my table displays (see pics) and is drying them in the cellar.I pointed out a birch candle holder I liked, and I think he is making me one as the cellar is full of bits of wood!

Writing cards is a no, but then writing proper letters to me from Iraq was the same!

He loves putting up the lights, and this year he and DH are having their own tree.

I cook because I like it, but he likes things plain and simple - 3 tonnes of parsnips and potatoes no fancy stuff.....oh and he has quality tested all the mince pies and sausage rolls I made before they went into the freezer.