Next year it WILL be different! What will you do differently next Christmas to make it better?

[PoppyWearer]

My list:

A) be well. Headache and feeling icky all day meant I could not get into the festive mood.

B) don't have either set of parents with us for present opening, sick of being told we have bought the DCs too much compared to 1948. We really haven't gone OTT!

C) go to SILs for dinner. It's about time she took a turn. Even if my DH or MIL cooks the bloody meal, not her, it is her turn to have her house turned upside down, and definitely her turn to spend a fortune on food and drink.

D) drink more.

E) get DD to make a Christmas list in November, so she doesn't surprise me with stuff she wants the week before Christmas. Which she didn't get.

F) insist on exact numbers for dinner with at least a week to go.

G) avoid hosting any big meals on Christmas Eve/Boxing Day if already hosting Christmad dinner. Too much! This year we did last night and also big production tomorrow. I am fed up of it.

H) avoid breaking any major gadgets in the few months before Christmas so a replacement becomes my present. Ok, so I now have a shinier, newer gadget than before, but I am back to square one really and could have had a posh handbag instead.

What I would do the same:

A) again try to do as much of the toy shopping early, as the best deals are in October (IMHO).

B) Ocado delivery on Christmas Eve. A bit nerve-wracking but avoiding the supermarket was brilliant.

C) being specific with people about what to get DCs, with emphasis on money to use towards family days out.

Next year I will

Keep a list of what I have bought and for whom on me at all times to avoid duplicating stuff

Do a wishlist for siblings and DM in September to stop DM buying random expensive shite stuff while she waits for us to tell her what we would actually appreciate

Set a budget and stick to it

Start shopping immediately I can afford to, even if it's still January

Buy birthday cards by September for the 4 of our DCs whose birthdays are in the first 6 weeks of the new year when the shops are full of Valentines cards

Buy more Shloer. 2 bottles is never enough

Work out exactly what I want from DH so that I don't end up shopping for it myself

I will continue to

Do stockings for the DCs even though they will all technically be adults

Cook meats the day before

Leave DH to cook Christmas breakfast as I do a pretty good impression of the Asda mum the rest of the time

Wrap presents as soon as I buy the feckin things! Other than that, absolutely nothing, have had a great day.

Buy more cheese.

I'm sat here, stuffed sick with chocolate, what I want is cheese and crackers. But I have eaten all of the best cheese already by last night.

A slightly disappointing end to an otherwise lovely day!

On a slightly less important note, will be slightly more organised wrt where the rubbish ends up. The piles of presents etc, as currently you have to hop and pirouette across my living room, due to piles of stuff everywhere.

Mainly I will focus on the cheese .

Not have turkey. Free-range bronze from Waitrose anyone? It really wasn't particularly nice. It will be lamb or chicken next year.

Protect Ds2's more delicate gadgets. He dropped his brand new Innotab and the screen cracked. I am quite upset. He is only 4.

Put the potatoes in fifteen minutes earlier.

Nothing . I would change nothing it's been a perfect wonderful day

Oh and guard the gift under the tree so the cat doesn't piss on some of them . Why? I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me.

Also, I wouldn't fall down the last two stairs at 5.30am and bang my arse. But it's not been a bad day.

gifts.

Next year will be different, DH won't be here so it will be worse no matter what I do!

Have Chrisas in my family home with my DH and DC instead of going to my folks'. They are lovely (and will invite then to me even though they will probably say no) but I just really want us to have OUR family Christmas and start some traditions of our own. And wake up in my own bed on Christmas morning.

I'll not be pregnant (last year) or breast feeding (this year) so I can get nicely merrily pissed

I'll carry on with the tradition of "just us" on Christmas Day and then parents on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day so we aren't prioritising one set over the other.

I loved this Christmas Day

Go on holiday. Sick of pandering to every bugger else. It's exhausting fitting us and the kids into everyone else's schedule.

Also won't wake up with crippling back pain unable to walk. Fucking SPd why won't it just go?

I would like to not start the day by having a 5oz feed vomited all over me. I would like to eat hot Christmas dinner, not hold screaming, inconsolable dd. I would go on walk with whole family, not on my own with dd to get her to sleep (and cry to myself). I've had a shit day, like most days.

But DS has had a wonderful day, filled with magic and grandparents and new toys. That I wouldn't change.

This year was pretty great, only thing I'll do differently next year is have my mum here. She couldn't come this year because of tests she was having yesterday for suspected cancer. But she got the all clear, so will be at our's next year

Aww balti that's tough. Next year will be better tho as dd and ds will be playing together.
I would like some sleep next year.
And I will tell everyone to only buy for the kids and not us. This will save another scarf/hat set x 10 for me and ties for dh who wears a uniform for work and doesn't go to church....

Not got to the bils.

Massive row last year between them and their youngest

She was fine this year but bil was a git, infact he and dh played touch tag miserable shit all day. SIL and I didn't know if we were coming or going.

Dn then announced her scabby boyfriend was coming round at 4:30 so instead of staying for tea as planned (and paid for as we gave big £ toward food and basically got a roast), we packed up and left

(Dn has serious issues with bad sorts and police etc been involved in her life, I will not involve my dd, who is only 1 school yr younger, in her friendships and shenanigans)

We've had a nice day on the whole but, next year I'll book an Ocado delivery for Christmas Eve. I wanted to this year but DH persuaded me it wasn't necessary as he was breaking up from school on the 19th so could do it all. As it turned out, the DCs, then DH and now me have all had a shitty flu virus (I still feel awful) and all shopping was a bit last minute and rushed. I still can't taste or smell anything and my throat feels red raw. So, I'll be cancelling all illness this time next year.

I will

1. decorate more (only did tree and cards this year )
2. have lovely decorated table (look for items in the sales this year)
3. not bloody skype bloody gp's ruins the flow of the day (first of all my mum doesn't know how to do it properly and it gets on my nerves, 2nd of all the connection is always shite, so we cant hear a word she says, dh's parents want to watch presents being opened but dd who is 20 months was having fun just doing a bit of playing and running around, just ruins the natural flow of the day)
4. buy booze well early (didnt have any this yr because queues on chrimbo eve were horendous)
5. prioritise getting oysters and fresh fish on chrimbo eve (just go off shopping early by myself, this year I had 20 month dd and 6 week dd with me at all times!)
6. start up some traditions
7. make christmas playlist early on so it's ready for when we put up dec's etc and then ready for the day

1. tell gp's early on what we'd like for the girls (in a dream world) so we dont end up with tat for them and rubbish clothes that wont get worn.

I started a similar thread last year as I got so stressed out, my main 'resolution' for Christmas this year was to be less stressy and not worry if it's all not perfect. I think I managed that a bit better, at least on the outside. A couple of little things went pear shaped in the morning which would have had me sobbing into my turkey last year but I just shrugged it off this year.

Last year I also resolved to set all major deadlines for work for early December which meant that I didn't have a load of work stress in the lead up on top of the Christmas preparations and DC's school stuff. Had normal workload instead of a lot of late nights on the laptop.

Another thing which worked this year, going out for a short while on both Christmas and Boxing Day (DC on new bikes), helped to avoid the cabin fever of last year.

For next year: I will buy and store things away throughout the year, I started in October this year which you would think would be plenty of time but still felt rushed towards the end.

Hide the key from the wardrobe where I keep presents. In October I had bought a few things and hidden them away along with the wrapping paper which Father Christmas uses. Came into the room after work one day to find DP had left the wardrobe open and the DC's had seen the contents.

Eat out either Xmas day or boxing day. Maybe both.

Ensure dh isn't ill

Not be pregnant so I can drink.

Make the most of being off work due to mat leave!

Not get ill.

Make sure the whole family has gifts of new socks and underwear so no stress if we get behind with the laundry.

Not have PIL to stay the weekend before Christmas.

Otherwise a lovely chilled day. Perfect after a manic term.

next year for christmas 2013 i will!

make sure i enjoy more even know i love christmas lots i have been ill alot this time and not been that festive
i will get started early i left it untill late novemeber to start shopping
not get so stressed
enjoy the day more
hopefully not be ill again
decorate the home better
take the kids to santas grotto never done it and feel guilty
make it as special as possible i do this every year
have a good christmas drink im breastfeeding and couldnt this time

over all xmas 2012 was okay but next year it can only get better!

I won't be breastfeeding next year, so I'll drink tonnes of booze!!! A merry drunken Christmas, to everyone

I stopped bf'ing my youngest a month ago, milk, and have overcome some other health problems, so have been eating and drinking heavily this past week. Diet starts next week.