What's your gameplan this Christmas?

[AndHarry]

If there is such a thing as a Christmas gameplan :o

Mine is to see as many people we like as want to see us over December, to push forward a big family meal out early in the month with a Secret Santa to round up the huge and random extended family while keeping costs down, make the focus having fun with the DC and to have the 25th to ourselves for the first time ever.

I think ours will be complicated this year :/

We have elderly relatives who live in the Cotswolds that are probably unable to come to us for Christmas (can't travel easily) so my side of the family will be up there this year.

However, DH's mum and DB will be on their own as all family on DH side are away over Christmas with other relatives.

We haven't decided yet but I think we'll have to spend it with DH's fam as it seems mean to leave them just the two of them. Unfortunately this means me being away from my family on Christmas day for the second year running :(

This is only the second time we will do the 'compromise' thing, (only recently married) so I'm finding it hard to get used to. Sniff. Lol

My plan is to do as many fun things as possible over December!! :) elf will return and looking into doing an activity advent calendar this year.

First year at home this year and I can't wait. Hoping my sister and her family pop in for the afternoon so the DDs get to see their cousins.

Time to start iloveholidays annual traditions!!! DDs will be 4.9, 2.9 and 13 months this year. So excited :)

Think my Christmas is going to be pretty calm tbh as I have 2 DSs with December birthdays. I try to get the tree up after the 17th December (DS3s bday) and down before the 30th December (DS2s bday) to try and make their bdays bdays instead of being overtaken by Xmas if that makes sense haha x

Just realised ive said "calm" Xmas when in fact it's probably going to be chaotic with all the bdays haha x

Once again I'm going in full Xmas mode! Dds will be 8&6 and I'm obsessed with Xmas! We went to lapland last year just before xmas which was just amazing and I'm struggling to see how I can make this years Xmas just as exciting (determined too!).

I've booked the panto tickets already for the weekend before Xmas.
Tree goes up first Sunday of December - we make a day of picking it out (real one)
We do lots of craft ideas etc, looking at lights, plus school and rainbow/brownies Xmas activities always good.

We do elf on shelf from 1st dec who brings a new Xmas cd! I've just bought last years lego friends advent calendar (tesco, in sale) and also this years one so dds can have one each. (They have birthdays before Xmas so these will be one of their presents).

We do Xmas eve hamper (their best part of Xmas actually!). I love this as the kids get sooooo excited.

We visit friends for mini tea party Xmas eve and Xmas day is chilling at home til noon then visiting both GPS with lunch at one of them for the rest of the day. We love visiting on Xmas day as all their cousins are there and its a very lively time. We usually get home round 7pm for chilled out Xmas movie, followed by kids early night and me and dh start on the baileys :)
Boxing Day is similar but I love how busy it is as we have the rest of the days to chill.

This is the first year we won't do a grotto :( As dds are getting older, there's no disguising the numerous different santas about these days! So I've told them they are his helpers and that only the one they saw in lapland is real (dd age 8 is not daft so would have questioned multiple santas if I hadn't said something). So can't now go to a uk Santa as he'll look different to lapland one and I want to keep the magic as long as possible!

So this year will be Xmas days out like ice skating etc. me and dh will likely go to the Manchester Xmas markets too.

Jamtoast - your Xmas sounds lovely! Can I come? Haha x

Tiffany I hear you! It's tough being a grown up and swapping each year- me and my sister are both married now and we keep missing each other at Xmas as we alternate differently:(

Is it very sad that I'm considering starting Xmas shopping early, visiting family at october half term & distributing presents & staying home for Xmas?

In mitigation we live 3 hours from my family & 6 hours from inlaws

I want to stay at home for once stamps feet

My gameplan is getting through December!
Now that all 5 dc are at school they have lots of parties/discos for the various clubs they are in, school productions and panto trips. The 2 eldest are also in choir which sing for OAPs and in shopping centre in December. On top of that dh and I both have staff do's, and usually 2 black tie events to go to. It is always manic, but I do love the buzz. Come around the 21st or so it calms down. I finish food shopping on the 22nd. Then from 23rd on we all stay put at home. Everyone comes to us thank goodness, usually a steady stream of callers on Christmas Eve. Grandparents and some other family on Christmas day, it varies from year to year. Then we have a big crowd on boxing night but its all very relaxed and no pressure.

tiffany can your dh's mum and brother not join your family for Christmas? We've done similar and it was a bit strange at first but worked really well in the end. Something to think about?

I love how busy December gets. The lead-up to Christmas is my favourite part!

I wrote myself a list last Christmas. It has a list of who to buy for, to get more XYZ but less ABC. So while I am itching to buy some wrapping paper from Studio (sheep that I am ) I know I must not

Relatives-wise, as usual we will invite MIL up to see the DC advent services and various concerts etc in the last week of term and as usual she will refuse, so we will traipse all of us up to her after Christmas and take her out for lunch. We will aim to see my parents a week or two before as they go completely overboard and are very unpleasant stressful to deal with. Then Christmas day will be spent in seclusion , Boxing day with friends. Christmas eve is traditionally the day we flap around, go out for lunch and do a cinema night with new PJs, chocolate hamper and Christmas DVD.

I'm not going to book a Santa grotto trip (as my list tells me) bebecause we booked the one Everyone raves about (Painshill Park) last year and it was shit. And very expensive. They enjoyed the freebie at the church bizaar 10x more and the gift was not tat much better

I have no idea quite how Christmas will go. I will be marking exam papers from about 15th december. My family all live about 150 miles away. Not sure what XH will want to do this year (he lives nearby and so far we have spent the day together but not sure this will carry on forever). I want to spend time with my boyfriend. XH wants to spend time with his girlfriend although his lives about 200 miles away in the other direction. The DC need to see their paternal grandparents as well.

I partly wish everyone else could just work out Christmas without me but think that's a little unrealistic....

I do love Christmas really and the best one was when DD was about three months old and all possible people came to our house on the day itself. Was lovely . But things do get more complicated

Ds will be 3.8 at Xmas, so I'm hoping he will understand and get excited. Dd will be 1.4 so too young. I'm going to do elf on the shelf, plus various activities in December like crafts, gingerbread house etc.

Have been buying presents thorough out the year and will step it up at the end of September.

We plan on having Xmas day at home, just the four of us, which I excited about.

I'm also going to host an Xmas eve party for our siblings and their children - will be buffet food and give them some Xmas eve treats like a chocolate Santa, snowman soup and magic reindeer food.

Decs go up 1st of december in the middle of the night when the elf moves in. Pranks from elf all december... Visit to grotto in lake district... Pantomime with nana...family tea party on xmas eve... Xmas day now spent at home with the three kids, and anyone who wants to join us for lunch is welcome. Rest of holiday is spent reading, eating, drinking, going for walks, chilling and playing :)

Captainswearpants, my mum used to do the same as you, all relatives in the north got their presents during our visit at half term. Saved a fortune in postage.

My gameplan is trying to tell my mum that we won't be traveling the 400 miles with a 5 month old and two year old to spend Christmas with her, without her not talking to me. We want to spend Christmas alone.

Any suggestions welcome! she isn't one of these women you can just explain things to.

Oh dear Monsters, that isn't going to go down well. I can see why you don't want to do the journey and also that you want to be at home with your own family.

Tell her that the weather is likely to be severe and would she really want her DGC put at risk? Give a horror story about possibly being stuck in freezing conditions, traffic jams, baby in carseat too long, whatever you can recall from last years problems to do with travelling.

You could also ask if she had ever had to travel same distance to see her own parents at Christmas with DC and if not, why is it acceptable for you to have to with a baby and a toddler? If she never has, she has no idea how hard it can be.

However you break the bad news, do it in good time so that she can arrange the DC'S presents to get posted/delivered, in case she gets something heavy (expecting you to take it home with you when you go for Christmas!) Still can't guarantee she will be talking to you though.

This year is going to be an odd one as not only will my best friend have just had her first baby but I'll be pregnant so it's the first year she and I are dropping the beginning of our celebrations (drinking copious amounts of mulled wine in the Edinburgh market)

We've also got some family politics going on as we've not done Christmas with DH's family for two years and BIL and SIL won't come to us so to spend time with them we need to go to them (which is a ball-ache as it is without a toddler and five month pg me as it's several hours and a ferry ride away)

As such, my plans are mainly to make it as special as I can for DS (will be 2.2)

So far on my list I've got an elf (he won't get it properly but it'll be fun) and a fabric advent calendar filled with toddler friendly treats, a walk round town after dark to see the lights, making a wreath, hand print cards/decorations for the relatives, toddler group Christmas party and possibly actually having the Christmas drinks party I've been threatening since we bought the house three years ago!

Going abroad, booked and paid for .

Ah Ragwort, that's my idea of Christmas heaven.

Monsters if someone is out to be offended then they will be offended whatever you do.

On the first Sunday in December, we'll go to my favourite garden center to buy some new decorations. Then we'll go home and put up the two trees whilst listening to christmas music, drinking either mulled wine or hot chocolate. Then we'll watch Elf.

On 7th December, we're going to watch The Nutcracker ballet in Birmingham. On 20th December, we'll go to The Trafford center to buy a few last minute presents (only a few things as we like to take in the atmosphere there rather than rush around like a headless chicken!) Then that night we're going to watch West Side Story in the theatre. The next day (we're spending 2 nights in a hotel in Manchester) we'll go around the Arndale center, the shops in the city center and my favourite, Selfridges. Then at night, we'll visit the Christmas markets and have mulled wine, crepes, hot dogs...

The 22nd is our wedding anniversary and DH is planning a surprise :)

Christmas eve we'll either go to a party at the in laws (not 100% sure if they're having one yet) or we will have a small buffet at home, just me and DH and watch Christmas DVDs/TV.

Christmas day will most likely be us opening our presents at home, then going to my mums then going on to my grans where the whole family congregates for a couple of days.

I may have a party of my own this year too. I had one last year which was great.

Then on 1st January, we're off to Cape Verde for a week :)

I'm so excited, I love the Christmas season!

I'm still working on it. Been looking for that start your own Christmas traditions thread but can't find it

So far though.

I have a pocket advent calendar which I am going to fill with wrapped toys and sweets (unwrapping practice for 2yo) and also planning to slip a Xmas activity into each pocket to do each day. Decoration making, card making, baking, panto, decks up etc also lots of Xmas films to help her figure out what's going on.

Xmas eve will be hot choc, film and popcorn followed by new pjs

Xmas morn will be open stocking in mummies bed.

Lunch will be goose.

That's as far as I've got

My gameplan is;
not to get the flu last year.
Feed the family something better than the pot noodles and sausage rolls they had last year.
Drink lots
Eat more
Relax

I shall be on the lookout for nice things to do with teenagers over the holidays too. You lose so many little traditions when they grow older. Last year I set up a hot chocolate bar with marshmallows, fudge pieces, cream, cinnamon, those chocolate wafer tubes etc which went down well and they love the Christmas eve hamper. I'm making advent calendars for them with makeup and perfume samples for dd and I'm not sure what for ds's. I'm going to put a cinema voucher in number 24 to get them from under my feet for a few hours on Christmas Eve.