Planning Christmas Eve and Day

[iloveholidays]

First year at home this year and I can't wait, time to start our own little family traditions.

So far... DP is working the weekend before Christmas (so not to work between Christmas and new year) so Christmas Eve is the first day we all have together in over a week.

Last year we had breakfast at our local garden centre on Christmas Eve which was lovely and then wandered round the garden centre looking at decorations. Hoping to make some cookies for Father Christmas afterwards.

Cook some ham, prep veg in the afternoon and all sit down to watch a Christmas DVD.

Hoping to squeeze in a walk/trip to the park, weather permitting.

Hamper to get delivered late afternoon with PJs, bath treats, chocolates and bath sponge/flannels.

Planning to do a buffet type dinner with ham, salad, nice bread, dips etc etc. Last year we got a lot of party food in, but to be honest wasn't that impressed so planning to have some nicer foods this year.

All the normal stuff re laying cookies out for Father Christmas, hanging up stockings before DDs go to bed, then DP and I can pile all the presents under the tree in the evening and collapse in front of the TV.

For the last couple of years christmas morning has been really hectic opening presents and then rushing over to family. This year I'm hoping to spread it a bit. stockings first thing, downstairs for breakfast. Haven't decided what yet, although will have table laid and planning on making some crackers with DD1 for breakfast.

Then tree presents so the kids have got some fun stuff to play with whilst we prep lunch.

Lunch will just be us, planning on keep a present back for all of us for after dinner.

Afternoon hoping for some family over. Hoping to do a treasure hunt for the kids.

Then nibbles etc late afternoon before we all collapse again!!!

Can anyone tell I'm really excited ???!!!! I've been waiting for Christmas at home for a few years now.

At the in-laws on Boxing Day.

So, help me think of any other fun things to do.

Buy one of those cans of snow from pound store or John Lewis. After Dc have gone to bed, get out DPs biggest boots and shake the snow around them to leave foot prints. We also get guinea pigs to nibble reindeer marks in the carrots left out for Rudolph. And I write a letter to each DC, tucked into the top of the stocking, saying how good they were this year when they did xyz and helped A and were kind to B etc.

Do you have some good Christmas CDs in - Carols and party tunes. Or just music that you want them to associate with Christmas. My dad always put on trad Scots folk music at Christmas (we lived near the border) and to this day those songs make me think of sitting round the table with a turkey and candlelight.

Our traditions when Dc were small included making a choc yule log together, wrapping pressies for daddy together, having sparklers, going to Christingle service on Christmas Eve dressed as shepherds or angels.

As they got older, we started to make Christmas Eve a day out: zoo, skating rink, fairground, panto etc.

Fab ideas there Not. I love the idea of putting a letter in from Santa into the stocking.

Also love the idea of sprinklers, might get some extra ones during bonfire to keep for Christmas.

We're doing panto on 15th and also planning a trip to Winchester Christmas market where I want to do ice skating as well.

I need a notebook!!!!!!

Our Xmas breakfast is pancakes if that helps :o

Great thread!

I have been thinking about this all week. Really looking forward to Christmas this year as DD will actually understand a bit of what is going on Its our second Christmas at home but last year we were still settling in as we had just moved here. So far I've made a list of films to watch including The Greatest Store In The World and The Secret Garden.

The idea of Christmas didn't excite me till DD was born so am very much a novice about it all. Will be watching and taking notes

I definitely want us to snuggle down and watch a film, I've bought a few new Christmas ones for this year.

Also keen to spread out the present opening over the day a bit on Christmas day.

I'm so excited!!!! Need to get some table decorations etc this year x

not sure what the x was for these

there not these!!!! its far too early

Your Christmas sounds perfect! I can't wait for our first Christmas at home, won't be this year though. When I was little my mum and dad kept a present back until after dinner nectar. It was lovely. I had desperately wanted a girls world styling head so that was the present they hid. Mum always, proudly, told relatives that I never moaned or complained when id opened my presents and thought I hadn't got it, but in all honesty, I hadn't noticed! My parents always made Christmas magical even on very little money. I think that'd why I love Christmas so much!

One things we've always done to spin the day out and make it stress free is to have Christmas dinner in the evening. none of us like that stupid ritual of aiming for 2pm and finally sitting down at 3 or 4 when some grown ups are tiddly and kids are fractious because they're starving or wild eyed on too many Quality Street.

We start the day with stockings, then have a breakfast of smoked salmon bagels and scrambled eggs and a glass of bucks fizz. Then presents and phone calls to family, play with presents, try on new clothes, etc. Light lunch of home made soup and slice of yule log for kids.

Then go for a walk, come home, get dinner on, watch Christmas Day film on TV, then dinner by candlelight at a table laden with evergreens and candles. Usually have indoor fireworks at table afterwards, and Christmas crackers with racing penguins etc in. End the day with sparklers outside where you write in the air all the good things you want to make happen next year.

I love these rituals but Dc are almost teens and I'd love to get inspiration for some new rituals.

Do you want family over on Christmas Day? This may be controversial but it will mean that X and Y will have to be done before they come meaning you can't just go with the flow. We've always had Christmas (both as a kid and now) where, due to distance from other relatives, we just see the family who are staying and that's it. Yes, there's a vague timetable but its pretty flexible. So the years we got outdoor toys (like a bike) and it was nice weather, lunch got pushed back as we'd go out to play with those; if it was raining, lunch might be earlier with a video on later. We were also never allowed to watch TV live on Xmas Day as that also removed the pressure to have stuff done by a certain time. Even now we've been responsible for doing Xmas lunch for a couple of years now, we've managed to produce an everything-ready-and-hot-at-the-same-time Christmas lunch whilst also changing how we thought things were going to happen. Last year, this involved 3yo DD having some tinned spagetti at noon and us doing more canapes for the grown ups than originally planned as lunch was going to be an hour later than we'd intended but it was a lovely morning and DD wanted to go on her new scooter and the best place for it was the local park.

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Ours will be

Stockings

Breakfast

Presents

Church

Lunch

Film

Chocolate

Sleep

This year we aren't actually hosting Christmas dinner for the first time in years! Rather looking forward to a more relaxed day for us (going to bil's, 20 mins away) but a little sad that our house won't be the Christmas House! Almost like it doesn't matter so much about decorating :(

Cake that is how ours has been for the last few years although I've still gone overboard with decorating :)

Still decorate, sounds like you'll be there for the morning?

Oh, we'll still decorate, but it doesn't seem to matter quite so much now I've only got me, DH and tiny dcs to impress!

Your Christmas plans sound lovely, by the way.

I love Christmas Eve, I think I prefer it to the big day! So much fun and anticipation.

My dh is working night shift on 23rd but he's hoping to finish early so he'll be up at a decent time on Christmas Eve.

I'm going to prep veg and make soup first thing, dd will be prepping pigs in blankets.

We are going to make some cookies for Santa early afternoon after lunch.

Then going to go for a walk. I have given this walk a lot of thought!!! I want to make up some little bags of sweets to deliver to neighbours so dcs get that Christmas is not just about getting presents. We will go for a walk in woods behind us where we will find the elves have been and left some snowman soup for dcs after dh has sprinted ahead I think I will invite neighbours dcs to come with us so they all have a little treat.

Home to find elves have also been there to leave a hamper with new pjs, bubble bath, tooth brush and magic flannel. Watch a DVD, put santas landing strip out (battery tea lights in jam jars on drive), leave out juice and cookies for Santa, read Night Before Christmas and bed!

We will then lay out gifts, use talcum powder and Dhs work boots to make snowy footprints, put wrapping paper over living door way so dcs have to burst through and bed! Last year dh and were more excited than dc, and we were up before them!

Christmas is a free for all with gifts in the morning. Make dinner, play with dcs new toys and open the wine. I've got a game this year for us all to play if anyone has any energy for it after dinner.

This is my grand plan, I have given it a lot of thought! My parents never really bothered so I want to make it as magical as possible for dcs while they're little and I love all this stuff!

wow buzz, that sounds fab. I love the idea of wrapping some sweets for the neighbours too. I ordered some cellophane Christmas bags yesterday. I could use those and get a bit tub of chocolates to put a few in. What a lovely idea.... Thanks hope you're not one of my neighbours

we always go for a walk before our meal after all the pressies have been opened. When I was a child, my dad used to come outside with the mantel clock and pretend to time us running round the block - it got us out of Mums hair while she organised dinner and got us an appetite :)

I was about 10 when I realised that it didn't have a second hand although he always claimed that we were shaving seconds of our best times every time we ran round :o

That's exactly what I'm going to do ilove. I was going to make chocolate bark to put in them, but will have some other chocs on standby just in case!!