Erm, gosh, 10 days to go. Is it only me who started really well and then gently tailed away?

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

Soooooo....
My house is a tip, seriously awful
I have a few gifts still to buy. Get paid Thursday, Amazon basket is ready to go and I have Prime so hopefully no issues there.
No food ordered. Friend has a joint of venison put aside for us but so far that's it.
Cards written but not delivered.
Decorations down from loft but that's as far as it went.
One of four stockings made- very nice it is too but not much consolation to the non stocking owning recipients.
Bits for wreath sat on the dining table since Friday.

And I started so early as well but took my eye off the ball

I only had a few gifts to get for friends & inlaws so they are all done & wrapped.

Went to ELC to look for a birthday gift & saw that lots of items were reduced. The following are good deals:
ELC wooden castle 1/2 price @ 20
ELC safari vets rescue set 1/2 price @ 20
Cinderella style princess & carriage set now 8

This thread has helped me today Thanks FantasticMrsFox

Managed to get all food shopping for up to Christmas for all 7 of us,also got the Christmas food shopping done as well.

Managed to pin DH down to write his cards for his family and friends,bought stamps and they've all been posted today.Found out 3 of the 5 addresses I need to send presents.

Made it for DD7 nativity play.Got the youngest 4DC hair cut.Picked up another present.

DH is finishing the lights out the front now and then dropping of the local cards and pressies and I shall finish my pressie shopping tonight whilst the children are in bed and then I can sort the hallway and the wreath.

I've managed to pick up the pace the last few days, I got off to a good start a few weeks ago and then hit a slump, it usually happens due to dds distracting December birthday. Decorating the living room in December didn't help either.

Still to do;

Wrap pretty much everything, starting tonight.
Post the cards which are written and sitting in the car.
Tidy and clean kitchen, put festive foodstuffs together.
Tidy and clean our bedroom, always last priority.
Deliver presents to DHs godson and family
Check what MIL wants me to take Christmas day
Bake for school Christmas party.
Bake and freeze cinnamon rolls for christmas day breakfast.
Ice the Christmas cake
Still got 2 Christmas parties to go to.

Thanks to some good prep earlier my online shop is booked for Christmas Eve and one between Christmas and new year, just need finalising. I may need a few more stocking fillers and something else for DH, need to wrap before I twitch.

Maybe I'm too laid back?
Can't understand all the stress.
Dc's presents are wrapped, we have no tree or decs up yet as we had our living room plastered over the weekend and new wooden flooring today so not even thought about a tree!

As for food shopping I see it as a posh Sunday Dinner with the table dressed nicely.

I've got my dc with me, that's the main thing for me!

dalmatian in theory I agree with you.

But I have a very large extended family to buy for and I host Xmas. There will be ten extras arriving on Xmas Eve (all staying) and a further four on Xmas Day.

That'll be 18 to feed and sort out with sleeping quarters etc...

And I like the house to feel and look festive IYSWIM. It's not essential of course...

See I long to be of the "oh, it's just another day" clan but it just isn't the same
Anyway, glad to have spurred at least some of you into action today. I have just managed to vaguely confirm when my DPs are arriving and leaving, so that's a step in the right direction. Of course the actual day has 24 hours in it, any single one of which may be chosen as the optimum arrival/ departure time but at least we've managed to narrow the window somewhat

I don't see it as another day, it's obviously more than that but I don't have much family,my dm and df live far away and we don't see each other at christmas.
I have two nieces who have little ones but they do their own thing.
I normally work Christmas day, am off this year so it's just me and the dc.
Dp at work Christmas eve, day and boxing day so we're having a really quiet one.
Looking forward to relaxing

I too started present buying early this year. Determined I would have all my gifts by the end of November. Guess what. I still have some to buy !! On the good side of it all that I have bought so far are all wrapped ready for delivery. Cards written but not posted. Tree is up.

I finished my job to help Sant sort things for DD today. TG!!

I bought wine. Partly for Christ,as and Boxing Day, but partly also as I had over €100 in cash back vouchers to spend and there was 25% off cash price of wine so I stocked up for winter. Dh is shocked at me, but I can honestly say I spent less than €60 on all the wine and beer. And we are the type to only take out what is needed.

Dd and I also made the first batch of cookies for her birthday treat for class. The second batch of dough is made but needs rolling and making into candy cane shapes to beaks tomorrow. Bake....bloody iPad.

It will come together, even if I have to carry an enormous parcel to work on the bus as I never got to post office today.....

....... If you were three human, 2 dog and 1 cat stocking in a small cottage, where would you hide?
I cannot find them anywhere at all and have spent the day sporadically searching. Given that they are all missing, that would suggest that I have (in a moment of uncharacteristic organisation) stored them together, though why not actually in the Christmas boxes who knows?!

b. bought Christmas trees on Saturday and stored them in one of the old barns

I would also feel calm knowing there was an old barn with an xmas tree in it, sounds lovely

I wrapped some presents tonight. I'm still waiting for some to arrive in the post though, so I couldn't wrap them.

Still haven't given any thought to food. I might even think about table decorating at some point. I have never decorated the table before but it does sound festive. And think about food. I'm not even decided on what we're having!

I've just sorted five presents by adding chocs, tins of biscuits and wine to my Christmas food order. Feel better now ??

I think I have bought everything, although one of the children may need something extra.

The trees are up, but I haven't wrapped anything yet.

Christmas delivery slot s booked, but not completed basket yet.

13 for Christmas dinner just became 9, which is easier, but now the ordered meat will be too much

I have a half-decorated tree and have bought one pack of jelly beans, so no, not like the op - just started to get mildly gripped with panic.
Will be fine, though - youngest DC is 13 and dh has sorted his main present. Besides from that they all want mainly clothes, so as long as I charge round the shops/online a few times,what could possibly go wrong?
Have to buy my family's pressies before Friday, so that's a target.

We moved house on October so I'm making that my excuse!

Fox could you have put them in the attic,garage,under stairs cupboard,shed.These are all places we've found thing's we've DH lost.Backs of wardrobes and airing cupboards as well for some reason.

Thanks oh but I have no garage, under stairs cupboard or shed (that I would store that sort of stuff in) This leads me to fear that DH may have "tidied them up" into the loft
For good easier he will have placed them in a box labelled "tinned food" or "bedding" as that was the one that was available at the time

You'll be pleased to know mrsFox that this thread inspired me to make a list yesterday. Food and who, in our enormous family, is buying/ preparing what.

For I have delegated. .

Food buying and prep has been given out to adult offspring (except the notoriously unreliable one, which is their payoff for a lifetime of being unreliable.) and Major Retailers. After 40 fecking years of baking thousands of mince pies and sausage rolls etc, Major Retailer can do it instead.

Hope he's a good cook.

And looking in on this thread I realised I could actually act on my part of the list today. So I will.

Not bad for someone who thought we were still somewhere in the middle of November when it was actually December 1st.

Dd3 has done about 5 of her cards, shes five and can't spell much, long job!
I have written a few cards, need to post.
Still have dds birthday decorations up
Haven't bought dh presents
Need to buy stocking fillers
Need to buy wrap and wrap up
Need to get dcs presents out and see if need more
Big xmas shop, although turkey etc ordered
Oh shit! off to gym

This thread inspired me to get moving
I went through the DDs presents yesterday to make sure they have a similar amount -I even wrapped some. (Which has already caused problems DM phoned to say she'd bought DDs some cosy PJS and was going to post them today- I think we've bought DD2 the same ones ...but they are wrapped now and I can't remember exactly what they looked like )
The tree went up last night - rest of decorating needs doing but the tree is up !!!
I went and did a food shop today ....and got the last bits and bobs - and put my last amazon order through -and went for prime free trial so they'll arrive tomorrow...
Now I just need to write my cards - which are mostly to people I don't see often so need to write something in ...(which is a job I hate)
All I need to buy for Christmas is lots of wine and cream.
Still no news on their big present (digital piano) -but they have enough small things to open anyway ...Santa can come...phew.
Need to pick up the turkey from the local butcher at Christmas eve -and if nec I can get wine and cream from local shop -both with a feasible walking distance
What I've been worried about is a repeat of winter 2010 -when we were more or less snow bound for over a week ...but I don't care now - let it snow ...!!!

I'm not feeling very festive this year excited about giving presents but that's about it. The house is a total state and I wish we didn't have to decorate - we are away for the actual Xmas days but have another Xmas on 28th for DSCs.

I will enjoy both xmases as I always do but I am so tired and unwell all the time ATM and can't find the motivation to even wrap presents! Most unlike me.

The plastering is finished and the first coated primer is going on. Need to get it all done before I can buy a tree and decorate ??

Finally I've found the Christmas thread for me! I started really well with the Christmas bargains thread in October and honestly thought I'd be mega organised but I'm my usual chaotic self, the only difference is that DD has a small mountain of presents instead of her usual few!

I still need to:

Buy some stocking fillers for DH/DM/DF
Marzipan and ice the Christmas cakes
Do any food shopping at all (otherwise it's tinned spaghetti for the next week)
Wrap the present mountain
Post some presents before the last post day
I've completely written off christmas cards, far too late for that!
Clean and tidy the entire house
Change all the beds
Find the stockings (I've found 1....why the hell wouldn't I have stored them all together)
Clean the carpets

The plan was for a lot of this to be done on my 2 days of leave this week but instead DD is ill and off nursery and that's put paid to my plans.

Ah well, we've got a tree and gifts, what's the worst that will happen?

Oh thank you Op for confessing - me too! I had everything mentally sorted in November because I know that December is a busy time for us. But very little was ACTUALLY sorted. I had a folder of recipes printed from the internet. I had a couple of boxes on presents ordered online to post out to family and friends. I had a box of cards, and a list of what I was planning to buy for DH and the DCs. Then, suddenly, it was December and the cards were not written, the parcels not posted, the food order not done, the house is a mess etc etc. So yes, what you describe is me

But I made a real effort at the weekend -

Food ordered online to come in 2 deliveries; this week for the store cupboard and the weekend for 'fresh' things. 
Some stuff now prepped and frozen - mince pies, roasties, parsnips, stuffing
Cards and presents all posted out to friends and relatives in time for 2nd class delivery (just!!)
Ordered 'that thing' that I had been planning to buy for DH and DCs but had never actually pressed the 'buy' button
Mad dash around town at lunchtime yesterday for some odds and ends to pad out stockings a bit. Yes, probably a case of 'the twitch', but DC1s stocking looked a bit feeble when I put things in it; now much better thanks to Poundland / cheap stuff - bubble bath, selection box, colouring book
Had a blitz in the cupboards and took a boot-ful (!!!) of clothes to local charity. I've been meaning to Ebay them for about 2 years and haven't, so it is about time someone benefited from them
Tree is up and decorated, and DCs have been decorating the house with their artistic masterpieces

HOWEVER!

House is a tip still - needs a good clean and tidy before guests arrive, especially as MIL will offer to help the moment that she arrives if it looks in a state. Help always appreciated, but not on day 1!
Need to wrap presents for family and for stockings. Not a minor undertaking.....
Still a lot of cooking related work to do, although some of it may not happen. The trouble with printing out all those recipes is that I want to make them, but just how much will we actually eat?!
In my state of chuffed-ness about the food orders going in, I totally forgot to buy a turkey. Every other meal is planned and purchased, but somehow the blindingly obvious one passed me by
IF and only if I have time, I want to fix the paintwork in DC1s bedroom. We've had the paint for about 6 months and it will only take half an hour, but somehow it hasn't happened. Ditto cleaning the lounge carpet - I bought some stain remover weeks ago and it is still in the box (thank you <strong>betty</strong>). And less urgently, but still annoying, my car needs a clean! 
I need to put the empty Christmas boxes back in the loft otherwise in-laws will not be able to get into their bedroom. Hmm. Maybe that should be further up the list

Fox did you find the missing stockings?