Xmas - what have you still got to do?

[ifonly4]

Today: Wrap final 3/4 prezzies and do tags. Have one friend left to drop off prezzie for (although she may get to me first!). Food shop (on foot so only what I can carry). Clean laminate floors, quick dust, make up beds for guests and a bit of a tidy.

Tomorrow: Hoover, clean bathrooms, another food shop on foot. Catch up on ironing. Would be nice to spend afternoon pampering myself and playing game with DCs.

Xmas Eve: Hopefully all the above done and just need to take Mum to cemetery as early as poss and collect MIL on way back, and enjoy the festivities.

buy all the christmas food
pack for four people as going away boxing day
wrap all the kids presenst as well as dh's
tidy the bedrooms
ice the cake

So much - prepare bedrooms, buy all Christmas food, finish present shopping, all the wrapping! Have only just finished decorating the tree. And am now procrastinating on MN reading about everyone else's Christmas when I really should be GETTING ON WITH THINGS!

today: Finish wrapping dc pressies (not many left)
Make yet more bloody mince pies!
sort massive mountain of clean clothes currently piled on my bed
towel wash
put christmas duvet covers on dc beds
Ice christmas cake

Tomorrow: visit garden centre for traditional hot chocolate
Buy plant for Mum
Buy special marmalade for Dad
Construct dsis and dneice christmas hampers
make christmas cupcakes and biscuits
Put away Christmas food shop delivery (and pray they bring me a Turkey!!)

Christmas eve: Construct Christmas eve bags
Clean bathrooms
sweep/mop floors
wrap dh pressies
cinema to see Get Santa
Lunch out
so also should really be getting on... instead I'm sitting drinking tea mn'ing!!

A couple of presents left to wrap

Clean bathroom and downstairs toilet

Quick hoover and dust round (did a big clean yesterday).

Everything else is done

Going to finish cleaning today as it's DS last nursery day before Christmas so won't get chance after today. Hoping to take him to the library and soft play tomorrow so that we don't make mess at home!

Will wrap when he's in bed.

We are at SILs for tea on Xmas eve and then everyone here on Xmas day.

Wrap dogs present, go to cash machine and get our money and wrap for dd, buy one last gift voucher and wrap for dh's nan.
Buy mince pies to leave out for Santa.
"Accidentally" ordered another present this morning. Dh ran out of aftershave and I panicked as I can't remember if I bought him extra stocking fillers or not so I quickly ordered some. Thank god the perfume shop has 99p next day delivery at the moment

Today: Full day at work, Star Wars family outing tonight
Need to send final card to DBro - IF he sends me his current address (put last bundle in post this morning of other cards)
Buy chocolate santas (6) at lunch for work colleagues
Buy 2 presents at lunch
Put ice blocks in freezer for freezer bag (smelly cheese and maybe other bits to travel)
Change DD sheets (did at the weekend but had to re-do hair last night) and wash brushes
Shower and wash hair to look FAB!
Lay out clothes for tmrw and pick Christmas jewellery from my collection (extensive!)
Empty all recycling and the food waste bin, put both out for collection

Tomorrow: Full day at work, irish coffees and Christmas cake session 1 floor down before going home, deep tissue massage at lunch (working on deep-seated knots, causing pain)
Finish truffles (mix made but need to roll and package) for childminder, wrap mug DD chose for her, write her card and send over with this week's money - probably lose an hour in her kitchen over tea
Pack suitcases for travelling
Pack the car - presents already wrapped and bagged up
Clean the bathrooms and change towels
Set timers on lights
Wrap any last presents I have bought (including those I hope to get today)
Lay out clothes for Thurs and pick final choice of Christmas jewellery for work (Thurs will be the Kitsch day!!)
Sleep......

Thurs: Half day at work
Put all cold food into freezer bag with ice blocks
Empty all bins
Empty out last of food from fridge that we want to eat - interesting breakfast!
Make up pain au chocolats for breakfast (promised DD - only rolling out and baking)
Make up all beds
Run dishwasher
Abandon DH to last bits and meet postman, while DD and I get bus
Pick up last minute bits in city after work, with or before meeting DH, including making sure we get some lunch for in the car or eating in town
Drive to MILs (and maybe get some time in DPs as well).
Prep veggies for Christmas lunch at DBIL
Be festive!!

Oh fecking loads. Wrapping, cleaning. Cooking all sorts (stuffing, cranberry sauce, soup for Boxing Day, cottage pie for Christmas Eve, Christmas Pudding Ice Cream, veggie lentil loaf thing, onion gravy). Marzipan and ice the cake. Work out timings for Christmas Day and how everything will fit in the oven.

Luckily I have only two guests for Christmas, a helpful DH and no children. But I am 13 weeks pregnant and knackered. I don't know why I didn't buy everything out of M&S. It's what my mum always did (and my parents are the guests so they would hardly be bothered!)

Tomorrow is cleaning day for me, but that shouldn't take too long, hopefully. Then christmas eve first thing I need to nip to M+S to pick up some Christmas food and nip to game next door to my niece up a voucher. Other than that it's just your usual bathing of kids, get clothes ready for the big day, and then we can relax in our new pjs and watch films and eat treats:)

AP has been offered extra pay to do all the ironing and whip round with a big clean, so all that's left is daily jobs really. Hoovering, loo cleaning, dishwasher etc.

I twitched at Sainsbury's yesterday and bough some micro machines and a box of Lego Classic for DS, so that needs to be wrapped, along with DH's presents and a couple of my AP's.

Spare bed needs to be made up for my mum on Boxing Day, I'll do that tonight when I get in, and pile clean towels on the bed then too.

Food needs to be picked up from Cook and Waitrose shop taken in but DH can sort that tomorrow whilst DS and I are out at a playdate tomorrow afternoon.

Presents need to go to 3 of DS's friends, I'm going round on Christmas Eve and having a glass of fizz with all of them at one of their houses, so we will swap then I think.

I need to bring presents downstairs into the spare room rather than waking up the whole house Christmas Eve, as the loft hatch is right by my little DS's door.

I need to get the BBQ drinks bucket from the shed and put by the kitchen door as our 'drinks fridge' for Christmas Day as we never have the room in our fridge, despite being out this year!!

And that's about it

I have arrived at my parents for my Christmas festivities, husband to follow late Christmas Eve , to discover he has unpacked car as 'it was looking too full' and removed a load of the presents, including my DSis bday (today) and all my friends presents (meeting to distribute tomorrow). So, I'm now facing a 5 hour round trip to go home and collect, and all after I've got kids to bed tonight

Today: wrap last few Christmas presents

Tomorrow: clean bathrooms
Do last bit of washing
General tidy up

Thurs: pack bags to do to Dms
Hoover and polish house
Last food shop for Boxing Day

Finish wrapping
Make cracker present for MIL
Make crackers
Food shop
Make nut roast
Make cheese straws
Ironing
Clean bedrooms, sheets on spare bed

I am on track, just about.

This thread makes me sad. So many people just doing housework in the run up to Christmas, people are staying with you because they want to see you not inspect your skirting boards. Kids don't want their memories of Christmas to be watching mum rush around cleaning. Just relax and have some fun!

LTB arthur

House is pristine, beds changed/made up , laundry done (except towels-will do tomorrow), presents wrapped, decorations up,'correspondance' and paperwork up to date, food etc bought . Parsnips and potatoes par- boiled and in freezer . Smug or what ? (I love being retired) .
To do later
Make bread sauce (the milk is infusing)
Make meringue to use up the egg whites left over from making custard (yes really) on Sun.

Tomorrow
Take car for new tyre (I reckon it will be quiet)
Pack car with prezzies, fake tree and decorations, food etc
Drive to rented apartment in city two hours away.
Final tidy up of house (will be hosting at home from Sun)
Greet grown and flown daughters , arriving from elsewhere, and eat lots of nibbles, drink proscecco (huge bottle) and catch up.
On Christmas Eve ,cook Christmas Day lunch in a strange oven (have bought oven thermometer and meat thermometer)
I hate the build up but I love Christmas when I get there

Wrap a few presents and remind DH where the hoover is as the stairs has to be done. Drink some and eat some.

I need to find my mojo have seriously lost all energy and interest.

When I get it back.... a few more gifts to wrap, last clean and wash and food shop tomorrow.

Buy the food.
Tidy the flat.
Wrap 3 presents for DH.

Arthurchristmas

will your DH survive until xmas, how stupid I would be beyond furious.

Wrap all the presents. Tidy the whole house. Finish making a handmade gift I wish I had never started! All of which depends on DS not being a pain in the bum and going to bed at a decent time.

I need to change the bedding in the spare room and give it a quick dust and vacuum, then just try to keep the rest of the house looking halfway respectable.

Ocado shop is coming tomorrow so just need to sort and put away. Then I will make Christmas pudding ice cream, mince pies and Nigella's Christmas spice chocolate cake. I'm really looking forward to a few hours in the kitchen with some Christmas music playing.

Then all that is left is for DH to collect FIL and for us to drop off a few presents on Christmas Eve.

Not too bad really, but I did finish work on Friday and DS has been in nursery this week so we can get everything done.

Deliver cards to neighbours, and check DD delivers pressies to her friends.

Wrap for stockings.

Check when to start thawing turkey, and that none of the veg have suddenly decayed.

I'm much more on top of things this year than I have been in ages

I wrote myself a list earlier;

Hoover every room
Clean bathroom
Mop kitchen floor
Dust living room
Change sheets in spare room
Change cot sheets
Make sure everyone has clothes for Xmas day.

Some things I have done this afternoon, but can't do too much more until DP comes home because 11month old DD has developed a real aversion to the Hoover!!

Wrap the kids pressies.
Buy chicken food and clean out the chickens.
Clean up the utility/cat disaster zone.
Pack and fly to Italy

Buy fruit and veg (tomorrow)
Collect meat order and cook the gammon (Thursday)
Check if DD is making mince pies and if not, make some myself (Thursday)
Make the stuffing and prep the pigs in blankets (Thursday)
Blitz kitchen esp table covered in other DD's revision
Tidy my desk (everything in drawer, force drawer shut)
Collect the cat's metacam prescription from the vets.

Anything else is the usual laundry/tidying.

This evening: finish wrapping the final three presents and write all the remaining cards

Tomorrow: bake mince pies (made the pastry today, the mincemeat is jarred from Aldi), deliver a couple of presents to the relevant houses, vacuum everywhere, clean the bathroom

Thursday: DD1 is going to nursery, so that's my chance to get all the presents out of the loft and stash them in the utility room. Buy the fresh vegetables for Christmas dinner, weigh in at Slimming World, go to church, and relax! I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle in that both my girls sleep through the night...!