Countdown to 2016 - A whole extra day to wait...thread 2!

[MrsDilligaf]

Well hello avid countdowners....

A shiny new thread for us

Link to the last thread here

It's last year's, miraculously kept alive in the garden! 😂🎄 Which is why it's a rather non-uniform shape!

25

3 weeks / 11.5 days left at work before Christmas. I can DO this! (In reality I'm bloody knackered commuting up and down to Glasgow...it's utterly exhausting. The thought of 3 more weeks makes me want to cry.)

I am poorly with a horrible cold and off work so as to not infect my whole team, if i don't feel too crappy later I may move the bookshelf in the livong room to make way for the tree!
DP brohght all the decs out of the loft yesterday so now they are just sat there waiting to go up!

24

Christmas card writing today. I have a reputation in my family of being very organised so regardless of when I write my cards I don't send them until I've received three or four through the post. Daft logic but it works for me.

I can't believe we are so close! I have to go and buy frackers and things but they will all be absorbed into the weekly shop.

I took my mum Christmas shopping today - we have somehow ended up with Christmas pjs (for me, her and dsis) and an agreement that we will all wear them on Christmas Eve. Not sure why but they're lovely (I'm a Christmas tree, DM is an elf and dsis is a pudding)

I am still furiously working on the stupid, maddening crochet avengers blanket for DH. It feels never ending

However, my lovely MIL may be coming Thai weekend. She lives the other end of the country and we won't see her again until February so DH wants to do a Christmas dinner with her. I think this means I can prod him into getting the decorations down early and putting up some lights etc. So not a bad day altogether!

The pyjamas sound lovely Handbag

I feel your pain about never ending crochet. I made some blankets as gifts last year and it felt like they were never going to be finished. I'm working on Christmas pudding hats for my two newest great-nephews and they don't take too long, thank goodness.

Our decorations don't go up until the weekend before Christmas although I've just sorted the Advent calendars.

Little Drummer Boy Drum Roll Please:

It's DECEMBER! Wowee!

I am up finishing their advent boxes and getting Elfie ready for shenanigans!

Also got to sort a PNP message from Santa. Hope I don't wake them.

Tree will go up tomorrow. Sooooooo excited and a bit frazzled.

23!!!!!!!!!!

My first batch of Christmas things came out of the kiln yesterday, I'm really chuffed with the out come.

Despite it being December, I'm still not feeling festive. No time to do the tree during the week, and the kids are away this weekend, so it won't get done until the weekend of the 10th now which seems really late, either that or I do it sans kids this weekend, but that seems a bit sad.

They're lovely, LaChatte! You're very talented. 😀

I cantvquire believe how fast time is going and next week will be even faster as I've swapped my day off next week so I'll be back up in Glasgow on Monday and then back home on Thurs for an extra-long weekend. Then that's my last week at work before Christmas. Bonkers!

How is everyone doing? 🎄🎄🎄🎄

^ Can't quite!

I still have 6 gifts left to buy,
one each for my grandmothers
one for my grandfather
one for DP's grandmother
one for DP's mother
and one for my uncle.

They are all nightmares to buy for and I have no idea what to get them!

My family all open in front of each other, so needs to be of a similar value, around £10, small fun token gifts for after dinner.

We don't see DP's grandmother till the 27th so we get her something naice, last year we got her a big scented bauble thing that she loved.

DP's mother is really hard to buy for, never wants anything, always buy her yankee stuff as she loves it but it is getting a bit samey and she has loads that she never seems to use! She is on slimming world so food gifts are out, doesn't wear perfume, dose some avon lady stuff so always has loads of makeup etc.

I was so organised this time last year!?
I don't know where the time has gone!

La - wow! I want a kiln and skills!!

Buddy our elf has arrived, Gabriel touched him so Wilf freaked out. Got to put him in higher places this year!

Going to make soaps when my moulds arrive, I'm going to go to IKEA for some ice cube trays to make tiny soaps to go in bigger soaps and the marzipan moulds to make fudge Christmas trees.

Well, despite getting up at 4am to go to the airport, I was still awake enough last night after my day of meetings to go down to the Christmas market in Brussels for an hour. It was a lovely festive, if slightly too bustling, atmosphere. Loads of lovely lights and nicely briskly cold and dry. I didn’t really find anything to buy – some nice chocs for the office (and a bottle of milk for my early coffee in the hotel room!), but it was nice to wander for a while.

DH was left in charge of putting up the advent calendar last night for DD (she knew where it was!), and putting the 1st chocolate in it (she also knew where they were safely put!). I had also told him where I put the Lego one I’d bought (DD asked for it but didn’t know I bought it) but I am not entirely confident he was going to remember any or all of it.

I sorted my gift closet pile over the weekend (it’s a manic week at work, but I am sitting with half an ear on today’s debate here so typing this in small gaps to eventually post). I found more gifts I’d forgotten about, and a couple of regifting ones that I can use this year. So I am actually not too bad at this stage – only about 6 things that I NEED to buy. I might get Chanel no.5 in duty free for DM.

And I have reduced my cards pile immensely as well with all these trips- after yesterday morning’s efforts, I now only have about 7 left to write although I have to find about 3 other addresses and check if the threatened split of 1 couple has happened or not before I write theirs.

I hope to have a quiet time in the airport later and get a chance to catch up on the other festive news from the Countdowners!!

Biddy your job sounds so glam! Wish I got to jet off to brussels for meetings rather than being stuck in an office in glamorous Birmingham!

Brussels is NOT glamorous! Grey suits, grey skies, lots more security than at home. And 28 Member states falling into about 3 camps of issues, but every single 1 has to say the same thing as the previous 7 speakers!

What is it you do, Biddy?

Knocks my 'international' commute into a cocked hat! 😁

Ooh December at last

I can talk about Christmas without being "weird" but now have to listen to the barrage of "I'll be glad when its over/too commercialised/I hate Christmas" from the patients at work.
I smile sagely and nod, its not worth the aggro. Just stick my fingers metaphorically in my ears.

DD and I are going to rug up well and go for a snoop walk round looking at peoples decorations.
I've noticed how many people have blue lights on the tree this year- is this the 'In Thing' for 2016?

Well... I had finished my Christmas shopping (except for DH'S) but we've had a new arrival!

My cousin has had a baby girl so I have got to nip out to get a new baby card and present and a christmas present for a lovely squishy newborn!

Martha is no longer the baby of the family but my little cutie pie is now 9 months old.

Ahhhh! She's so adorable!

22

AAAH! MrsD My poor ovaries! Don't do that to me, I really need to get me one of those, is it too late to add it to my christmas list!?

We watched the grinch last night, Christmas films are now allowed as much as is wanted. I went to Aldi and the Christmas treats bag is overflowing. I'm trying to stay out of it until Christmas Eve.

I've got to try and keep the snacking to specific days, baileys with the wrapping, naughty food when we have people over and Christmas Eve / day / Boxing Day and that folllowing week. I can eat for Britain and put on nearly a stone last December!

Two parcels to post today and that's the posting done aside from parcels. Can't decide when to do the wrapping. We are getting the tree on Sunday so perhaps Monday.

My decs went up last night, tree in the living room and a smaller tree on the landing, I may post some photos later.

I have still have 6 gifts to buy and more wrapping to do but I will be finished by this time text week!

Tomorrow I am off to the ballet for the first time with me DM I have a very cute outfit and am super excited. We will also be having afternoon tea, so I will have to be very good in the week and save treats to specific days, I like that idea mummy as I also am a greedy monster who can just eat and eat.

Wooly your advent calendars are lovely! Well, I was slightly right to be worried about the advent calendar. DH had not go it up right - but deliberately. To make it more fun for DD and for her to have a big story to tell me about Daddy being so silly He's really a fuzzy bear heart deep inside for all he tries to act like a Grinch. He also was going through Amazon orders last night to get the right thing for DD (he took it on a couple of years ago and he gets it more right than I would!), and making suggestions for his DB and for me. He really just needs to be close enough to the season but he is getting better about thinking a little bit ahead.

I managed to finish my cards on the plane last night - I have a couple of addresses to check, but every single card is written and stamped by 1st Dec, it must be a record! I was not in a mood for sleep after the looonnnggg dull day of negotiating a new piece of EU legislation - Hungry I'm a civil servant (an extremely polite and civil one!! ) but I'd been doing domestic stuff the past few years and not on a Brussels-related job, so its a bit of a shock to the system to get back to that, and this group tends to have 2 day meetings whereas I'm used to just 1 day meetings - it's a long 2 days of sitting in a room and listening attentively!

Today, I need to go to a shoe shop near me and try on a pair of boots that DH wants to get me. DD is coming in to my office at the end of the day as DH has to bring her to an appointment but then has his work do in town, so will bring her in with him and drop her to me. We'll probably go do a little shopping before heading home again.

And the Late Late Toy Show is on tonight!! Squeeeeaaaalllll!!! The traditional Irish start to Christmas!!!!

La Chatte those are sooo gorgeous looking. I wish I had a kiln!

MrsD Martha may not be the youngest in the extended family, but she is gorgeous! Are you going to dress her up as an Elf or Santa or somesuch for Christmas Day, or will she just have a lovely dress and look so cute? (Maybe a Santa/Elf onesie for bed might be nice!!).

Mummy Enjoy the movies. I always think wrapping when the tree is up is that little bit more special!