What have you learnt from this Xmas that you'll take forward to next Xmas?

[Trudee]

I'm in bed on my phone unusually early for Christmas Day as I have learnt that staying with family for the festive period is not for me. As such I shall not be repeating the experience.
On the plus side I have learnt that having to cut down on dc's gift due to having to fit them in the car has been a great success and I will stick to a reduced amount in the future. I was concerned by the size of the pile lastnight but dc's really didn't care.
What will you all be taking forward from this year?

That I bloody love having a houseful of people and should 100% offer to host again until I'm too old and knackered to do so. And I absolutely love that we have room for an extra 7 people, 6 dogs and a horse (I realise how gloaty that sounds but after the year we've had I am just starting to realise how bloody lucky I really am!!) I still stress about the dinner when all comes to all (must try harder not to haha!) but it's fantastic that OH can still milk and get done up on the farm and just come in to his own house and be ready in minutes. It also means I can have fresh tank milk for the yorkshires!!

My parents are complete stars who have literally not stopped doing things to help from the moment that they landed Christmas Eve morning (and many many evenings in the last few months too!)

Buy less stuff and cook less stuff!! It won't get wasted because I will freeze it all, but no need to break the bank!!

Have a master list of stuff that's needed and buy as much as physically possible in advance!

Go to the butcher to pick your order up at 6am on Christmas Eve. No queue, no one is stressed out yet and people actually have chance to chat! Don't, however, drop your pork pie on the way out. Whilst it may still taste fine it will annoy you until its gone!

That M&S Christmas food is efibately the way to go with two small children. DH collected it all on Christmas Eve and we've had delicious meals without any stress.

Next year we will try to get the balance better for excitable DS1. He was so over-excited on Christmas Eve that he ended up having a huge melt-down, we couldn't get to the nativity service and he spent two hours on the sofa with a headache .

That letting the children spend Christmas Day in their PJs is the way forward.

That taking a short holiday in December is NOT relaxing. It only added to the work-load and left me feeling under pressure in the week leading up to the big day.

Not to drink a whole bottle of Cava on Christmas eve as felt a bit ill on Christmas day!
The dinner sorted me out though!

That I need to stop buying so bloody much,even I had to admit that I'd bought far to much this year for our 5DC.
It took days and days to wrap it all and it took up so much of the room.

That I will be far more organized next year,I had everything sorted out in plenty of time last year and I enjoyed Christmas alot more for it.
This year everything went to pot,we lost a close family member a few weeks ago so me and my DH weren't really thinking about Christmas.

Next year I'm going to have saved money up,bought bits every week from September food wise and I'll have all the presents bought by the first week of December.

Lidls green beans wrapped in bacon are lovely and easy.

Jamie Olivers make ahead gravy is quite nice, but crucially means less stress during the final half an hour.

That although we stick pictures on presents instead of labels, most people giving to us dont so I should just print pictures of everyone I think is likely to give us presents and start sticking on xmas eve.

Primarni pjs are all a 2yo wants and now screams everytime she has to get dressed.

In addition to pliers, screwdrivers, scissors and a craft knife, I should get 2 large clear plastic bags ready to collect for recycling/bin at the dump.

When DB asks what time to come round, subtract at least 30 minutes. DH came home from work at 06.30 Christmas morning, opened stockings, slept, got up, washed, dressed and walked 30 minutes in the rain uphill to join me and DS at my parents' house (a lift was offered). And still arrived before my brother who lives 5 minutes walk away. Think DB was oblivious, despite prior discussion, to the fact that we were waiting from him and his brood to arrive to do presents as DH was on nights. DB makes DH look like a model of efficiency.

Don't buy as many gifts for the dc.

Avoid sales shopping in jan because I will forget what I bought.

Dont buy too much food, most of buffet stuff is still in freezer!

Do not believe DH when he tells you there is enough milk to last until after boxing day..next year I will check myself. (Good job I like coffee with cream in!)

To put all Christmas treats/food in the same place so I don't end up with eleventy billion mince pies....

Wrap the multiple presents bought for people in tissue paper and place in individual Christmas present bags. My wrapping was the quickest, classiest and easiest ever this year! I may buy a jingle bell to attach to each bag for extra class. I'm going to do this for all presents (inc. birthdays) next year and have already bought cheaper tissue paper in Aldi today.

Don't spend the money on little bits of novelty crap but on one tasteful gift.

Avoid the last minute dinner panic of keeping veg warm and making gravy by cooking the veg a bit earlier and then keeping it warm in the slow cooker.

Do as much prep as you can the day before
Don't invite anyone
Wear pyjamas
Bliss.

Do a dress rehearsal of the Skype call to the in-laws. FIL couldn't work his laptop, they couldn't hear us, MIL got flustered and upset, FIL tried to make DH feel guilty when DH aborted the Skype thing and rang instead ("All we ask for is 5 minutes of your happy day..." ).

I will always do my turkey the jamie Oliver way - it's still lovely and moist not dry at all .......

In fact if he wasn't for the slight issue of my husband I'd marry him !

Do sticky toffee pud for the ones who don't like Christmas pud.
Don't leave the Christmas pud in the fridge and only realise an hour into the journey to SIL's.
Don't go out to a drinks party the night before you're due to go away for Christmas having done no packing, then stay 2 hours longer than you planned to.
Actually scrap the last one. Don't worry about the packing - it is perfectly possible to do it all at midnight and half cut, and only forget the Christmas pud.

Not to go visiting. Stay home and relax and enjoy just being with my kids.

Not to invite my utter prick of a BIL!

I've learnt not to pour boiling water on myself whilst draining the potatoes...

I will do the opposite of some - wrap presents for others but use nice tissue paper and gift bags for DH and dc's, they get way more stuff and I can keep the gift bags for future use.

In late November get in some nice boxes of chocolate and some fizz for last minute gifts.

Send gifts abroad earlier next year!

Save some of the dc's unwanted or duplicate gifts for Secret Santas next year.

Remember to deal with verbally incontinent MIL by smiling and nodding, she doesn't actually require a response to her stream of consciousness and I can accomplish quite a lot while having my ear chewed off. And she is perfectly capable of peeling potatoes while telling me ALL about her neighbours and her health problems!

Do not be horribly unwell for the four days before Xmas day
Take out a hit on BIL before next Xmas

That 11 days is too long for the ILs to stay, I'm on day 5 and I've spent tonight barricaded in my bedroom

Next year I will make sure that my table cloth does not touch the floor so that it can't be stood on and send whatever is on the table crashing to the floor and then we'll not need to stop everything to clear up broken pieces of glass and steam mop the floor

Not to go home again. I will come back to post my fuller reminders, but that ids the essential point - a cottage where we slept separately was not sufficient to keep us from the madness that is our families, and of course, dBIL is the hardest Working man in the country whereas we are just the ones who chase around doing everything for everyone else's! While DBIL actually gets to enjoy doing his things to his timetable and getting a chance to sit. Down and relax....

I'd love to go away and not bother with the whole thing, but that's not going to happen. So for me, try and spend a bit less on presents and food, and enjoy the time we have to ourselves more!

Will definitely buy gifts from September again and try and store children ideas through the year as MIL likes their lists from September and I'm never ready
Save money for the food each month so it isn't a big shock in December

If you have a lot of people staying, you have to get them all out of the house now and then, a) for your own P and Q and sanity, and b) so you can tidy up a bit and hoover all the crap off the carpets, she said with feeling, having just done that.
Mind you I knew this before, but it's been quite a while since we had such a houseful..