Mine and yours Dont/won't do this for 2017

[Princesspinkgirl]

So mumsnet what are your won't be doing for christmas 2017!
After this year's disaster I will be avoiding the usual large family meal and planning in advance for me dp and baby to do something else

Won't be getting goose, it was tough and greasy. Didn't taste of much either. I probably messed up cooking it though.

I would dearly love to not have to host, cooking for the inlaws stresses me out. But I'm lumbered with it, otherwise they're on their own.

Spending the same time, thought & cash on in laws presents as they spent on mine this year. Seriously - who gives a cheap basket of nuts as a present?

we habitually get a basket of partly mouldy fruit from one relative. Does she not realise there are shops near me?

I'll swap you for the nuts.

Taking my elderly mother out for lunch. She was obviously confused about it and didn't really want to go, and it was all really rather stressful. We couldn't leave her behind as she'd have had nothing to eat. I think we need to acknowledge that she's probably best sticking to her own routine and maybe going round later with goodies for tea or something.

Booking the last sitting at the posh restaurant for Xmas dinner. Thought how nice it would be not to have to dash around. Actually, the run up it got a bit boring and by the time we got home we were too full for any evening snacks or chocolate. Barely had room for a little drink.
Definitely the 2pm sitting next year.

Next year (so long as moving goes to plan) I'm going to host so I can be in one place and not run all round Surrey.

I'm going to buy less. For everyone. I cut way back this year and it was still too much... no one needs that much stuff! (There's nowhere for it to go!)

I'm not going to see awful MIL!

I definitely won't start any sort of DIY project before Christmas next year! The children asked for their bedrooms to be decorated this year and, as happy as it made them, it was rather stressful pulling it all together for the big Christmas Eve unveiling.

I will also buy our tree and put our decorations up a little earlier in the month if we end up going away for New Year again (our will have to come down tomorrow )

Other than that, it's been really perfect.

Less presents
Ask friends not to buy presents for kids and vice versa
No lazy extended family round
Maybe just disappear somewhere hot for the week.

I won't make an effort to buy gifts I think folks will enjoy next year & will just buy random 3 for 2 stuff or whatever jumps off Tesco's shelves with my shopping.

I got a 'gift - not for resale' facewash from my dad, sister and her fiancé , and fuck all from the girls' nana who seems to think it's ok to go out and buy a birthday present for dd2 (birthday today), on Friday.

Other than being mightily pissed off at the lack of any sort of thought gone into my gifts, we've had a relaxed one this year so will try for that again next year :)

I won't start writing my Christmas cards early. This year I meant to be organised and started doing them in September, but didn't manage to finish them so a box of them sat about the house half-done for four months. Next year I'm lopping a few more people off my card list and doing them all late on.

I will make sure to tell people what I want and maybe treat myself to a present or two beforehand, and especially some chocolates! This year DH and DD had chocolate coming out of their ears (all bought by me), yet they still were both asking to "share" my one measly small box of Ferrero Rocher (also bought by me). Gah!

I won't allow DH to go nuts buying cheese - we still have enough of the stuff in to sink a ship.

I will put my foot down about a different and healthier Christmas lunch. We have had so much food over the last few days that no-one has as yet attempted the pudding - we'd have been better off with a nice fruit salad or something lighter.

I will try not to get ill over Christmas next year.

I might have some kind of drinks party - I feel like I've not hosted a Christmas bash for a while.

Next year I will be getting the whooping cough vaccine for myself and dd 😷

I will also save a couple of days annual leave for before Xmas.

Well, hopefully no nasty virus but food wise, no party food as we've cooked and eaten it rather than throwing it out. Everything else was pretty much spot on.

So we've all learnt from Christmas 2016 ...

TotalConfucius agree with this we had a meal at like 4pm it was madness I avoided eating before hand dipite being heavily pregnant and then felt to I'll after a small amount lol never again late meals don't work

I won't be hosting any part of Christmas day next year. My sisters and I take it in turn to put on a buffet at tea time and my parents do the dinner at lunchtime.

It won't be my turn for another 2 years. :)

What I won't do is paint the woodwork in the kitchen 2 days before Christmas to smarten it up. It was too cold in my tiny, no space for a radiator kitchen for the paint to dry quickly.

I won't wrap presents. I found enough gift bags in the loft to use next year so it will be a bit of tissue paper and a gift bag.

I also won't wrap the DCs presents sitting on the floor of the living room when we have an entirely decent dining room table to use! No idea why I always wrap on the floor!

I wrap on the floor too and then mutter to myself that I have a perfectly good kitchen table!

Like Scarlet I think I'll take a couple of days leave in the week before Christmas - thought how nice that would have been this year, and I'd have been better-organised (maybe!).
I won't leave it until the day we have friends coming in the evening to get food ready for them, and try to work that day too. I've just dashed out to get nice frozen stuff from 'Cook' - if this works well I'll do the same next year, or get a takeaway. I love having friends round but don't really like cooking!

I won't do Jamie's get ahead gravy, it tasted nice, but not as nice as it should have given the work involved.

Also I really don't need to do two different potato dishes. Although lush as leftovers.

Next year, although I'll still be workingon Christmas Day from ten till four, we won't be having my MIL and her brother over for Christmas lunch. This year topped it by her being two hours late, resulting in dry, over cooked turkey (husband was collecting her, and she took two hours to finish 'getting ready. No one was home to take it out of the oven. She was also forty minutes late to our wedding). The only thing that wasn't homemade was the cranberry sauce, which she delightedly informed me of as soon as I walked in from work; apparently, it would be no effort for me to do that, surely. Frankly, I ran out of time, and after getting up at six to get everything ready before I went to work, it did come across as rather rude. Next year, we'll host a Christmas Eve lunch, and on Christmas Day, our first ever relaxed family Christmas. Already looking forward to it after eleven years of hosting all the in laws. Can't wait.

I won't bite my tongue and smile politely when SIL endlessly rearranges plans for her own convenience, putting every other member of the family out and then casually insulting my DD when she does turn up.

(Also going to spend the next 13 years grooming my state-educated kids for Oxbridge. Just to see the look on her face )

Good idea about time off just before Christmas to get things ready. I am a teacher and this year we broke up on the 17th and it was great to have a getting ready week while also doing some nice things with the dc.

Next year we break up on the 22nd! No time to get things ready there! And I will be scraping the kids from the ceiling during that last week as the children get more and more excited the closer to Christmas it gets.

I won't move house 2 weeks before Christmas!
I will have turkey - we tried goose at DS's request. He tried a bit, declared he didn't like it!

WON'T

1. Host Boxing Day family party. I've done it for 3 years. Dsis can do it next year, and if she doesn't want to do it, then it won't be happening.
2. Maximum 2 presents each for nieces and nephews and adhere to the £30.00 budget (less if possible)
3. FOOD! I say it every year - I bought much less than last year and even though I cut down, there is still too much left over. I twitched about the food
4. Buy the Radio Times! It was extortionate and we've not even opened it.

WILL:

1. Keep up with our traditional wander around Waddesdon Manor to look at the lights - it's just the 3 of us and it's lovely to do just before Christmas
2. Plan a day for the three of us to relax together over Christmas. We've had a houseful since Christmas Eve.
3. Start buying early - especially for DD & DH; stocking fillers in particular.

All in all this year was lovely, hard work, but we all had a good time and that's what it's all about.

Will:
Brilliant shopping trip with all teen DC to one big shopping centre. Everyone chose own presents x2. We paid. Had dinner out. Came home.

All done in one afternoon. No surprises but no disappointments either. No wasted buy for the sake of it presents.

Went to relatives close by for lunch. Home by 430 to be just us and the TVs and drinks and snacks.

Won't:

Stress over having enough food. Bought too much again. Freezer now stuffed with leftovers.

forgetmenot that's a brilliant idea - I will be doing that next year. DH would probably hate the idea but I had so much trouble trying to think of things for my teens and he was no help at all as usual so it's about time he got involved.

I will buy less food.

I will plan meals.

I will try to be more sociable to MIL who I find very difficult.

I will try not to spend the whole time trying to recreate the family Christmases that my late mum put together, as they will never measure up 😓