What can I do now?

[NerosFiddle]

I am due on 20th December, so I thought I would try and get some things organised next week when dh is off work and I have time to get organised. I have a ds who will be 1 and my dh to cater for and buy presents. Dh birthday is also in December so have to get a present sorted for him too. So what can I buy, make, prep now?

1. Invite yourself to a relative's house
2. relax

I woukd get sorted with presents - shopping and wrapping if possible. If you can get some cards online you could do them too and just post at the right time.

Are you having xmas at home? Will anyone else be there? You definitely should plan on someone else cooking (your dh maybe?)

1 is a great age as you can buy now without worrying that he'll change his mind. Buy, wrap and stash now and keep note of what you have and where. Just in case you have any complications or go overdue and need a relative to retrieve presents for you.

If you are cooking it is strictly traditional to rely completely on M&S. A list now might save effort later, especially if you're like me and get extremely forgetful in late pregnancy

If you are at home you'll likely have lots of visitors as people will have time off. If they are not the type to bring cooked meals then start thinking about stocking the freezer. Just double quantities when you cook and freeze half. Late sept is time enough to start that I'd say.

Don't stick up on booze, chocolate or other goodies or you may find yourself buying twice or three times

Cards if you can get hold of them, could at least be addressed and stamped now.

I don't think we can go to anyone's house as we live so far from them and if I went into labour on Christmas Day I would be nowhere near the hospital.
DH is not the best cook in the world. Grand at heating something up in the microwave but that's about it.

M&S (or Morrison's equivalent or whetever) of heat-up Christmas lunch. Or just buy a few bits and ditch the rest. A friend in a similar situation had m&s turney and stuffing sandwiches for Christmas day, straight out of the plastic triangle!

Will it be you 4 for Christmas lunch? I'd be tempted to go non-traditional food-wise, or just a few easy staples.

Gifts buy now - Reastie has already started the Christmas Bargains Thread on this part of the forum. Make a list, get buying, tick off. You can buy stuff like wrapping paper online all year round, so when things arrive wrap them, label them, put them away - wrote down where you put them!

Send emails rather than cards, unless for someone like great aunty X who loves to receive a written card. You could cut your list down to say 5 people or so.

Our son is an early December baby and i totally nested before he came. Sewing, baking etc. We didn't have a 1yo to contend with though. We are abroad and had visitors all over Christmas and I ended up cooking 3 full Christmas lunches. I am an idiot!

If i were you, i'd hunker down and be low key. I'd offer around Turkish Delight and After Eights and mince pies if anyone visited, but there'd be bugger all cooked

Congratulations

I am normally the queen of Christmas and make/bake everything from scratch. I could host the 5000 and still have some left over. Because there's only going to be 2 adults this year I don't know how to scale down. I also don't know if I'll be fit to cook on the day so need to know what I can make far in advance. I also only have a small freezer which I plan to stock up with batch cooking so space is limited.
I could fill another thread on the cards issue. I told people in advance I would not be sending anyone a card this year and it's too much hassle. This led to a confrontation with mil as to how rude I was being.

Ah there's your mistake! Don't talk, just do it!
Can you tell I'm a veteran of in-law wars?

What you can do now is look after yourself very very well

When I was due at Christmas I bought mostly frozen Christmas food - turkey crown, goose fat potatoes, stuffing balls, etc. It wasn't the tastiest ever Christmas dinner but it meant that I could be flexible about what day it was actually cooked!

What are you willing to compromise on for Christmas dinner?
Turkey roll instead of turkey?
Gravy granules?
Personally I'd just buy two microwave meals that can be cooked in 5 minutes and I'm a poncer!
You could store bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy in ziplock bags in freezer. 2 portions won't take up much space.

To conserve space:
Bolognese (flat ziplock) might be better for freezer than lasagne and cook spaghetti (can he cook pasta?) just to give an example,
Casseroles and soups can be stored in ziplock too (I'm developing a theme here) and just microwaved as you need them.
Swop out real rice for microwaveable rice for a while. If your Dh is like mine, meal cards with pictures (seriously), cooking instructions and a map to the freezer/cupboard might be a worthwhile investment of time

When I was due on 14th Dec I did invite myself over to a relatives house (my parents in fact) assuming I would be there with a newborn baby. Of course I didn't and went into labour on Christmas Day instead.....
there is no way I would cook with either a newborn or being overdue but as you've said you live too far away from relatives and dh is no use then I would suggest booking yourself into a restaurant for Christmas dinner. Send emails instead of cards, don't bother wrapping presents just stick them in gift bags. Or even better pay for the gift wrapping option when ordering online. Make life as easy for yourself as possible

Honestly either non Christmas-y dinner that your DH can do and you'll be happy with or detailed instructions handed to him. My DM was due with me on Christmas Day and still committed to hosting for 20ish people. Detailed instructions were written out for my Ddad to follow if she wasn't there so she wouldn't worry about her parents and other relatives not getting fed.
yes she was a fool for committing to it and doing it herself when I was born late

Agree with other re lists and buying in advance, not doing cards for everyone. Good luck!

Last weekend I foraged some elderberries.

This weekend I steeped them in gin (with 100g sugar). They currently in a Kilner jar on my worktop. By Christmas it should be ready.

Just to update on what I got done this past week.

Bought or ordered gifts for ds. I bought him a Christmas sack last year with his name on it so no need to or put into bags.

Dh and I have decided no presents this year. We'll hopefully get a night away sometime next year so will spend the money then.

I've ordered Nieces and nephews presents on amazon and sent them to their house wrapped and told their parents to hide them until Christmas.

I've made mincemeat but will just buy shop bought pastry in December.

Finally I've ordered a turkey and ham from the butchers so Dh has to collect it on 23rd/24th. Ive wrote a list of things to buy fresh closer to the day too. I've also wrote out all instructions and timings for him to cook everything on the day. I will either be in hospital sitting with my babies on Christmas Day.

I was due similar time with da and then he was two weeks late. Dd was 2. I was VERY grumpy that Xmas. Best advice is have lots of breakable dates planned - trips to understanding friends etc that you can cancel if necessary. I was sure ds would be early and had nothing planned so I was big as a whale, grumpy and bored with a toddler to entertain.

Since you've ordered a fresh turkey just go to M&S for the ready made sides from the chilled section. You can pre order to collect or just buy it directly from the shop. For the two of you, you need your roasties, stuffing, veg sides, pigs in blankets, gravy and a pudding. The dishes can be bunged in the oven at the last minute so with very little effort you have a traditional meal.

I went to the butchers this morning and they told me that they will cook my turkey and ham on Christmas Eve so all dh has to do is collect it.

Anyone know when the m and s Christmas catalogue is out?

Ds2 was born 10 days before last Christmas. I thought he'd be born closer to Christmas as ds1 was a fortnight late, but I only went over by a few days this time. I finished Christmas shopping and had everything wrapped by the end of November. We hosted Christmas (I decided it was easier than visiting people.....I told everyone beforehand that we were not driving around visiting!). I ordered the M&S Christmas food (Dh picked it up Christmas Eve). It was so easy and tasty that we'll be ordering it again this year. I think the catalogue is out around 9th October.

Don't stress about anything, make a list of what you'd like to do and keep everything as simple as possible.

I went to the butchers this morning and they told me that they will cook my turkey and ham on Christmas Eve so all dh has to do is collect it.

That's brilliant!!