Outline your Christmas day

[WipsGlitter]

There's me DH and two DSs. Kids get up early for Santa then play for a bit while we go back to bed. Get up, breakfast and then it sort of feels like we're hanging about until it's time to go to my sisters - around12.

We're there for an hour then back for lunch. The rest of the day is fine TV, wine, snooze etc.

It's just that early morning but that seems a bit flat. We don't go to church and wouldn't have the neighbours in for drinks or anything like that (I'd love to do that but am too scared no one would come!)

We could maybe go for a walk if it was nice weather. Or go to my sisters earlier.

Any ideas?!

Dc 4 & 5 will open stockings on our bed where we'll eat chocolate for breakfast at about half 6 ish.

Turkey in the oven at 7am ish.

Dc then open a couple of presents and play with them until we get up and dressed about 10.

Any family (who are not eating with us) will generally visit about half 10.

Christmas lunch at about 1-half 1.

Then more present unwrapping and playing.

Light supper for dc about 6 then bedtime routine at 7.

Me and dh will settle down in front of the tv after bed time.

Get up, DD opens presents from Santa. DH and I exchange presents. Get dressed, go to either my parents or in-laws for brunch. More presents. Head to the other set of parents (we alternate year about) around 2ish, more presents, dinner around 5ish. We usually stay the night wherever we are, though not this year as I’ll be about 39 weeks pregnant so neither of us will be drinking and we’ll just head home.

The day will start when our ds (2) gets up. He will have his morning milk while we have coffee and tea. Then it will be presents time.
After that, ds and dh will have breakfast (the same as they usually have, we don't bother with a special breakfast at all), while I make my trifle topping (I make my trifle over 3 days),
Then it will be time to prepare the veg and cook the pigs in blankets.The meats are always cooked the night before.
As the day goes on, I set the table and dh continues cooking. Ds plays with my dad. At some point my in laws turn up. If we have time to do presents before dinner we do, otherwise they are done after.
Dinner is served about 3. Then we clear up and wash up. After that dessert is served.
We then clear up from that. And finish presents if we haven't already. A bit later, we have mince pies, Xmas cake, Xmas pudding, Yule log and tea and coffee.
Then ds goes to bed. In laws head home. Then if my dad didn't stay we'd watch Xmas day soaps, but JD hates them and talks the whole way through them, so we give that a miss and either watch something else, or just chat.
And Xmas music is playing all day, do love Xmas songs. And drinks, we enjoy some drinks on Xmas day as well.

We make sure one of the early presents is a new DVD.
The new DVD gets watched whilst I potter in the kitchen and we wait for relatives to arrive ~ 11/11:30.

Up when the teen DDs wake up. So about 9 or 10.
Light breakfast (or none for me) while they open gifts. Phone call from MIL who always does Christmas at a hotel down south somewhere.

Round to my Mum's at 12 for dinner at 1. Dessert. Gifts about 3pm.

Then we go home about 4-5 for an hour or so.

Then one of the siblings does a buffet tea. Usually quite light. Cold meats, salad, mince pies and some puddings.

Home about 9pm at the latest to chill for the rest of the day.

Then a very lazy Boxing day.

See it sounds like you all have lots of families to do stuff with. My parents have passed away and DPs dad has dementia. His siblings don't have kids, only one lives here and he generally comes here for Christmas lunch.

I've toyed with asking some friends to break up the day, add more life but I think most people have Christmas routines.

Could you all go round to your sisters earlier and have Breakfast together?

We go to church on Christmas Eve as Christmas Day is a cosy, chill day.
Our 7 year old doesn't tend to get up too early to be fair. She gets all her presents from Santa (which aren't wrapped and totally separate from family and friends presents under the tree)
We each do our stockings and then it's breakfast, followed by playing and family visits, calls and facetimes. We keep our presents wrapped under the tree as long as possible normally until after lunch/first course.
Santa always brings a new board game each year, so we tend to settle down play that and watch TV after dinner.

Going to my sisters a bit earlier is a possibility. Then we can just flop at home once we are done there without the sort of hanging about feeling.

I'm single no kids so go to my parents. Traditions are pretty much the same for the last 30 years though

Christmas starts xmas eve, my dad spends the day cooking a massive ham with his 'secret blend' of spices. Me and my mum / sil (if db and sil are with us that year) go out and wander round the shops, have coffee and cake, etc while my brother and dad bond over the very manly ham cooking and some beers.

They also prep the food for our evening buffet.
Once we are home some of us (usually me and my dad) take the dog for a long walk.

Then the booze and christmas snacks are cracked open, we watch home alone 2 (it's the law) and we have a buffet tea in the evening.

Xmas day my mum is up at the crack of dawn because she gets too excited, then wakes us up announcing 'he's been!'

Then its just the usual. Presents / food / long dog walk / film / board game / booze / chilling out

Usually go to see a friend at some point / they pop in with their kids. Some family may pop in. We usually have a skype chat to say merry xmas to some family in USA.

Christmas eve is the main day for us tbh.

I think long walks are great at xmas. Everyone you pass is generally happy and festive, its nice and cold, kids take out new bikes / scooters, etc.

It breaks the day up and cancels out some mince pies

Normally, dcs wake up and open their stockings. On the youngest(aged 15) comes into our room to.open his. Then church for those who want to go. Breakfast of croissants, pastries etc . Then present opening. Next,visit my mother a few streets away for more presents and nibbles/fizz. We either have lunch there, or she comes back to our house. I cook the turkey the day before so less time faffing in the kitchen. Phone calls and facetime to various family members. Thats about it.

7:30/8 ish DS2 wakes us up. We send him to wake DS1 up. Kids both come in to our room with their stockings. They're 16 and 12 but this is what's always happened. They look through their stocking gifts on our bed with us.

Then we go downstairs with a particular order of DH first, then me, DS1 then DS2 so they can't see their big (or not big anymore) downstairs presents until the door is opened.

We all sit on the floor and open the presents, me and DH wait until both boys have opened theirs.

Then DH puts a brew on.

After the tea I go to get dressed while DH starts prepping the dinner.

Then I usually go to the cemetery with my brother to put flowers and cards on my parents' and grandparents' graves but this year he's away until Boxing Day so I'll be going with DH this year.

Back from cemetery I'll help DH finish dinner. The boys are usually on the Xbox playing new games or kicking a ball on the play area around the corner with friends.

After dinner we'll have a glass of wine and some After Eights and then a tidy up.

At 3 I'll watch the queen's speech and get all emotional thinking about my family who have passed.

Afternoon we'll have a film on in the background and we'll maybe play a game.

At about 6 I'll start a few party bits off in the oven and start to lay the table again for the evening buffet which is my favourite bit of Xmas. We'll have lots of nibbles and cheese and pate and Pringles with my nan's amazing recipe dip until we're totally stuffed again. Sometimes PIL come round but they're miserable bastards so DH has told me they're not invited this year

After the food I'll stomp about moaning at the mess and need to go out for a walk around the block.

Then we'll watch the soaps and whatever Xmas specials are on.

I'll stay up super late so that I can say goodbye to Xmas on my own (I'm weird like that) I'll drink baileys and eat chocolate watching some shit on a random sky channel.

I'll go to bed about 2am.

Then we'll do it all over again on Boxing Day with my brothers

This year the plan is: Kids wake up, come get me and DH up, we all go downstairs and open Santa gifts. Breakfast. Get dressed then church. Back from church, DH cooks dinner (roast chicken and trimmings) maybe some nibbles while it's cooking. Chat, drink, play with santa toys, tv, chill. "Lunch" about 3pm. After "lunch", open main presents. Play with presents, watch TV, chill out with wine and nibbles. Play a board game together maybe. Perhaps watch a film. Then kids go to bed, DH and I carry on drinking and eating and watching tv.
We are away this year renting a cottage so hoping there is a local church we can attend in the morning, if not we will probably go for a nice long walk after stockings and before eating and drinking starts.

Kids open stockings before breakfast then two Santa gifts from the sack and get ready for church to leave at 10.15. Get home from church about 12 an open rest of Santa gifts . Eat the buffet around 1.30 that had been preped on Xmas Eve. Then watch a movie and play with toys or a game. Every half hour or so a child will pick everyone a gift from the tree ( family and friend gifts and hand them out. Everyone will open a present at the same time. Supper around six usually and younger children are ready for bed around 7.30. Just before bed they open a present each from myself and one from dh ( the only present he chooses as I do all Santas.)
Then watch tv play games etc with older dc.
On Boxing Day extended family go out for Christmas dinner in a local restaurant as it's cheaper and we get to spend Christmas Day relaxing.

Get up when kids wake up - usually 7/8
Breakfast
Church as ds2 sings in the choir
Mum and Dad come around and we have lunch
More food and drink
Sleep

The plan this year... I alternate Christmas Day with my parents and this year it's their turn to host. So I'm doing a Christmas Eve gathering with around 30 friends and family, and then on the big day I will get up around 10, have breakfast then head round their house around 11. I live alone so don't like to hang around for too long! My sister and bil will arrive around 12 and lunch is around 1. My uncle and his partner will also turn up then. Then we open presents, chat, watch a film, some of us may go for a walk, and then we play board games in the evening. Cold buffet gets presented around 9pm and obviously I need more food! Go home around midnight and chill out in front of the tree with a baileys. Will probably go to bed around 2am. Then on Boxing Day my sister and bil come over for buffet lunch and to watch the racing and put a few bets on.

We have three kids - 16, 13 and 10.

Around 7am they bring their stockings into our bed to open. Once stockings are open we go downstairs to open everything else. We watch kids open all theirs then once they are happy and sat looking at their new things me and dh open our gifts.

Once all pressies are open we make phone calls to his mum, my mum etc.

Then it's chill out time looking at new things, watching festive tv. Only ds who is 10 has the odd toy so we don't really play games. I'm in and out of the kitchen doing dinner and we eat around 1pm.

After dinner we chill some more and try to keep our eyes open after all the lovely food. Dh usually rings his parents again as we see them christmas eve but not christmas day. At about 3pm we finally get washed and dressed, pack gifts and games into the car and go round my mum and dad's where we see my mum and dad (obviously!), my sister, my two nephews (23) and aunt and uncle. We stay for a few hours, play silly games, have a drink (my sister drives us all home if I have a drink), eat turkey/pork rolls and finally have our dessert which is usually a choice of trifle or profiteroles. We are usually knackered and home by about 8pm. Probably be earlier this year, will have go see how ds manages.

It's been just me, DH and DS for the last couple of years. We wake up early (normally about 5.30) and have tea/coffee/milk and Lebkuchen in bed, whilst opening our stockings.

We then head downstairs for breakfast, which varies each year, but normally something easy to prepare. We open some presents in the morning, and generally I get some lego or something that DH and DS can do together whilst I make lunch.

After lunch we have a good walk and then open some more pressies, generally ones from family. We Skype with my family and then watch Christmas films and play with new toys with DS.

In the evening we have a buffet and picnic in the lounge whilst watching the Christmas specials.

Can't wait ...

Dec 25th? PJ day. Films, games, eat what we want, drink what we want.

The day we designate for our family get together (any day between Nov and Feb): get up around 9am, potter about. Gather at about 12pm, secret santa/couple of presents for DD, sit down for main course around 3pm, pudding around 7pm, go home around 10pm.

DS will be up early, probably 6ish. We al have stockings which we open in bed. DH will go and make tea and coffee to have. I like to alternate presents to spin it out.
Downstairs for main Santa presents for DS. We won't open everything but the main big presents.
Light breakfast eg pain au chocolat and we all get ready.
My parents and MIL arrive 10.30-11. Open the champagne and few more presents.
We have starters - smoked salmon salad- early around 12.
Few more presents, maybe take DS out to the swings if fine.
Main course is about 3.30.
Rest of presents if any left. Watch DS play. Have afters- trifle/ mince pie/ Christmas cake/ cheese.
GPS leave by 6.00 so we can calm DS down, give him a bath and put him to bed.
Evening DH and I watch Call the Midwife and nibble.
Boxing Day we have stockings again from my mum . Our rule on Boxing Day is wear/ eat/ do whatever you want so I wear PJs eat cheese and watch films. DS will probably also wear PJs, eat chocolate and play Lego.

How do you manage to get the lunch cooked if you are out from midday OP? Or do you eat in the evening?

Christmas Eve boxes, baking something Christmassy, early night
Present wrapping

Stockings (and coffee ☕️)
Breakfast
Presents
Film
Xmas dinner
Country walk
Leftovers and more presents
Kids in bed
More Xmas TV/ fall asleep

Boxing Day guests over

Turkey goes in early and the rest is just veg which is prepped the day before. We eat around 2.30. Starter is prawns / coldmeats etc so pretty simple and then trifle made the day before and pud steamed.

That's part of it I've always one eye on the clock when I'm at my sisters!

Part of this is we've always gone to hers and I guess one year I wish she'd at least offer to come to ours!!

I like your low hassle approach to lunch OP! I’m going to try and persuade my DH to follow your example. I’m the cook in our house usually but he insists on doing Christmas lunch then gets in a right tizz.

Your sister definitely needs to take a turn doing the visiting. Completely unfair that you have to schlep our every year.