Do you want to send a message in my time machine?

[Alanamackree]

If you could give advice to your younger self, are there things that you would change about the way you do Christmas?

I’d get smaller stockings for one thing.
Santa would bring high quality wooden toys (because that’s what elves make) and plastic tat wouldn’t cross my threshold because I’d kidnap the competive compulsive gift giving relatives and tie them up with tinsel and fairy lights until January.

Not that my younger self would listen to me!

I’d tell myself not to go,Ott.
.
Once the trimmings are down it’s all forgotten about anyway.

Honestly, most of this commercial crap has come in the past 15 years. Just think back to your own childhood.

My DC are early 20's. We didnt have a Christmas Eve box, an elf on the shelf, toy advent calendars.

They had- basic advent calendar and advent candle on 1st Dec. Light nightly.
Santa train ride a week before Christmas.
24th December, go out to buy tree, decorate tree and house , fish and chips, afternoon carol service dressed as angels/shepherds, people back to our house for tea, leave carrot and port for santa, christmas cake and chocolates put out. Bed.

Big stocking, but all our gifts from parents come from santa. No tat, proper gifts as we tended not to buy toys all year round.

Simple.

I would do Elf on the Shelf. It wan't around when dd was small. Nothing else would I change.

I would stick with elf on the shelf because it's lovely and makes dc smile every day. They aren't reporting back as such!

I would start my tradition of going out in the fresh air on Christmas eve much earlier. Dc enjoy it and it makes the evening easier to manage as everyone is bit more likely to sleep!

I would be more chilled out about the dinner, there are some things I really care about and they are made from scratch but the rest is m and s because I want to spend time with the kids rather than in the kitchen.

Buy smaller stockings.

Prioritise spending time with family rather than trying to create a 'perfect' Christmas - you don't know when the won't be here to give you the choice.

I would make more effort to appreciate time with family members now gone.
Go to church.

oh, and do the new pyjamas thing!

Buy or make 2 identical stockings per child .
One goes on bed ,the other is ready stuffed in advance .
Late on Christmas Eve just swop them !
Less chance of child waking and less chance of the hissed arguments between adults !

Oh I say! Identical stockings is Dr Evil level of craftiness. Genius!

I agree, no Christmas Eve bloody boxes here, or elf on the shelf or toy advent calendars! Simple is lovely.