What are you NOT doing this year.

[BrisaOtonal]

Christmas with my little family is a WIP. Every year I try and add to it or tone it down. I keep a note book and as I put decorations away I make a note to myself for the next year. I just read the letter to myself and I can see the sarcasm in my writing.

So what are you changing or not doing this year? Here are the notes I wrote to myself:

You bought too much food. The shops are open on Boxing Day or 27th if you need anything.

Buy better crackers. They were rubbish.

Only buy 2 bottles of your favourite tipple for the Christmas period. You felt poisoned after finishing the 3rd bottle

Don't put up decorations until 01 Dec as you will get bored of them

Don't buy so much stuff. Book days out instead.

Suck up your Christmas obligations but make sure it is only 50% of the time and the other 50% is what you want to do with your family.

Reduce further the amount of effort and money spent on childish adults presents.

I’m cutting down how much I spend on presents.
I’m not giving into the pressure of going to the work Christmas do. I’d rather spend the money going to a pantomime.
I’m just going to enjoy Christmas and enjoy spending the time with my family.

Spending a fortune on toys the kids won't play with!

Strict budget this year with things they will actually want!

I’ve agreed with my friends and brother, that wr won’t be exchanging gifts for the children. I worked out last year that I spent over £100 doing this.

I’m not buying gifts for extended family- and will be asking them not to buy for me. They buy me generic shit (boots bath sets, horrid woolly gloves) and I try buy meaningful stuff, and get upset because I know they just want vouchers. I’m not down with that- I’m a LP with little cash to spare. If I’m spending it, it’s on something with meaning not just value.

Bum!
You know I said I wasn't buying Christmas Crackers?
Well , I was in M&S today and they have some really really nice ones ....................................................................................................................................so I might have lied on that one

Getting a card from my mum or buying her a present ...

A turkey. I hate turkey. Also no prawn cocktail starter, we're having smoked salmon and cream cheese blinnies also no Christmas pud. I'm going to buy an M&S roulade for dessert.

This was decided as a family.

We break ourselves every flipping year trying to get around 4 parents houses (dh and I are both from divorced/remarried parents) and heaven knows how many people in between. The last 5 years we have driven over 1000 miles in a week because we split the holiday to have alternate Christmases with the dsc and have to be back for the swap. I decorate the house beautifully and we don't even get to enjoy it. Then I spend January in bed having a fibro relapse from the stress of all the travel, eating food I'm allergic to (because I don't want to make a fuss and our families NEVER remember) and buying thoughtful presents for over 30 people.
This year and next we are staying at home and I plan to spend time marvelling at how beautiful our house looks with the decorations up and then carefully peel the film lids off some lovely gluten free M&S foods. Every household that we would have visited is getting a hamper instead of a load of wanky little presents they will have forgotten by new year. We will go for a walk on the beach and then spend the day relaxing and eating our bodyweight in chocolate.
I literally cannot wait

I won't be leaving the house this year! This is my first Xmas with my dd, granted she will only be 5 months old but me and dp decided that apart from picking his 3 kids up late morning, we want to have our own xmas at our house for a change instead of going to other family members. Weve said to all famiky anyone is welcome to come to ours for the day but we arent going out anywhere

Single mum with 5 and 8 year old.

It’s absolute pure bliss.

Very minute of the day is about what we want to do. Wake up, presents, play, breakfast, long walk, play whilst I do simple roast, another walk (this time with ex. We get on very well), back for film whilst I lay on easy M&S picky bits.
They go to bed, I watch a film and then bed.
Next day we see my twin brother and essentially do exactly the same.

It’s so lovely. No, no changes whatsoever.

Not doing big shop... It does add to excitement... But we don't eat all the cheese etc.

I'm hoping to simply upgrade to nicer products.. So nicer smoked salmon rather than sainsbury own.
Really good chocolates, in fact I think this year that will be my main treat. I've never tried godiva.. So will look around and have large expensive box of chocs on the side 😂😂. Not bother with miserable in laws at all, bar Xmas calender that we always send.

No panic buying.

Oh maybe also lovely game pie and cocktail sausages for the girls later

Definitely a simpler meal here and I'm quietly glad my younger siblings are going to another sibling's because last year I ended up coupling and cleaning all day with very little contribution or help. Love them but not interested in being a surrogate mum to adults.

Yes to fewer gifts including advent calendar. An aunt made beautiful calendars years ago but I feel obliged to fill them which costs ££. This year I'll put chocs on them but I've gone for Lego calendars which are cheaper and less hassle. Won't be getting those for much longer either.

Very few plans as it's the only time of year we can just relax at home.

I will find some way of banning DH from binge watching some crappy Netflix series.
We have a lounge/diner.kitchen so when he was watching TV all Christmas Eve/Christmas Day , I was MNetting and cooking .
Nice to spend the time pottering about ......... but he watched "Peaky Blinders" which is the most UNfestive shite ever.

I could make him go into DS room and watch his TV,

Or can I say "OK< Christmas Eve you can watch what you want , but Christmas Day , no telly ?"

(And no , the sight of Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy did not make up for it. Peaky Blinders is dismal, violent, sweary shagging shite)

We're reluctantly hosting all parents again for about the 7th year as none of them have the room.
So this year DH and I won't be doing absolutely everything like every previous year - cooking, drinks, clearing up, dishwasher etc etc meaning we missed most of the kids day last year and not one person lifted their backside off the sofa or even offered to make themselves a cuppa!

Momasita, I bought Hotel Chocolat chocs and was given Godiva last year. They were both shit - overly sweet and crap flavours. Posh chocs is one thing I definitely won't be doing. A tub of Quality Street and a carton of Lindt balls and I'm happy.

No chocolate boxes this year.

I'm not cooking potatoes on the day but having frozen mash and part cooked roasties in the freezer ready to go.

Fewer presents for kids. They are growing out of them anyway.

We forgot crackers last year and noone missed them so they are off the list.

As we haven't been to a panto the last couple of years I do want to make time go to a carol concert instead in the run up.

This year I am not getting out the bottles of spirits, wines etc., only for them to remain untouched over the festive period for yet another year, then find space in the cupboard where they hibernate for another year. Often get given drink as gifts, why I don't know, have been teetotal all my life. Cheers!

We seem to buy far too much food and drink, so going for less but better quality stuff.
Christmas dinner I do everything from scratch, but all the veg is prepped Xmas eve. DC like setting out the dining table and decorating it.
For presents, I'm giving money and a small token gift to aunts, brothers etc. DS wants an iPhone and new ipad, DD just wants money. Not buying for DH as we're off to New York in Feb.

Turkey, fed up of spending 4 hours making it each year for DS's to push it round their plate. We are having gammon instead.

Last year I had my mum & sister round for Xmas day and boxing day and then they didn't lift a finger to help both days and I spent the whole two days swapping shifts in the kitchen with my husband. So this year if they come I'll be giving them jobs to do to help out. Just things like keeping drinks topped up and refereeing my brood of kids.

Also I've asked them to contribute financially this year as last year after spending nearly £200 on food and drinks for both days I asked them to bring something and mum bought a Cadbury pack of 6 cakes and my sister bought a tiny cheese board and alcohol that only she likes.

I suggested dropping the turkey but there were complaints..

I've set a strict budget of £20 each for the adults in DH 's family as last year we got people stuff they wanted and asked for and I didn't get anything form 1 couple and DH got shit he doesn't like. Waste of time and effort. Not to mention money! As they'd agreed a budget of £40 per person and I got Harry Potter coasters and 2 bath bombs that were in a set of 4 but the other 4 had been used

Other 2*

I will not be going to the local ice-skating rink. It's too crowded and not even remotely fun. The rink is packed up far beyond safe capacity for anyone. I'm a decent skater and I don't feel safe alone in the crowds, when skating with DS it's just a terrifying nightmare and I've left and demanded my money back on more than one occasion. I've even tried going during school hours and it's full of school tours which was an absolute nightmare of over excited teens with not nearly enough adult supervision making the ice an extremely dangerous place. I mean fair enough, if they have school tours booked, they are a money making business. But the ice shouldn't be open to the public at the same time.