Christmas routine with no family nearby?

[ZsaZsaMc]

DH and I are considering spending our first Christmas by ourselves with DS (7 months) - but reading the other Christmas routine thread it seems like everyone has family close by. So many people ‘popping’ in and out!

Our parents/PIL live 2 hours in opposite directions and we don’t have a car.

Does anyone spend Christmas as a small family and make it special / Christmassy? Our baby is only 7 months so won’t really appreciate the magic!

Yup, family of four. When the kids wake up and we go downstairs Xmas tunes go on, the kids open their stockings which are hung on the fireplace in the kitchen diner/ breakfast room. This gives us a chance to make a brew! DH And I might grab that chance to eat some toast/ cereal. Then its off to the main lounge to open father Christmas gifts. Then the kids have something to eat. Then DH and I have a formal breakfast, homemade bread, cold meats chutney etc with bucks fizz. The kids might have pastries.

Then its showers, get dressed. Kids play some more and we end up finding batteries, screw drivers etc putting toys together.

DH preps Xmas lunch the day before and he gets cooking! We play games etc
Eat lunch
Take dog for a walk
Come home fire on and watch tv.
Pick at leftovers!

In truth we do miss big family get togethers but for us that's just not going to happen.

We've done Christmas at home since DD1 was a toddler and she's in her 20's now. Both sides of the family are 3 hours drive away and we visit them for a couple of days between Christmas and new year.

We do church on Christmas Eve and then watch films with party food and a glass of champagne. The DC are past Santa now but we put out stockings before bed.

Christmas morning we get up between 8 or 9 and have breakfast of pastries, fruit, toasted panettone and juice before we do presents.

After presents we get dressed and spend a couple of hours reading, playing new games etc.

I disappear into the kitchen and sort dinner. The DC set the table and we eat when everything is ready - sometime between it getting dark and Dr. Who starting. We wait until it's dark so we can light candles and fairy lights instead of the overhead lights in the dining room.

The evening will be leftovers if anyone is hungry, drinks, games and tv. Pretty much the same on Boxing Day but with a nice long walk to blow away the cobwebs.

Both of your breakfasts sound amazing - advantage of being at home is that you can decide what to eat and don’t have to cater to anyone else!

We are almost at the stage of having no family visit to make (we call to 1 extended family household, for a drink and some nibbles, after mass for an hour or so). So other than that, it is just us 3 (DD will be 13, but we've done it many years since her first Christmas).

See my post at the bottom of this thread for our routine.

Sorry, I meant to say that, for us, it is magical and peaceful and enjoyable. Maybe that's partly as our family life is at 1,000 miles per hour and the enforced slowdown is great, but we have always enjoyed the quieter years when we have stayed in our own home rather than travelling 2.5 hours to the DPs and DPILs who are only 20 minutes apart and each require our constant presence for the few days we are down....

My mum and mil are only down the road but we spend the Christmas Day at home just me DH and DD who's 6. Past couple of years we've had to wake DD to open her stocking presents in bed with us.
Then a leisurely breakfast of bacon butties.
Front room with Xmas music on to open presents. DD is a bit anal and thoroughly inspects each and every present so it took a bit last year and she didn't get much 😂
Then we fill a flask with hot orange and amaretto for me and DH and a hot ribena for DD then go and walk the dog in the park and stop for a drink.
Get home and make Xmas dinner which will be ready when it's ready. Sometimes it's been 3ish, one year 6 ish.
Let DD stop up late to watch a Xmas film.

I like that it's laid back. No set schedule and things will be done when they're done.

We also enjoy the lack of rushing around, as the rest of our life is way too busy. Lots of time just the three of us, no pressure to do anything or go anywhere, just perfick!

One of my favourite Christmas’s was where it was just me and DH; we ate what and when we wanted, watched films we wanted and generally had a lovely day. It was still special and I’d love to do the same with DD

We don't have family locally. We do a 3 year rotation, one year at my parents, one at pil, one at home. I've enjoyed the variation between the different 'Christmases'. Dd1 is 14 now, over the years we've developed our own traditions. We treat it as a season rather than one day and have a routine of different events, markets, lights switch on etc that we go to every year.

When we're at home I really enjoy having time to ourselves, as you said, eating what we like when we like without other family members moaning! I do find we get cabin fever by Boxing Day though so usually plan a trip out to the coast to see the baby seals around that point.

Christmas is usually just us, got my four year old to choose his favourite food for Christmas one year so we have had a Christmas lasagne. I tend to take th children to church, have met up with friends in a similar position for a walk and trip to the swings before, just whatever we want to do with None Of The Hassle...

I know all the Christmas adverts and hype are always about spending time with family but our Christmas has always been just DH, DS and me. It’s lovely. You can relax and just what you want to. If that is what you want for your family

Sorry not finished, if it is what you want for your own family just do it.

Lucky you. Both my dm and mil are widowed so we spend the day with them, every year 😠

Every other year is kind of different for me, my ex and I alternate our xmases, This year I will have our son xmas day and he will pick him up boxing day morning. Last year I had my son xmas eve night then spent xmas day with my parents (who live up the road) and siblings who came to visit.