Christmas routine...

[emdude]

Just interested really. Does anyone have one?

Do you do breakfast first? Or presents? Or stockings? Do you save some presents for later?

My DS's (2&4) will no doubt want to open every single present immediately but I'd quite like to spread it through the day a bit more...

DC tween and teen

Stockings at 7am (hoping for later this year!!)
Usually then follow Smarties trail downstairs to one big Santa gift - but this year is the first neither believe
So get dressed
Breakfast - boiled eggs and toasted panettone, proper coffee
Pootle about prepping lunch etc
Might go for a walk this year - see what weather is like
Nibbles and fizz at midday
Lunch 2-3pm
As we clear away lunch, DC divide up presents under the tree into piles for each person
Then go round opening presents. One at a time, in turn so we can all see. Takes ages!
Then telly or a game

Definitely have routine. It’s almost unchanged since the children were tiny.
Stockings.
Church.
Drinks with friends.
Lunch/walk whilst lunch is being sorted.
Presents
Games or singing etc.
Film.

Stockings around 7am in the morning, all gather together on our bed to open them up. Then showers/getting dressed before heading downstairs to feed the animals/walk the dog before maybe opening a couple of Christmas tree presents.

DH's brother and partner will come for breakfast (Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon and Cheese turnovers and Pannetone), when they head off, we will go and visit my Dad in his care home. We will come back and then start Christmas dinner and wait for our friends to arrive who are joining us for the 2nd year.

I like to save some present opening until the afternoon to eek it out but it depends on the kids! One of the DC's doesn't have as much to open this year as his presents are more expensive (have pre-warned!!)

While dinner is cooking, we will play games, watch tv and play with toys and prob do the same after dinner too!

I'll be up, bathed and dressed by 6:30. Got a new glam dress , and new red lippy and earnings :)

I'll have a couple of coffees and a cheeky cig or 2 in the garden, then the Christmas music goes on. Normally Lea Salongas Via delarosa.
If this doesn't wake Dc's 13 and 18, the smell of bacon will prompt them awake around 9ish. Stocking at end of bed to open, then when they are up it'll be a bacon sandwich, chocolate pastries, coffee and juice.

Everyone, including Dp, all open gifts in turn around the Christmas tree, this can take a couple of hours. Dp is cooking this year, so I'll be clearing away the wrapping paper, spending the morning playing games, watching Christmas movies-myself and eldest DC will be having mulled wine. Lunch will be about 3pm at the dinning table.

Afternoon, eating, booze and games. I expect a nana nap on the sofa at some point to.

“Santa” presents first thing (usually 7am). I say “Santa” but really mean stockings and gifts from us as none of our DC believe and Santa has always just been a fun story in this house. The DC get a stocking and then usually about 10-12 other gifts to open - these always include books, small toys/craft kits and selection boxes etc - nothing big or overly expensive here. DH and I watch the DC open their gifts/take photos etc and then once they are done we exchange stockings.

After that it’s breakfast (which in reality means the DC start on their chocolate and I may make pancakes/cinnamon rolls/croissants if anyone wants anything else.)

Then showers/get dressed and I make the final preparations for dinner before we leave for church around 10.15am.

Home from church by about 11.45am and then the DC play/read while DH and I finish off dinner.

We eat around 1/1.30pm and then everyone helps clear the kitchen.

3pm we watch the Queen.

After the Queen we open the rest of the gifts under the tree - these are all the ones from extended family plus the DC’s main gifts from us and from each other.

We often FaceTime family during this time so that Grandparents/Aunts/Uncles/Cousins can see each other opening gifts but I’m not sure it’s going to happen this year due to other family commitments. (I am more than happy with this - I hate FaceTime)

Then it’s chill for the rest of the day. We’ll call or FaceTime the in-laws at some point usually but that’s it. There’s always at least 1 DC who is ill at Christmas so they always have an early night. Usually all DC are off to bed by 8.30/9pm.

The routine on Boxing Day is somewhat different in that we don’t get dressed, I don’t cook and everyone pretty much does whatever they want.

Two dds, 3 and 18 months. Stockings in bed with us. Downstairs, coffee on, call FIL to come up and get breakfast ready (smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, sourdough crumpets for the fuss pots), presents (!!!) one at a time, I then whack on the oven and start cooking and prepping (it's leisurely, usually with a drink on the go), dinner at 3pm, lounge around while dh and fil wash up, then mooch for a few hours before Xmas pudding. Watch tv, eat chocs, then put kids to bed, fil heads home, dh and I stay up with copious amounts of cheese and trash tv. Bliss.

Dh is insistent we keep some presents for Boxing Day but we're at my sister's so they can have all their presents on the day. They'll have loads to open over there anyway.

Kids being thier stockings into our room to open (stockings are just things like chocolate and small cheap things like rubix cube, hair clips, blind bags etc)
We then go downstairs and they open thier big present from Santa
Then we have breakfast and then all get dressed and washed
We then sit down and open the presents from under the tree. The kids take it in turns to pick a present and hand it out. We then watch that person open that present and so on.
Then it’s interapersed with getting lunch on/making drinks etc
Rest of the day is eating, drinking, playing with toys, board games and films

We get up when the kids wake up but not before 6, open all the presents, have bucks fuzz, play for a bit; have breakfast (kids tend to just have chocolate), DH cooks the turkey, get dressed, in laws come round to see the kids, go to the pub at around 1 til 3 (we have moved since last xmas so not sure of the opening times of our new three locals but hope one will be open!). Come back, DH cooks the rest of dinner, eat about 4, wash up, have dessert a bit later on then film/games/tv/read etc and kids go to bed around 9.

Very simple for us. Breakfast in bed (cereal or toast) as our house is open plan so can't get to kitchen without going through the lounge. Open presents downstairs, dinner about 1. Dh will do most of the cooking. It's just me, him and ds 5 yrs at dinner. Then just tv, playing with new toys and nibbles for rest of the day.

Mass on Xmas eve - 5pm as kids still too small for midnight mass. Home for dinner and everyone gets to open one present.

Xmas morning they will get their stockings and bring them back to our bed to open. Then we go down and they can open most of their presents. It'll be about 6am by now!!

Breakfast - Buck's Fizz and croissants then we'll load up and travel over to sil. Early lunch this year as they have young kids who need a nap.

Cheese and nibbles come out around 7, we drink and play games.

Stockings in bed, downstairs to see “if he’s been” open presents, bacon sandwiches for breakfast.

Walk/trip to park to test out new outdoor toys, then off to parents for lunch with all the family. Usually turns into a big party with games, cocktails and quizzes. No telly!

I get up first and put all the Christmas lights on downstairs. Make a out of tea for me and coffee for DH, take up to bed then wait for DC to wake up and bring their stocking in to our room to open.
Then it's downstairs to open presents, I then cook breakfast with a glass or two of Buck's Fizz.
We'll then head out to walk the dog on the beach, come home and start cooking Christmas dinner.
Eat around 3pm, rest of day is spent playing games with kids and their new toys, board games, TV, drinking and eating etc etc.
I'll walk dog again in the evening and then collapse on sofa for more of the above.

Dc open stockings in their room when they wake. The stockings are really just to buy us a little more time in bed they're not the 'main event'.
Downstairs @ 7/730 for Santa gifts and to exchange our gifts to each other. Breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, bagels, fruit and pastries. Play with/admire new gifts for a while before getting tidied up.

We visit my parents @ 11 for an hour or so, they're only a 10 min drive given so little traffic on Christmas Day. Then on to my sister and her dc nearby for an hour before returning home.

Light lunch, followed by playing/helping to build new toys, tv, board games, hopefully a walk or even a bounce on the trampoline if the weathers not horrible. A bit of prepping the evening meal but we don't eat meat and prepare a fair bit the day before so there's not too much faffing.

Dinner @ 530/6 then more board games or a film, dc usually go to bed @ 830/9 with one of their new books ( they go unconscious a couple of pages in leaving DH and I to chat and watch tv, drinking wine with a nice cheeseboard.

It's a nice day, we get the best of both worlds I think in that we see family for a few hours and enjoy that but don't have to "do" Christmas according to someone else's preference ie my parents who follow three soaps and must watch all the Christmas episodes . Sorry but ffs some of them have 2 feckin episodes on the day!