What will you do differently for 2020

[PinkJam]

What will you do differently next Christmas?

I am going to be better organised and wrap as I go rather than wrapping everything in one go.

I have already decided to buy less, the kids love it just as much with fewer presents. I cut back a bit this year but am going to reduce again next year.

Instead of buying lots of smaller presents for family, I’m just going to buy one present for each person.

Get the house sorted earlier. And try to declutter as we go.

Don't buy so many things for the kids. DS1 some how I managed to get the balance more right but he is older so turning towards more tech. DS2 he got too much stuff that really he wouldn't have cared about if he got or didn't.

We cut back on presents this year, and our children still had more than enough (some gift, as yet, untouched). So perhaps next year we need to ask other people to cut back a bit too.

Start shopping for stocking fillers earlier. And wrap earlier - it took soooo much time and isn’t much fun when you’ve had a few drinks I felt!

Start decluttering house around October.
Book a professional deep clean week before Christmas.
Strictly limit commitments and days out etc in November and December - this year we were all exhausted as it was too busy.
Book Christmas lunch out.

Definitely start wrapping earlier. Felt organised (for me) as I’d allocated a couple of hours to do it on the 22nd when The kids were at panto. Got barely half of it done and then was wrapping on Christmas Eve, slightly tipsy and panicky and that meant I didn’t have time to do the food prep. So the knock on effect of this affected the whole day.

Will do more gift buying online.
Every year I end up going in to town to choose pressies the week before Christmas and every Christmas Day I end up suffering from some horrible virus and still having to cook the dinner!
Never again!

I'm spending January sorting all our crap, looking for a pt job, spring cleaning, and getting straight as ds2 leaves home very soon.

I think if buy more presents, I was quite frugal this year and although the kids were pleased it didn't really have the wow factor.

I was super organised with wrapping/buying/food etc so that was nice.

So interested in the notion of buying less for the kids. I didn't think we'd gone overboard, small stocking of things they like, stickers, chocs, things they need (socks/new hairbrush etc). Then 4 main pressies from Santa (by main I mean Airzooka, Gravitrax, doll etc) nothing huge or expensive).

But then came the PIL's presents (and Christmas at theirs means table gifts, more stocking tat, lots of big plastic bulky stuff).

Then other friends and relatives.

I think next year I'll go down to two or three Santa gifts, nice stockings from us. An experience gift for us all (Lion King theatre etc). I can't cope with the influx of stuff when the kids don't want to make room and let anything else go to charity. DS room in particular looking likes toy shop.

Doesn't help they both have December birthdays too so it's just been far too much all round.

Any tips on how to do a low key but indulgent Chris as far as kids are concerned (5 and 7 next year)?

I was very stressed on the run up with nativities and carol concerts to practice and attend for the kids, birthdays all around the beginning of December, trying to fit in visits/present drop offs way in advance, and works dos leaving very little time to do anything necessary or fun. Definitely saying ‘no’ more next year and doing things to suit us.

Going to get far more organised for next Christmas. This year we had a failed house move so packed boxes piled high in dining room meaning table for 10 in quite small kitchen.
Plan huge declutter before we hopefully move in Feb/March.
Also have ds7 with additional needs and December birthday plus 2 older daughters, 1yo foster baby and my oldest dd and her 2 babies came to stay for 6 weeks.
Wrapping on Christmas Eve ended just before midnight and don't want a repeat.
Bought a few gifts already and will wrap earlier and hope I don't forget where stored.

Buy more batteries (fairy lights), check that I have bought/made food for tea, start shopping for gifts earlier and try to plan family catch ups further in advance.

DS & DD were so chuffed with their main present each that they didn’t need any other gifts. DH said he felt “mean” putting out their small piles of presents on Christmas Eve but when DD refused to open her presents because she just wanted to play with her main present, I think he was glad we hadn’t spent more! So next year I will hold firm and only buy a few gifts each. They get lots from grandparents anyway.

I spent loads on desserts and everyone was too full. So I will need to remember that.

I’ll wrap on the 23rd not the 24th, as I eventually got to bed at 1am.

I'm going to let the children open their presents under the tree (from DH & I) as soon as they want to go downstairs. My parents stay with us from 24th - 27th and I was waiting for them to get up / get ready etc so they could see the children open their presents. This meant that I was constantly saying "in a moment", "just wait for x to get ready" etc and presents didn't get opened until about 11am by which time we're juggling food prep etc.

We'll do grandparent presents after lunch when both sets are here (DH parents arrive just before lunch).

Also, going to do more food prep the day before.

No presents for grown up sisters (we all have kids now so just buy for the kids) and don’t host a Xmas dinner at our house for 11 people plus kids - was fucking stressful and I’m still cleaning up now.
Can’t wait till my boys are teenagers and don’t give a fuck about Xmas. Then I’m booking a yoga holiday to Goa over the holiday season. ‘It’s all bollocks and wifework.

I wrapped with brown paper with Christmassy print from Oxfam, recycled and recyclable. I thought it might be a bit dull but three separate people said it was really nice and asked where we got it from!

What is more it's quite thick so I have salvaged a few bits that will be usable next year, for stocking fillers if nothing else. More would be re-usable if I hadn't stuck gift labels in the middle so I'll place more strategically next year.

We bought less stuff but have booked treats like a chocolate-making workshop and that went over well. I'm not surrounded by mounds of tat that has to be found a home in the flat somehow.

Did a ham for the big day, it was lovely and only took 2 hours so we didn't have to gear the whole day around cooking.

Buy less snacks/treats. Too many things tempted us and we have too much left over now it feels done and looking forward to the fresh eating in the new year, no junk etc. But we still have stuff left. I need to reign it in!

Definitely wrap as I buy. I wrapped everything in one go on the 23rd and it nearly finished me off.

We cut back this year and the kids still had more than enough, so we will cut back further next year.

We had everything done and prepped on the 23rd (we had dinner at my parents) so Christmas Eve was lovely - we didn’t have to do anything except go for a long walk and relax.

It's a shit load of "wife work" isn't it @ChippityDoDa. Not because DH is rubbish or doesn't love Christmas but they just don't do the detail in the same way women do or care for, so I think we naturally take on a load more of it than the men. Generalising here, but I can imagine it's this way for many.

For example it was me who created the food order (hosted Boxing Day) - therefore me who knew what was in the fridge and for when. Me who organised gifts so knew what needed to go where, and when. Me who thought DH's dear old uncles would appreciate a foodie gift and so purchased/wrapped etc. He just wouldn't thought of it let alone done it. Then it's just easier to see it all through than to explain to a DH who isn't great with details.

We both work ft, two young DC's. Yet it seems to have all fallen on me. Next year I will most certainly delegate. And I will delegate 1 DC's birthday party/gifts to him too (they are both December birthdays). It's just been too stressful. I haven't felt relaxed once.

Reading this back I sound rather detail obsessed - that I am, so I will plan in advance the easy to delegate jobs!

Failed to wrap pressies as bought this year, and to get cards and pressies done early - need to do better at that. In the end I asked on our neighbourhood Facebook page and a neighbours daughter did it all in three hours for £30.

I've hosted two years in a row, all went well this year but would like to go elsewhere next year. I took a days hols to make the stuffing, gravy and bread sauce which helped enormously.

I will make Christmas Eve evening meal in advance next time, guests start arriving then and want something nice but could do without having another nice meal to cook. Something for the freezer probably.

I must be the only one to say this but.... buy more? Ds10, opened his santa presents, all of which he loved, but only one of play value and he did complain during the morning (before he got to open the biggie - the switch) that there was nothing to do or play with. Awkward age though as the only toy he plays with is Lego which I got, but he wanted to wait to build with a relative later in the day. So yeah, something to combat that.
Otherwise spread purchases throughout the year. Just one small gift each month for each dc. And wrap as I buy. Do that for 10 months so 10 small presents, then buy the " big" (as in price not size!) One in November/december once they have written their lists.

Wish I'd decluttered & cleaned the skirting boards etc before Christmas. Not all the jobs got done & it was annoying me. I'm not desperately house proud, cats, dogs & kids put paid to that but we had a lot of visitors & I would have relaxed more if I'd known those jobs were done.

Bought less but better things for the dc this year & I think it worked very well.

Received some rather odd presents so will give people ideas if they ask! Some people did ask but my mind was blank - will make notes for myself.

Will aim to have all presents bought & wrapped by end of Nov. Someone is always ill & off school so I have to wrap late at night which I hate doing!

Food was mostly good but thinking I may do a roast of CEve next year & buffet/pizzas on CDay.

Have on the calendar to start taking vitamin pills and that fizzy vitamin c shite I always considered a swizz in August so I've a chance of skipping the half colds/bugs that mess the schedule a bit.

I made my own wrapping paper with brown paper and christmas stamps and learned that what looks like loads of stamps when the paper is rolled out on the table looks extremely sparse when wrapped round a present. Somehow, invariably, all the designs got covered over with flaps and stuff, and there'd just be a big expanse of brown on the front of the present with half a robin.

Next year I am going to stamp the hell out of the paper.

Eat differently.I have weird eating patterns and either do very low calorie or have no self discipline at all and I'm sick of it.