Countdown to Christmas 2020 (Thread 10): the one with the Very Important Participants!

[NoWordForFluffy]

Here we go!

I've got a busy day tomorrow, so I'm starting this now, ready for when it's needed.

I'm allergic to cheese so I either have to order a special pizza all to myself or cook something else just for me.

My Tesco shop had brandy ready for getting my fruit in soak ready to make my Christmas cake in a couple of weeks. I make one big square one and cut into 4 small squares - one for us, one for MIL and one each for two of my friends. I might make a Victoria sponge tomorrow just because.

70 yes, but I do that with any frozen pizza tbh living on the edge...

I put everything (apart from cakes and Yorkshire's) into a cold oven

We've just had steak for dinner. Yum.

Yeah, yorkshires can be a bit pancakey if you don't preheat and cakes don't really turn out like they should either 🤦‍♀️

I grew up with an Aga and when I went to uni I couldn't work out why everything took longer to cook, I wasn't factoring in the preheating time!

As you can see my cross stitch has slowed down. Working on a bus right now :)

I remember those pizzas 70. I had one at a friend's house and really wanted to have them at home.

Well, other than when I had breakfast / dinner and my hair cut, I've just sat down for the first time today!

I made chocolate cookie mix for DD as she wanted something she'd eat. I've not baked it yet mind you as DH put the tin through the dishwasher, which hasn't finished yet. I'll do it in a bit.

I've also cleaned the kitchen and utility, plus the woodwork in the dining room, hall, stairs and landing.

Before dinner I was moving furniture round, which involved taking all the books off one of those 8 cube bookcases in the lounge (IKEA, circa 2002!) and moving it into the dining room, emptying the bookcase of toys into it, then moving the bookcase into the lounge and filling with the books I'd taken off the other thing. (I had to move the sofa to do this too!)

I then moved the other cube things and Really Useful drawers into their correct positions post carpet-clean.

Both rooms look less cluttered now, thank god.

Why will confirm that I do love a good furniture move round!

I'm liking the sound of your boozy cake, Woolly. 😋

I'm a warm oven cooker personally!

Pizza sounds good, Why. 🍕 😋

Do you have Meerkat Meals? It was 50% off Dominos and Papa John's 7 days a week last time I saw. (Just checked, it still is, when you spend £30.) I can order for you if you don't have it.

I am knackered though!

Oh, it's Pizza Hut delivery, not Domino's.

Wow fluffy, very productive!

I hurt now! Going side to side with the pressure washer is painful after the event!

God, just realised I'd forgotten to do a couple of areas in the kitchen. So I had to do those before sitting down. Which I have now, hurrah!

Sounds very productive, Fluffy. I'll have a day where I get loads done, and then it takes me a day or two to recover! Roll on Tuesday when I can start napping while DS is at school!

Have you seen Waitrose have a sneak peek of their Christmas 2020 offerings?

We won't know what we're doing over Christmas until DH chills the f**k out we have a clearer picture of the Covid situation.

My original plan was someone else would cook Christmas dinner while I lounged with small baby. Now, unless things drastically improve, DH will not want to go to anyone else's house.

So, options are probably:

1. Get it all pre-prepped and trust DH with the cooking on the day. He will not enjoy it, I will be peeved that I have to write step-by-step instructions which he won't follow properly, and try as he might, it won't be done how I like it (he is dyspraxic, literally no matter how hard he tries, stuff like this takes him ages and he doesn't do it right). We'll both be tired anyway due to said small baby, and I can see it'll all end in tears. Just not worth it on Christmas day.

2. I get everything pre-prepped and cook it myself. Guaranteed that it will be how I like it, but I will tire myself out, added to already being tired is probably a recipe for disaster and resentment.

3. We have Christmas dinner another day, and have easy food on the day. Probably the best option, DH and DS won't care, but I will really miss my Christmas dinner

I know which one I should go with...

Or! Just thought of an option 4! Get my mum to cook and plate us up Christmas dinner, go on an hour round trip to collect it... It's still got to be option 3, hasn't it...

I'm voting takeaway. Will any be open near to you? Or can you order the night before and reheat?

I've no idea how I'm going to blitz the allotment tomorrow after today's efforts! I really hurt.

We're alone for Christmas for the second year running. Which means I'll have to build Lego. Boo!

Evening everyone.
Was out all day in MIL so cleaning day has to be tomorrow
Have washed and dried a load of washing before I left though.
We are all going to make homemade pizza this week, really looking forward to it.

The plaice was fabulous thanks Mrs

That looks amazing Most

Firefly what about option 5? See if Cook are doing their Christmas dinner like thiss*

It might not be exactly how you'd do it from scratch but you might be able to just bung stuff in and sit down in between bits. The deal for 2 should be enough for 2 adults and a little one. Any gaps can be filled with a selection box or two

I cooked Christmas dinner when I was 15 and a half months pregnant with DS only a slight exaggeration as I am a control freak in the kitchen and DH was very good at entertaining the DDs. It was a bit tiring and I had swollen ankles afterwards but it was worth it to stop him faffing 😂

Going back to colds and school - we are monitoring the temperature of adults and children as they enter the building. Anyone with a temp over a certain level is sent home.

Woolly,Boots and Nero - I wouldn't want to forage in case I accidentally made deadly nightshade vodka

Looks lovely, Woolly. The only problem is that when I've looked at them before, because it's all luxury, the turkey is usually butter basted - and I've just seen Cook's parsnips have cheese and the brussels sprouts have buttered leeks. DH is really intolerant of dairy. It used to just be lactose, but now he can't even tolerate lactose-free, and if he does eat dairy he's out of action for 24 hours. He'd have to have all the carrots otherwise he wouldn't have any veg, and I'd begrudgingly eat the brussels whilst feeling very bitter about the carrots

I'll keep an eye out when the Christmas food booklets come out, though - there might be something similar at one of the supermarkets with no dairy (usually the cheaper it is, the more inclined they are to use marge instead of butter!)

That's unusual, isn't it, Firefly, to grown into a dairy allergy, not out of it!

DD is lactose intolerant and DS is CMPI. They're both way better than they were, but can't have butter / milk / yogurt / ice cream / uncooked cheese / too much milk chocolate.

There's loads of vegan options now, Firefly, that may suit, to make sure there's no stealth dairy.

Most, forgot to comment on the reservoir. Looks stunning!

Oh my god. I've seen the attached bedding on M&S' website. But I can't find it to buy! It's stunning!

Has anyone heard the rumours that M&S won't have Advent calendars this year? (Runs to corner sobbing)

What?! Might as well just bloody cancel Christmas at this rate!

Our school used to do that before the Summer holidays Constantly but for some reason stopped that, and I think that was an unwise stupid decision.

Wow fluffy that bedding is amazing and would look amazing in our bedroom.

M&S did vegan options last year fire so worth checking :)

Need to do my porch today. Well I say porch but it is actually just a small shelter over the door. I will do the whole front garden though. So weed, sweep the path and wipe down the front door. The builders will be repainting the front gate and porch in the next couple of weeks so don't need to worry about that and DH said he is going to book a window cleaner so another task ticked off! Will do one last mow in a couple of weeks and that will be the front looking lovely. Might buy some lights to go on the porch though.

Most if you get on really well with your neighbours, that porch would look amazing with some fairy lights Maybe you could share them?
This is my "porch" and there's nowhere to hang lights, other than a wreath on the door which DH would pull a face over & it would probably get nicked

Next door already have icicles on their half boots but i like warm lights so we are going to clash