Christmas Eve - tell me your plans for today

[newlabelwriter]

Happy Christmas Eve all! Obviously today is going to feel really different , we normally go for a nice long walk in the woods, cinema, church, dinner and then all the normal Christmas Eve things. Without all the bits we normally do in the day I’m at a bit of a loss as how to keep today special for the DC ( especially as I’m feeling zero festive) . I’m going to make everyone a nice breakfast and we’ll still get out for a walk (if it’s stopped raining) and thought maybe watch the NT panto on YouTube but any other festive tips would be much appreciated otherwise the DC will be up in their rooms on tik tok 🙄. They’re 10 & 12 so both non Santa 🎅🏻 believers (its DS’s first year of not believing) and I just want to make it feel as special as possible (without me having a mini breakdown). TIA

Working at home this morning although will mainly involve me checking emails every half hour .
Going to hoover round the house and tidy a bit in living room.
Parents are coming to drop presents as we decided to spend Christmas apart .
This evening will be watching tv and having a cheese board and prosecco . Can’t wait .

Finish tidying / cleaning a bit
Make trifle
Loooong walk to tire 3 year old out a bit
General baby and small child entertainment
Treasure hunt
Another walk round the village after dark to look at everyone’s Christmas lights
All the hanging up stocking stuff etc

I’m really excited to try the treasure hunt. Hoping it’ll become a Christmas Eve tradition of sorts. The clues are things like “your next clue is hiding in the place where the baby sleeps” or similar easy ones for 3.5 yr old. You could make them properly cryptic though for older teens. There are some printable clues on Pinterest if you fancy doing one without having to think up your own clues.

I did 10 clues and there is a Lindt chocolate bunny at the end. Hoping that’ll kill some decent time and be good festive fun!

Waiting for dc to wake up
Coffee with my support bubble (single parent)
Cinema me and dc (swapped from usual panto trip)
Meet xh after so he can give dc their present and have a walk through town (tier 4 from Saturday and they won't visit his house)
Home to prep veg etc
Pub (just us 3 instead of usual 16)
Home and try to stay awake until dc have gone to bed to put out presents (I went before them last night!!)
No midnight mass this year so possibly a baileys and book in bed

Walk with DS1 and 2 of his friends (rule of 6 obvs!).
Walk with DS2 and DH and DS1.
Make yule log.
Take annual xmas pics of the boys.
Wrap santa presents.
Celebrate a brexit deal hopefully (am a remainer but this feels like good news of course)
Eat a lot of cheese - antipasti, charcuterie, cheese board is our annual xmas eve dinner.

My DC are 5, 3 and 11 months. Baby will be pottering around us and being looked after by dp while I am in charge of activities for the other two. I will be spending the early morning (should start now really!) Finishing off the bouse work as the kids know Santa likes you bedrooms to be tidy :) will change the bedsheets too.

Then the fun will begin, the kids will have a special breakfast when they wake up in about 4 minutes and then I'll let them play games with me on the console.

I have some food prep to do for tomorrow while the kids watch their favourite Christmas episodes of shows (Cat in the Hat and My Little Pony for example) and between that we will bake cookies, one being for FC. I have also saved a couple of our Christmas crafts for today too so that will take up some time.

Dinner tonight will be a picnic with blanket under the Christmas tree and we will watch a Christmas movie.

In the evening they will have a bubble bath, put on pjs and we will play musical statues and the 'guessing game' (charades). Then we will snuggle down for a Christmas story and our usual bedtime routine.

Hopefully that will be them down for the night! I don't know if this year they will be old enough to wake excessively early as they weren't last year but I hope not.

Also I promised I wouldn't leave wrapping til Xmas eve this year but lo and behold I have so will be doing that tonight. At least I did a fair chunk of it yesterday so that's something at least 😄

Same as I do every day...try to stop my 1 year old trashing everything and my 5 year old being upset because the 1 year old has ruined whatever she was was trying to do. With the added overexcitement of Xmas looming this should be even more fun.

Christmas film, walk in the woods, build some gingerbread houses (we have one each for competative design). Tonight, my wonderful choir mistress has managed to risk asses the shit out of church so that we can sing a couple of carols at mass and I am so excited! It's choir only and only 4 of them, but I am deligted that she's managed it (lower tier and many risk assessments), as it always makes christmas for me.

Answer emails then set the auto reply.
See to my pony.
Decorate chocolate logs and put ham in slow cooker, etc
Bit of cleaning
Swap presents with my brother and his children
Chill out with advocaat and tune in to my cousin playing live from NY singing Christmas songs and eat
Chill out with DH and DDog

working in a supermarket till 5 , then home to make a picky tea ,watch a film with the teenagers (hopefully) drink all the wine (definitely) and start the dinner prep for tommorrow

Last day of work before going off. I have a mad day ahead as I am a family lawyer and the last week before christmas is mad with emergency court orders; people behaving likes arses over contact; etc. Got wind last night that some children were removed under emergency police powers and we will likely be in court today.

then I need to go to the supermarket and do the food shop for tomorrow and boxing day because our plans have fallen through because of covid. DH is home with the DCs, and when i DO get home (whenever that will be) i need to wrap presents and sort out stockings and dinners.

I am not looking forward to today.

We'd planned a long forest walk this morning but DS1 (4) got called to self isolate after contact from school. Hoping that between DH and I we can keep both DS entertained enough to do some festive magic without them noticing.

DS2 is still in bed, once he wakes up we will go down for a nice breakfast. We are in tier 4, and before this was announced we were due to have my parents for dinner so I made their Christmas dinner main component last night, froze it and will drop off today. Also need to collect two Christmas cakes that I'd ordered and will deliver to my parents and in-laws.

Apart from that it's just a day of Jurassic World, playing board games and football in the garden. DS1 requested macaroni cheese with bacon for dinner so will prep that later. Then the boys have new festive rubber ducks for a Christmas bath and then bed. Just have to convince DS1 to not sleep in our bed all night now!

Oh and I'm going to head out for a run this morning.

We will be having our Xmas eve special breakfast, going ice skating, baking cookies, then a takeaway tea and getting into our new Xmas jammies the elf brought us to snuggle down with hot chocolate bombs and popcorn watching The Christmas Chronicles 2. Hopefully the DCs go to sleep relatively early (9ish) so we can sneak all the presents in. My dh and I always exchange gifts tonight as well

Oh and we are jingling on the doorstep at 6pm.

Working. The cat will be fine dining, taking a stroll around the grounds and then napping in her big fluffy bed.
I wish I was my cat.

Popping to the gym in an hour or so. Then working! We are hoping to finish around 2.30pm though so not the end of the world.

Already been out with the dogs!
Zoom PT session at 9
Then video call with a family member
Then last minute food shopping
We have some friends coming at 1pm for a few hours (we are not in UK)
Then we have Zoom carols with family at 6pm, followed by hot chocolate and bed for DD
More or less done with the wrapping so hope to enjoy a few minutes' peace with DH in front of the fire this evening!
It's going to be a busy one.

Just having my coffee then off to shops for last bits, we need milk, salad, etc.
Then home to clean up. DS is planning on watching Xmas films all day then having a bath with glowsticks, new PJs on etc.
I'm going to church at 5 then home to prep veg, get my shower, do hair and nails, sort outfits out for tomorrow.
Follow Father Christmas on Flight Radar and Norad, watch Polar Express with DC while they have crispy duck and Chinese nibbles.
DC in bed for 10 and then DH and I will watch It's a wonderful life with a glass of champagne. Arrange DC's presents then off to bed.
DS is 12 with SN so he's terrible to sleep at the best of times. He's always up by 5am at the latest on Christmas day.

Currently in bed while dh does dishwasher a d makes coffee.

Nice breakfast
Head to beach for walk
Light lunch
Bit of washing and tidying
Maybe another walk this afternoon
Films, hot chocolate, picnic dinner

I didn't really want to be up at 4:45 for the 2nd day in a row. The problem is self isolating DS who we can't tire out enough while in the boundaries of our small suburban property, so tomorrow will be fun
I guess we will go and do the front garden as he's already helped tidy the back earlier this week.

We have some cookies we baked the other day (gingerbread) which we'll decorate after tea and the plan for tea is ham, crusty bread and salad.

DH will be going to the shop for essentials coffee and beer and making a frangipane tart.

We prepped and froze all the veg last weekend, so no need to prep anything.

Have a lovely day all and I've lost the name now, but good luck to the poster who has flooding!

Finished work yesterday which meant I didn’t have to be up at 4am. Slept in till nearly 6:30. It was bliss.
We have our big meal Christmas Eve. Did the bulk of the prep yesterday so will be finishing up and cooking the turkey.
My friend is joining us this year. She’s single and been bubbling with us since the start. Normally she’d go to her sister’s but her sister is a care worker and as well as working over Christmas, has been isolating as much as possible. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve done very little socially this year and I’ve missed it so much.

Take Dcat to vets this morning (nothing worrying thankfully) and then a nice, long walk in the sun after days of torrential rain.

Bake some gingerbread with DS and watch a Christmas film with hot chocolates.

Need to change bedding, sort out Christmas Eve box and get a few things out of the freezer.

I’m going to the dentist for an emergency appointment due to the most agonising toothache of my life. Haven’t slept for three nights, can barely eat, the tooth needs to come out but requires surgical extraction so he’s not sure he can do it. I’m desperate so am hoping he can do SOMETHING.

Hoping to be back on this thread later tonight reporting that I’m sore from an extracted tooth and wrapping presents!

Get one last present for the boss if I can, wrap said presents, nip the hoover and duster over. That should sort the morning out.

Afternoon: heating up, nice smelly on, open a little something or 3 and get pleasantly piss... merry.

@PhilCornwall1

Get one last present for the boss if I can, wrap said presents, nip the hoover and duster over. That should sort the morning out.

Afternoon: heating up, nice smelly on, open a little something or 3 and get pleasantly piss... merry.

Oh forgot. The first task I expect will be to deliver Christmas coffee in bed when I get the WhatsApp message!!!

I have to go and look after my grandad this morning, I'll take the toddler even though she will be a pain as she cheers him up (gran died of covid in November and hes not doing very well). Dh, dd and dsd will lie in bed until I get home then once DH has picked up dss after lunch we will make gingerbread men and decorate them then watch a movie. Once we've got them all in bed DH has two presents to put together and I'll set everything else up, snowy footprints, stockings etc. Our last Christmas as a 6 before our new baby girl arrives so will be relatively peaceful... hopefully!