What are you going to do different next Christmas?

[MsMiaWallace]

Hopefully we'll be able to visit family/friends & socialise more.
Apart from this what else will you change for next Christmas, if anything?

For me I won't be buying:

Mulled wine, didn't really get drunk.

Baking set for the kids to make biscuits for Santa on Christmas Eve, they really weren't interested!

A tub of quality street/heroes. They tasted rank.

Less presents for the kids. Although we say this every year!

Need to buy new Christmas lights for outside too.

We're getting outside electrical sockets fitted so we can go to town with lights.

Thanks @PhantomErik some great ideas, particularly the chopsticks

@daisydalrymple

lovely thanks, yes I’m plodding on. It was pretty horrendous, as couldn’t keep my temp down, but thankfully I slept through the worst of it. Rubbish timing! Self isolating in my bedroom right through Christmas and new year.

Oh no, that sounds absolutely rubbish. Fingers crossed you have a lovely Christmas 2021 to make up for it.

My first baby is due soon so hopefully I'll be busy making new traditions

Fingers crossed it will include plenty of Christmas events and family parties!

Thank you lovely.
I bought my first Easter chocolates yesterday, not taking any chances 😂😂😂

Stay home and have a small family Christmas.

Make sure the crackers I buy for the kids don't have CONFETTI IN THEM!!
Confetti!! What a crazy idea, how would you stop it going in the food??!

Good thread . We had a similar discussion just last night and decided...

1. No one actually likes Christmas cake so don't bother
2. Whilst I do miss socialising, don't say yes to every invite (my husband is a social butterfly so we get invited to every bloody party in a 20 mile radius)
3. Takeaway on Christmas Eve is a godsend
4. Not to buy any chocolate as we get given so many
5. We are booking a beach/sun type holiday NYE - love Christmas and the days before and after but by about the 29/30th all we seems to do it eat and get really lazy and discuss what we're going to do on NYE and then inevitably be disappointed!

M&S biscuits not Victoria
Buy a blank gingerbread house, already assembled instead of thinking I’ll make one
Outside Christmas lights - warm white ones
Turkey breast roll from the butchers again, it was amazing as were their pigs in blankets
Cook more pigs in blankets to have cold
Tell DH to make crackers instead of buying them as the ones this year were shit and didn’t bang
Wrap presents earlier so we’re not doing it on the 23rd - ignore DH when he says we have plenty of time 🙄
Stocking presents in paper bags instead of wrapping
Personalised stickers instead of handwriting gift tags
DIY German Market with Currywurst
Walk to see lights with mulled wine - did this with DD but couldn’t persuade DH to join us at all
Christmas light scavenger hunt - DD had one sent home from nursery and it was a great hit
Homemade sausage rolls using sausage meat from the butchers and ready made pastry

And the big one: stick to my guns re. DH thinking of and buying presents otherwise we will be getting divorced.

So far I plan to..

• Have all presents bought and wrapped by end of November so I can enjoy December
• Leave presents in an easier place - Parents loft on Christmas Eve caused chaos
• Treat myself to M&S Gin in the lead up
• Deliver all presents to family members and friends week before Christmas
• Book Christmas Activities (Panto and Bowling booked up to now) as I feel DC missed out on a lot
• Have enough saved on Asda savings card that we don't have to pull out any money for food and drink
• Hopefully have a few hundred pounds saved in JD Vouchers as I hate handing money over in there
• Buy some new decorations in good time

-

Love this thread! My plans:

• Get a turkey crown, the whole turkey was too much faff and too much waste. Use butter muslin again, it worked really well.
• Don't buy as much chocolate/ice cream/crisps/sweet stuff there's far too much left
• Start saving for presents now so there will be money left over for the random expenses December entailed
• Save tesco vouchers through the year again
• December went by too quickly so make sure everything is bought and wrapped so December can be enjoyed
• Don't buy brie, no one eats ithe
• Takeaway on Christmas Eve is the law
• Me and OH be able to afford to buy each other even just small presents to open on the day
• Don't leave online ordering too late, it's too stressful
• read Christmas books and magazines across the season and watch movies
• Hope people leave their curtains and blinds open again so I can enjoy their decorations while walking the dog

Also I'm not buying any toys including slime for the kids next Xmas!

Hopefully will be able to do what we normally do every year- spend 4 days away, 2 with one side of the family, 2 with the other. Or host here. We all agree that Christmas at home with just the four of us is a bit boring.

Perfectly happy with this Christmas in terms of food, presents bought and received etc, as normal. I made a white chocolate gingerbread yule log instead of Christmas pudding, which was fab, but I only did it because 2 of the 4 of us aren't keen on Christmas pudding. If we were with the extended family I'd definitely make pudding, and maybe log too!

More lights
Plan the elf way in advance
Make sure we have red cabbage and bread sauce
Put money aside earlier
Real tree

Iceland buffet stuff order as they get in, I love buffet food, present buying starts in March April, no cheap chocs this year, bedroom done by November.

Next year - book more time off . I only booked off the 24th (i don;t work a Friday anyway ) Usually I go to see DParents in January but obviously ths year didn't happen.

Next year depends on where my DS is living - if he's not still with us he says he would stay where he is (DS doesn't really do Christmas though)
I have said I'll drive to his house , kidnap him , bundle him in the car and drive him home Mwah Ha Ha Covid permitting .

DD Beauty Advent (which I make for her) . I got the H&B and used the products . Maybe 18 out of the 25 were suitable for her but I buy bath products , skincare , foot&hand masks . Takes some planning , I've done this I think four years and she loves it .

I missed the trips out to the big shopping centres to browse , but I didn't want to risk our health for a pooter round Bluewater .

Food -wise I think we did it ok. I made 2 small Christmas cakes - one is marzipanned/iced , one still wrapped up . I might keep it for Easter .
Christmas pudding (bought one) still in the pantry .

Bought the December 1st Hamper things in Oct/Nov .
Gave Ds money (which was his choice )
That'll go on the Do This Next Year list

Next Christmas I won't be cooking as much as I did this year, won't argue with the whole fam over the song for a smartshow 3d video for our relatives (they'll be doing it without me next year, haha!) and will buy Christmas lights for the outside. I was about to do it this year but I forgot and had no chance to buy them last minute.

DD Beauty Advent (which I make for her) . I got the H&B and used the products
@70isaLimitNotaTarget what is the H&B please, I'd like to do a beauty calendar for DD this year.

Kottbullar you need the Style^Beauty thread for the unveiling of the Holland&Barret Advent Calendar .
It was £40 ish , some really good products , mainly skin/body care . No make-up but there was a lip oil.
I kept anything coconut (she cannot abide) and there were a couple of items more suited to my skin.

It was a very well liked Advent Calendar ( especially in the absence of the M&S one - which I've never bought )

Another thing I’ll do is out special Christmas food items in my Tesco basket as soon as I book the shop. I always fancy their vegetarian options but they’re all marked ‘not available’ when I’m actually doing the shop as opposed to putting things in the basket and checking out to reserve the date!

The main difference I want this year is to be able to see my family - but obviously that's not something we can decide on until later in the year.

Hopefully we'll be able to go to church on Christmas Eve/Day and do stuff we couldn't this year like panto, proper Christmas shopping, Christmas markets etc. (I won't hold my breath for all of those though!)

Make a smaller Christmas pudding. There were only 4 of us this year and we had it about 5 times over Christmas.

Do more home baking - this year we made our own Christmas pudding and mince pies and they were SO much better than shop bought. Next year I'll try and make a Christmas cake as well.

Buy less sweet stuff - we only finished all the chocolate, sweets, biscuits etc. on 10th January and I had hoped to start my diet on 1st or 2nd.

Mulled wine didn't get used so won't get it next year (unless we get to meet up with family)

Get Christmas cards sent earlier. I always say I'll do this but end up posting them at the last minute.

• less presents for the kids

• part baked rolls instead of garlic bread for the Christmas/ Boxing Day buffet tea and remember to put the cold meat out.

• less mince pies - we’re still swimming in them. Ditto chocolate, but making up our own tin with different boxes of chocolates worked well. We got a lovely festive tin from the £1 shop too.

• I want a wreath for the door and spray for the dining room table.

• no chocolates in the crackers, just wind up Santa’s and scratch cards. The chocolates were sprouts and puddings and were a bit dangerous

• new red valance for our bed as DH managed to shrink it this year and it looked terrible.

Don’t bother with festive elf ice cream, it’s still in the freezer.

Keep

• after dinner card games, the kids really enjoyed playing.

• self serve meals over the festive period, and Prosecco glasses for schleur the kids felt VERY grown up.

• steak pie, chips and peas with the left over roast. Worked really well for leftovers. Ditto pigs in blankets pasta and chicken jambalaya.

Oh and make Christmas cards earlier with the kids, it went a bit fraught at the end.

Also don’t bother with the gingerbread house, it’s still in the wardrobe.

A big please please please for theatre and Santa visits next year, and our annual photo shoot. Really missed those.

@daisydalrymple

Another thing I’ll do is out special Christmas food items in my Tesco basket as soon as I book the shop. I always fancy their vegetarian options but they’re all marked ‘not available’ when I’m actually doing the shop as opposed to putting things in the basket and checking out to reserve the date!

Don't feel bad you didn't do it this year. I tried, but by the time I could book the slot (smart pass, so the day they were released) the products were already marked 'unavailable'. I was disappointed as I was spending Christmas alone & fancied a few nice things. I'm hoping that aspect will be improved this year, but hopefully shopping 'in store' will be ok too. (CV so not shopping In store at all).

Won’t be dragged into Zoom call with ILs and spend an hour sitting thinking “ffs, I need get the turkey into the oven” while they sloppy eat sandwiches in front of their computer 🤢