If you Xmas at home, what do you do?

[YukoandHiro]

We have a v small family, DH and I both only children and his parents have passed away, so we go with our two children to my parents most years. It's very traditional, exactly as it was for me growing up really.

Anyway due to omicron we might end up cancelling plans to stay with them this year and will be doing it alone as a family for the first time (last year we had a newborn support bubble). Trying to think about what we can do to make it special but also make it ours, and a bit different.

What do you do with your families on Xmas day?

Following as I find it doesn’t really feel like Christmas.
We haven’t been home since 2018 due to illness and covid so it will be another year just my partner, three year old and me. Doesn’t feel like Christmas.

I love staying at home my with my kids.. it's lovely

No need to worry your kids will love it

Just eat well cook get happy and go for a long walk

We always go for a walk for a couple of hours with flasks of hot chocolate and lots of chocolate. I make sure there are specific gifts fir the children that can be ‘used’ on Christmas Day - games, crafts etc. On Boxing Day we build a model - Lego, marble run, junk modelling. Sometimes it’s the ritual that makes it special as much as the actual activity, so don’t stress about it all too much

We always do it just the three of us as family lives abroad and I can't get enough time off work to travel for more than just 2-3 days and that's a hassle.

Opening presents after a really nice breakfast in the living room next to the tree.

Going for a walk if the weather is good, hot chocolate flask with us.

Light lunch and putting the feet up, watching a movie, playing with toys, playing a new boardgame, skyping with family.

Dinner around 6pm, we do a roast but a small bird with just roast potatoes and small sides. I am not a fan of eating leftovers for days on end. We do a nice starter and a dessert I can prepare the day before ideally.

A big family do is my idea of a nightmare Christmas.

We are always home, me and my children, my surviving parent comes usually - but not last year because Covid.

We prep veggies on Christmas Eve, family meal (non festive), tray out for FC. Now they no longer believe they fill each others’ stockings!

On Christmas Day, up, breakfast, stockings through the morning while I cook (presents from stockings are only allowed to be open when I’m in the room), lunch, The Queen, pudding, clear up, presents, empty the dishwasher, snooze in front of the TV and then snack supper as people pick over the leftovers.

Boxing Day, Panto!

We live abroad and due to covid it’s all my 3 year old has ever known, for it to be just us. It’s very different, but lovely and more relaxed in a way. On Christmas Eve (my favourite) I do a special Christmas breakfast, we’ll watch the Gruffalo & Gruffalos child on CBeebies as Dd loves it. Probably take the dog for a walk to nearby woods & beach, then spend the afternoon making mince pies & gingerbread biscuits with Dd, Xmas music on. We’ll have a carpet picnic of lovely picky treats, watch Xmas films, prepare everything for Santa, read The night before Christmas then bed.
Xmas day-open pressies, nice breakfast, play with presents, go in the garden, Christmas lunch/dinner, maybe a walk or films, lazing around, cheese & biscuits and chocs.
Boxing Day, leftovers & dog walk, chilling out. After Boxing Day we’ll meet up with friends and go out etc.
I love it for the comfort and relaxation, I can spend 3 days in pjs if I wanted to 😅but I also miss the business of old Christmas’s, visit family, getting dressed up, other people cooking and so on. I tend to have a strange moment on Christmas Day evening when I feel sad as I miss my family

We always do it just the four of us. I prefer it. We never left the house as kids and that to me is how Christmas should be.

We get up and open presents. The kids get a bit over excited and play with all their new stuff. DH and I are generally unboxing and building the kids new stuff. We eat lots of chocolate. Eventually get around to putting dinner on. Eat dinner. Usually the kids have a board game we play as a family and then we might watch a film together. It's just all very relaxed, no expectations, no rushing around.

I love it just being us at home. No stress, just relaxed.

The DC open their stockings first thing, then we have a nice breakfast of pastries, fruit salad and bucks fizz/orange juice.
Then we open our presents from each other under the tree. Then time for playing etc with presents. Christmas music on, few nibbles out. At one point I'll get dinner in the oven. We eat around 2pm. After our main course we have a break. This is when we usually play a board game. After dessert we'll open any presents we have from other people and then watch a film.

Boxing day is a full day of chilling out and having a nice buffet centred round a cheese board.

We don't do anything special but just enjoy spending the time together.

"Xmas" isn't a verb

We love staying at home, means there’s no rush to open presents, no rush to cook dinner, we can stay in PJ’s for longer, eat what we like and do what we like. It’s relaxing and stress free.

I'm confused about what people think is wildly different between what you do with just your own household and multiple households.

Approx for us:

1. We get up around 8-8.30am
2. Open presents round the tree (one at a time going clockwise, it takes a while)
3. kids play with toys while we unwind, stick breakfast on to cook/eat
4. we cook dinner (takes ages)
5. waste an hour or two setting up toys, opening boxes, finding batteries lol
6. we open stockings while dinner cooks too
7. we eat dinner/do crackers
8. we sit around with a film on picking at sweets while kids play

That takes up most of the day.

Did the same things in childhood the year's grandparents and uncles came (before they passed away) as the years we are alone.

I guess it's different if you don't have kids, the years between 14-20 when my mam decided I was an adult and I didn't have kids I didn't really do anything. My parents cooked dinner and we opened token gifts and that was about it (after 16 I spent most of the day tipsy) but for me, Xmas is about kids they make it and I have no idea what I'll do when they grow up and fly the nest.

@Thegreencup

We always do it just the four of us. I prefer it. We never left the house as kids and that to me is how Christmas should be.

We get up and open presents. The kids get a bit over excited and play with all their new stuff. DH and I are generally unboxing and building the kids new stuff. We eat lots of chocolate. Eventually get around to putting dinner on. Eat dinner. Usually the kids have a board game we play as a family and then we might watch a film together. It's just all very relaxed, no expectations, no rushing around.

Sounds very similar like our Xmas too... I would change it for the world, short of a house fire or gas leak I'm not leaving my house lol.

• similar too

• wouldn't change

damn autocorrect not make sense

We start by being woken by excited DC, I make me and DH a cup of tea and the kids a drink, feed the pets and put the Turkey on then get back into bed accompanied by the dog and cat and we open the stockings.

We always but one gift to keep the kids entertained while we cook lunch so they get to open that and we play together while lunch is cooking. Lunch takes a while with crackers etc then we open the presents under the tree, we take turns and it takes quite a long time.

The kids play with whatever they’ve got, DH and I look through our stuff and have a drink.

It’s usually quite late in the day by now so we put all the lovely buffet style food out plus any leftovers from lunch. We eat and chat, put the kids to bed and enjoy a few more drinks and some tv.

Early morning knowing my kids..! We will open stockings and then come downstairs for opening presents. I did pastries last year for breakfast as no one wanted to stop the present giving to eat. This year will do pre-made pancakes and fruit.

Then really it's just all about the kids gifts, setting things up. Popping the music on.

Lunch is buffet on the kitchen table as a help yourself. I don't want to be cooking whilst the kids are opening gifts.

Afternoon is a walk and film with popcorn. Dinner around 5pm.

Xmas Eve we are making paper chains and a ginger break house. Putting food /oats out for the reindeer. I usually buy a Christmas themed books for Xmas Eve. We have a nice collection now. We get them all out on Xmas Eve and read them all

I always keep one stocking filler aside for Boxing Day as a little gift, the kids like that actually. It's nice to have something to open the next day.

This is a nice thread to read, as it'll be me, dp and DS18,m all alone for first ever Xmas. Yours all sound really lovely and cozye

Ha ha ha @Justkeeppedaling - I didn't spot that I'd missed 'have'. I'm such a pedant that would have annoyed me too.

Lazy morning unwrapping presents with Christmas music on, coffees and breakfast and chocolate, a good few miles walking the dog, then a couple of hours finishing prepping & then enjoying dinner. We always save a present or two for everyone for after dinner. Then boards games, films, snacks, until everyone flops

Always just us at home. Get up, open presents, have some breakfast, Xmas music on or Xmas tv channel throughout. Take dog for a walk, eat, drink, play with Xmas stuff, prepare and eat Xmas dinner, maybe another walk, Xmas tv.

It’s basically very relaxed, we want to be in our home and so do kids, not driving around to multiple houses

We always have Christmas just us four. We love it. We get up with the kids early and they open their stockings whilst we have coffee and breakfast. We go to church (although didn't last year for covid reasons). Kids then open their presents, and I set up toys whilst dh cooks lunch. We have a few drinks then family walk. Film in the afternoon with snacks the bed for the kids and finally turkey sandwiches and tea with call the midwife! Boxing day is extended family day.

Just us.

Up early & open stocking.

Then church. Then long walk.

Then home for coffee & chocolates, open presents one at a time. Takes ages.

Start food. Lunch - starter.

Play with toys. Set things up.

Then crackers & table presents.

Get dressed for dinner - Black Tie.

Champagne.

Traditional dinner.

Pudding.

Bed for kids.

Cheese & port for us.

Boxing day - play games, snacks, turkey sandwich. Chill out.

I love it.b

Lazy breakfast and presents. Start cooking lunch for mid afternoon. Maybe watch a bit of TV then play quick board games with sweets.Then snack type meal, sandwiches, chips etc and have a few drinks. That's what we used to do pre covid when we visited family though as well.

We've always had Christmas Day at home just the four of us. DH and I ate the opposite and both have large families. We love seeing them but it's hectic and the first year we had DD1 we thought it would just be too stressful for us and overwhelming for her. So we had Christmas Day at home and we absolutely love it!

We get up and open stockings.
Have breakfast.
Open presents under the tree.
I start cooking and DDs play with their presents. DH tidies up.
Maybe get dressed!
We eat our Christmas meal at lunchtime.
All go for a walk. I really like saying Merry Christmas to passers by.
Home for TV, games, snacks later on. DH and I crack open the Baileys.
One year we had friends pop round for a drink on Christmas Day afternoon and that was lovely too.

I should say that we see both sides of our families on other days, this year seeing DH's family on Christmas Eve and mine between Christmas and New Year.

We always spend Xmas at home, we're a family of 5. Our dc are teenagers now so I make extra effort to keep the Xmas spirit alive! Absolutely love spending Xmas at home and wouldn't have it any other way. My sister stays with us as she's on her own. Kids open their stockings in their bedrooms then go down together to open gifts, eat breakfast, start the turkey, walk the dog, play board games, constant eating, Xmas movie etc. Xmas eve is also pretty special with a fun activity like cinema or ice skating, meal prep for the next day, a massive Chinese takeaway with my in-laws round and midnight mass. I love it all