Do your under fives eat christmas dinner with you ? or not?

[filtered]

dcs eat lunch at 12 then go to bed so am planning to do adult lunch for 1pm with the dcs who can have leftovers at 5pm but dh and pil say its very creuel but i wont get to eat relxed as will have to feed them both and look after guests etc
tell mei am not the only one doing this ?

We used to eat with our children when they were under five. How old are yours?

You can't not eat with your children on Christmas day!

Sorry but I am totally with your dh and pil's here. Just tell them how you feel and to help you with the feeding etc

How old are your children?

We all eat together.

I think you shoudl all try to eat together if at all possinble

1 and 3

we always eat lunch with ds - not necessarily dinner though cos sometimes he's too tired to wait up. i'm lucky though in that i always enjoy my own food cos ds has always fed himself. that's one of the reasons why i did it like it - never fancied the idea of leaving my own dinner to go cold while i fed him.

nooooooooooo

not the answer i wanted

Your 3 year old should be self sufficient. Make sure your 1 year old is sat next to someone else who is then obliged to supervise.

If I were you, I would make other adults either entertain the babies or cook the meal. If the children were hungry at 12 and I didn't think they could wait, I'd give them some sort of snack. I don't think it matters if they eat a huge meal at lunchtime but I would mind them not being there. But if the one year old fell asleep in the morning, I wouldn't wake him or her up. Essentially, I'd let the lunch/nap routine slip a bit. Better to have them napping after your lunch I think rather than up and bouncy when you're trying to relax.

Ours have always sat at the table for xmas dinner. They are 6,5 & 4 and my 3 yo niece will be here too. They can eat as much or as little as they like of whatever is on offer, and have I have bought special crackers and a chocolate log for pudding for them.

dcs always ate with the whole family on Christmas Day, regardless of their age.

I think it is important for everyone to sit together at the table as a family (even if the younger one's don't eat much).

I shall be passing DS2 to DH to hold whilst I eat my Christmas dinner even though I am now used to eating my meals cold

eat with him at 22 months- did last year as well when he was 10 months - dinner for me is a family time - all of us together. esp on xmas day.

Have always eaten with DCs. Don't be silly you HAVE TO EAT WITH YOUR CHILDREN ON THIS DAY OF ALL DAYS.

I know it can be stressful but you give a child to a relative for each course.

"Here, you can have DD for starters" then they either eat or feed the child. Carry on around the table.

Do not have too many courses or you will have to invite too many relatives.

In theory yes... in practice... well it goes a bit like this:

DT1 (3.10yrs): ewwwwwwwwwww yuck!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't like it. It's yucky. Can I have

Do please excuse the rogue apostrophe - am on the wine

You have to eat together on Christmas day even if you never eat together any other day.

Do you have very fussy relatives who will tut at less than perfect manners?

Dh and I have always eaten Christmas dinner with DD (she is now 5). We just timed dinner to suit our circumstances at the time.

I can't imagine DD not being part of Christmas dinner TBH.

Your and Dh sit either side of 1 year old and take turns to feed. Let 3 year old manage with fingers and cutlery - I am sure he will manage. If you are busy before/during meal thaen get one of the other guests - esp if family - to do the feeding, with DH.

Sorry, my niece is 2 . She's more than capable of fending for herself at the table. Just relax and not worry too much about what they are/are not eating.

Kids and adults need to learn to live side by side.

Segregation NEVER!
Intergration NOW!

something cruel in not eating Christmas kunch with your kids, whatever their age

cruel maybe too strong, can't think of a better word

to cheer you up, ds missed the first 3 christmas dinners of his wee life because he was napping. he joined us last year while his baby sister napped. lunch will be served while dd naps tomorrow.

Yours are 1 and 3. They won't know, they won't miss it. There are plenty of other years to eat together.

Do what works for you.

I'm cooking for around 15 tomorrow and I'm not going to feel at all guilty for planning my meal for dd's naptime.

enjoy your meal!

when I read the title I thought wtf?

but having read they need a nap at about 12.30 or 1 I can see your point

however could you not give them a snack lunch at 12 and then all eat together when they wake up? How long do they normally sleep for? It truly is nice to sit together at the table on special occasions, even though it can be more work. Children pick up on the special atmosphere and I think it is a nice experience for them

feeling awful now

we do normally eat all our other meals toghetre

i'm not that awful