What Christmas activities have you got planned for December?

[teenysaladandsniffofarose]

Just being nosey/ looking for inspiration!

Just got back from centre parcs (which was so lovely and festive but also £££) so trying to come up with some festive activities that don't cost the earth for DS 3.

We've booked a santas grotto at a Christmas tree farm local to us which cost £15

Baking ginger bread men and mince pies

Our local area has a walk trail with lots of Christmas lights so we'll be doing that one evening

We live near a trago mills which does a great Christmas train ride which only costs £10 for all 3 of us.

Lots of movie nights watching Christmas movies with mince pies 🥧

I have the great joy of having no children at home so don't have to do these activities! All the music concerts and plays at school would really eat into my annual leave in December (Grinch).

So this year I've got a Christmas dinner with DH and friends, Christmas lunch with friends of mine, and work Christmas dinner which will be nice because its in a really good restaurant in Soho all paid for by the company.

And no doubt some sort of drinks with the neighbours, we might even do it here, not been organised yet.

I love having adult children sometimes!

None apart from the school Christmas Festival this evening with all of the proceeds going to Palestinian charities.

Then nothing till Christmas Day when it will be our usual en masse family day but much more low key. The children in the family are okay with things being different this year because nothing is hidden from them and the whole situation is just too raw for all of us.

I don’t begrudge anyone else their Christmas though and I hope you all have a lovely time.

Going on a walk with 8 year old tonight to look at some christmas lights near us.
Panto tomorrow evening.
Got a santa visit at the local shopping centre booked next weekend.

Bottomless brunch with friends
DC Christmas concert
Train to see santa
Christmas lunch with my parents
Food and luminate with family
Ice skating
Christmas baking
Show to see Aladdin

We’ve just got back from a little holiday near to longleat, did the Festival of Lights, met Father Christmas and whatnot.
We’ve got a illuminated walk thing at our local gardens, a couple of carol services, a charity Christmas tractor run (both DH and I as well as one of our employees will be taking tractors), a cute audience-participation nativity on a local farm for the littlies, meeting father Christmas on his sleigh as he does the rounds of the local villages and a Christmas party for our local playgroup. Think that’s everything 😅

Frankly?

The sum total of 3 year old, 8 year old, my work and DH work, and family have auto-accounted for Christmas activities -

1. 3 year old DD as elf in Musical Theatre christmas play (DONE)
2. 8 year old in his dark role in comedic interpretation of Shakespeare play by his theatre club (DONE)
3. Nativity for 8 year old (not yet)
4. Cathedral carols for 8 year old school (DONE)
5. Nativity for 3 year old nursery (not yet)
6. My work Xmas quiz (DONE)
7. My work Christmas dinner (not yet)
8. DH work Christmas outing (not yet)
9. Fake Christmas at in laws who are leaving for 2 months before Xmas to halfway across world (not yet)
10. Chrsitmas market and grotto visit (neither DC believe in it!) owing to visiting BIL (DONE)

What else can we do on top of 2 FT jobs, and packed clubs and activities!

We shall visit a Xmas market next weekend but frankly we are already activitied out!

Visiting santa
festive farm visit
day in making hot chocolate and I’ve bought a pack of 4 figurines from home bargains, each family member will paint one and we’ll keep them forever
walks around where we live to see all the xmas lights
probably some xmas baking
xmas movie day/night

We were due to be going away this weekend to a secret location (dh wanted to surprise me) involving a Christmas market. Instead we are all laid up with chest infections and feel terrible so we can't go. So fed up.
Oh than that we are going to throw theatre to see A Christmas Carol. The DD's are going skating in Covent Garden. That's about it!

Oh and the Carol evening at the local pub which I'm actually really looking forward to.

We’ll go for a walk around an estate that’s really lit up next week, we’ve been to the school winter market and there’s a town one next week. We also go to mass when the choir are on, we’ll bake Christmas cookies and watch tons of Christmas movies with hot chocolate and visit my mum wearing Christmas jumpers and Santa hats! Also the Christmas school play will be on!

Not a lot! We did London as we had a late inset day. But the school breaks up so late that it'll literally be a last few minute bits and then the big day will be here!

DD will have just turned 4 in a week - we're

DH takes DD out to buy a new decoration and tree and putting up Christmas tree on 17th
Santa breakfast on 23rd at a garden centre
Christmas Eve with my family - just low key, brunch mid-morning and a party type tea around 6.
Then Christmas Day - morning just us 3 at home, walking to in laws for around 1pm

That's it really

I'm in a brass band so we have many, many concerts, lights switch ons and church services over the festive period. So much so that I'm absolutely always done with Christmas by approximately.. right now!

Going to pub and watching bands, like the rest of the year but with added mulled wine.

Honestly, I've never over thought it, when dc were small we did a trip to Santa but that's it, they hadn't invented the other ways of extracting cash from parents

I love Christmas!

Miracle Bar in Covent Garden
Christmas carols at St. Martins in the field
Christmas drinks with old work friends
Muppets Christmas movie at the cinema some christmas lunch
Work christmas do at Shuffleboard
Work bowling - which i'll prob skip
Edward ScissorHands - Dance/theatre
Hever Castle for the lights and outdoor walk
Christmas market - which will no doubt be a disappointment
Big easy for a christmas lobster!
Savoy for drinks with DH
Die Hard (classic xmas movie) at the cinema
Wonka at the cinema
Hoping to drag my boys (16,17) into London for the day

I was just thinking i dont have much planned, but looking at the list above i do!

I booked 2 days out last night!! They’re both at places that you can go to any time (a kids theme park and a place with indoor and outdoor play areas plus animals and a few fair rides) but with an added Santa's Grotto. We’ve been to one of the places for Christmas before and the other is new to us but looks like it will be good!! I thought that going to these places was better value that the Christmas only things like the light walks as we get a full day out for around the same price and I know that ds will have a good time even if he doesn’t end up liking Santa!!

We’re also going to 3 Christmas parties put on by his toddler classes plus a stay and play one and 2 of his weekly classes are doing Christmas themed classes for their last class of the year next week!!

I’m still debating whether or not to book him in to see Santa at the play area we went to for his first and second Christmas. Photos with the same Santa would be good but it’s nearly £30 for a 2 hour play session and a Santa visit this year 🙄 It’s annoying because there’s still space available and dp isn’t working the weekend that it’s on but he wasn’t keen on getting his picture with Santa last year so it’s a lot to spend on a play session if he doesn’t want to sit with him 🙈🤷‍♀️

On Christmas Eve I will bake cookies for Santa with ds and we will open our Christmas Eve boxes in the evening. Ds is getting a LUSH Santa bath bomb in his so after he’s had an explore of his box it will be bath time 😋 We will go to Toby Carvery on Christmas Eve if dp isn’t working/isn’t working too late (we will find out soon) and if he is we will go on Boxing Day instead. Then whichever day we don’t go to Toby Carvery we will get a takeaway!!

On Christmas Day we will open our stocking in bed before we go to visit parents/grandparents in the morning and hopefully be back home by 1/2. We will then open presents and make buffet food as it’s easier than making Christmas dinner 🤷‍♀️😂

Then on Boxing Day we will go to the LUSH sale!!

Panto!

I bought gingerbread stockings to decorate at home - trying that this year as no-one can be usually bothered with a whole house. Outside we will do Ice skating, panto, festive light trail, Covent Garden - New Bond Street wander to see the lights, Wonka movie. Then Christmas Eve we will drive around and see the neighbours lights and stop for a drink in the pub late afternoon - before it gets more lively!

Winter funland at the NEC.
went to see santa last week
a christmas party at a social club on the 22nd and that’s about it

santa ,ice skating ,lights, Winter wonderland

Panto

Not much on the "paid organised activities" front...Christmas is budgeted down to the last egg, and the kids are 19 and 21 so any light trails etc would be mostly for my benefit (and I will indulge in them once we no longer have financial dependents!)

We will do our traditional pub meal and trawl of the Christmas market to choose one decoration each for the tree

DH, DC1 and I will do a trip to local woodland to get stuff for wreath-making, with flasks of Baikeys hot chocolate and gingerbread

Otherwise it's activities at home - marzipan modelling, gingerbread house competition, pomanders, wreaths, decorating jars for candles for the Christmas table, writing a Christmas quiz, making stollen and mince pies.

Lots of activities

Gingerbread house

Do you think you can do too much?

You can never do too many Christmas things!

It doesn't have to cost the earth, some of the best activities are the free ones 😊