Countdown to Christmas 2024: And So We Begin (Thread 1)

[NoWordForFluffy]

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It's a leap year next year, so an extra day to wait!

I've ordered 120 baubles today, as WeRChristmas sent me a 50% code for today only. Annoyingly I could get our new tree way cheaper today! 😭

I'm exhausted now I've finally had time to sit and relax. Tomorrow is a chill day.

I have a Booths' Christmas apron, I forgot. And one I used before DH got me that one!

That looks like a good sustantial apron as well as being Christmas

I've got this Sophie Allport apron but in the older grey background (and I bought it half price in the sale)

My tea towels were from TK Maxx

It is, it's great!

I'm in the market for a couple more hand towels and more tea towels this year as the latter are old and worn and I don't quite have enough of the former due to more bathrooms now!

Buck, it's my eternal disappointment that the Christmas Dogs stuff is seemingly never discounted (other than site wide discounts) in the sales.

I miss TK Max so much, store closed down nearest me and also homesense. Some of my favourite decs are from there

I am looking out for more handtowels , my motley assortment is M&S, Dunelm and HomeSense , all years old

Tea Towels are red/white striped so a bit like CandyCane but not too Christmassey that they cannot be used all year .
We used to have a seperate HomeSense and TKMaxx but they merged to the same shop . It is my favourite hunting ground for household , I rarely look at clothes though, CBA with the searching and trying to work out if the RRP is a work of an overactive imagination.

Next decoative event here willl be Easter , I have Easter Tea Towels and a wreath (not lit just flowery ) for the door and some yellow and green straws

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I bought a gorgeous little Bag For Life for DD Easter Eggs ( she has a The Snowman one too ) which gets re-used for Dec 1st (so environmentally friendly <halo>)

Easter one (Tesco) has bunny rabbits , photo not drawing .

DD was a bit Eh? a couple of weeks ago when I dropped her off at work and bought her some Cadbury Mini Eggs when I bought petrol . Didn't stop her eating them though

Easter is to some as important if not more than Christmas . My SIL does Proper Lent and Church at Easter .
I like the Tradition, the promise of new life and knowing what is planned . And of course , lots of nice food .

Meeces it was the realisation in 2022 that the reason I'd been thinking I don't like Christmas overly much is because of the difficult relatives who crawl out of the woodwork at this time of year wanting to play happy families and the stress that inevitably causes trying to keep everyone happy. I don't want Christmas to continue feeling like an annoying and stressful thing to get through before new year celebrations arrive. I read a few things about Christmas around that time, in magazines etc, along the lines of: nobody likes Christmas really, it's stressful and has to be endured so lower your expectations, it's just one day...and I remember thinking - why? If it's awful and never going to be more than something to be endured then why do we do it at all? I've been subconsciously looking for another way to do things all 2023 I think. So this year I decided, when I saw this thread, that making Christmas the focus of the entire year might be a nicer way to do things.

I've no idea what my lot will think of snowman loo roll either Bucktoothed, I'll find out in December ☃️

@Schneekugel what bits of your Christmas celebrations do you like and enjoy? Are you able to just focus on them? Would it be really awful if you only did stuff that benefits the people that live under your roof?

Both DH and I come from families where there is no expectation to have a massive extended family supermarket advert Christmas dinner. For example we have Christmas Eve/day/boxing day just as our family - no visitors. There's a family party between Christmas and New Year that we travel to and really enjoy and then New Year is quiet at home although my older children now have their own plans for NYE.

Both DH and I come from families where there is no expectation to have a massive extended family supermarket advert Christmas dinner.

Same here, thank god.

We do have people over, but we don't go to anyone else's house. We do what works for us. People can work round us!

My parents are both (or were as my Dad is no longer with us ) very religious , heavily involved in the Church . But even though Christmas is a big thing , my Mum was never bothered by it , she made it perfectly clear it was too much effort .
We got presents and Christmas Dinner ( but someone else cooked it , either me or a family friend/guest)
She did the Oh I want to go to sleep and wake up on NYD or My favourite day is Boxing Day when its all over
And it wasn't because she was worn out with cooking and decorating , she did absolutely Bu**er All !
Christmas back then (this was the late 70s into 80s) was much lower key anyway , you only had a tree,, cards on a thread line and paperchains . No outdoor lights or Advents Chocolate Calendars or Elf on the Shelf. And definately no Christmas Bedding r the Snowman loo roll But it still felt very Is that it ?

My DC take the mickey as I'm obviously overcompensating . But I like to think I'm leaving them with some nice glowy moments when they think about their childhood .Nice things planned

This year we're going on a Christmas Market cruise before Christmas (DH,DD and me) . DS will be house/cat watching .
Then provided I am organised with shopping (which I will be ) then I might break the rule of a lifetime and work on the 24th . ?

Thanks for all the interview luck everyone, it went really well and i have been invited for a second one :)
Just finished my string of nightshifts so a bit groggy now but hopefully if i get the new job that will be a thing of the past.

Think ill do some cross stitch this afternoon (working on a halloween one) and then chill with the kids this evening.
Cant wait to see more of that light blanket @NoCheesesForUsMeeces the first square looks awesome!!

toddles off to look at christmas loo roll

Promising, @WoogleCone! Good luck for round 2! 🤞

Christmas was never much in my house either, birthdays were even worse and I def go OTT for my dc.

Just had to go back to the pharmacy for the second time today. First time I queued for half an hour to be told it wasn’t ready yet and waited another 30 mins for it to be made up and then it was still owing some. Dd just went to take her tablets only to notice they’d dispensed the wrong strength. It’s a good job she noticed as I didn’t think to check.

Afternoon. I am now in recovery from a very bad hangover. I made an unplanned visit to a friend yesterday afternoon and ended up watching the rugby, chatting and drinking. Felt bloody horrendous this morning

How ££££ is your foundation Wreck? This is the only reason I'm thankful for my rubbish, dry, extra sensitive skin - it can't handle any form of make up so people have no option but to deal with pale, patchy face!

Very annoying about the pharmacy - was the strength they gave too high?

70 I don't have Christmas bedding either. DH requested one Christmas free room and our bedroom is it. Annoying because I've seen some lovely sets over the years.

At the risk of being hated, one of my parents works at TK Maxx so I get a heads up when Christmas stuff comes in and get bought it as gifts (received my Spode collection this way). It's a bit like having a personal shopper!

Schneekugel I think meaningless obligations ruin Christmas for a lot of people.

As PP said, it also really helps if you think about what would make Christmas enjoyable for you and centre your plans around that.
My DH likes cooking and having a Turkey dinner so when we're home, he does dinner.
I love the decs so we have the house done exactly the way I want it.
Plus, I keep 2 days annual leave and use one towards the end of Nov to finish up any last minute jobs like buying stamps/collecting deliveries etc and one mid December purely to watch Christmas films with the fairy lights on and just mooch in the nice atmosphere. Sounds crazy to some but it's something about the season I really enjoy, just for myself.

Thank you Woogle. Now I'm back to life I'm going to spend the evening working on the bulbs...
Congrats on the interview and good luck for the next one!

@Schneekugel cheers to you having Christmas 2024 doing things that you will love

Also good luck to @WoogleCone and speedy recovery for @NoCheesesForUsMeeces

Hope everyone on the Snowman loo roll trail has been able to order. For info mine arrived disguised in a box marked coffee pods which has put the fam off the scent, despite the fact that we do not possess a coffee machine 😂

I've been so bad (or good depending on your view point) DH wonders why 4 Christrmas boxes came down from the loft in December and 7 boxes have gone back up in Jan 😂🤔

I'm also watching the bargain thread and have fallen for the House of Fraser £19 delivery ! shocking but I got carried away as you don't get this info until you're at checkout by which point you have this great stuff in the basket 😬

Thanks all. I'll definitely be putting more thought into having Christmas how I want it this year.

Good luck for the second interview Woogle.

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Morning!

How is it Monday again?!?! 😭😭😭

Meeces, I hope your hangover is gone now. If I have one as bad as yours sounded, it lasts a few days!

I bought a few Christmas bits from the Next clearance over the weekend. There are LOADS of reduced pyjamas and jumpers if you're in the market for such things.

Evening. Am recovered from the hangover now. Have just taken delivery of a new sofa but still have one of the 2 chairs it's replacing and the mess that was hiding behind it so the room is a mess 🙄

Roll on bedtime 🥱

Fluffy I had a look through the Next clearance stuff. I don't need anything so haven't bought but did spot this beauty I thought the thread would appreciate

@NoCheesesForUsMeeces I'm sure that would be part of the "few Christmas bits from the Next clearance" that Fluffy bought ..........

You know what...I considered it! But our loo seats aren't that shape!

323 Morning!

Fluffy I thought the set was cute, but I can't get my head round the idea of touching something soft when putting the the toilet lid up or down <shudder>

I like the idea of a Christmas shower mat but I have one of those stupid curves corner showers (and no bath) so would probably be £££ to get one.

Finishing work at 4 today. Then doing a roast and while it's on, I'm taking dm to do a cold dip (her request 😳).
Looking forward to getting back to the dinner - I'm using the last of the goose fat for the roasties and will do my awesome homemade yorkies 😋

Roast dinner on a Tuesday @NoCheesesForUsMeeces your lucky family sounds delicious.

Part of my HOF order has arrived and the Christmas mug handle is broken , I'm gutted, hope they still have some in stock to replace it