Christmas 2024 - what do you need to remember?

[Nonplusultra]

This is a time capsule thread - protecting important information from the erosion of time.

• Make a meal plan for all the meals around Christmas so I’m not glaring wild eyed and accusingly at family members who dare to get hungry at lunchtime on Christmas Eve.

• Belvoir mulled punch is the nicest non alcoholic mulled wine.

Buy more ribbon in advance.

I like the suggestion of writing down what would be good to watch so we don’t scroll.

Buy less treat food, we've still not opened the cheese and so much in the freezer. Plus loads of chocolates unopened.

Buy less alcohol, we're getting older and really don't drink that much.

That next year I should go away for a week! Then I haven't got to see anyone 😂

Buy more gift tags

Look out for small stocking fillers earlier in the year

Tree up later in December

less of each type of food - if I’m doing 7 or 8 veg plus potatoes, we each need less of each thing compared to when I normally do 2 or 3 plus one type of potatoes for a roast dinner. (Was left with a mountain of carrots, parsnips and red cabbage.)

Don't waste £4.99 on the TV Times Bumper Edition
Don't buy chocolate Advents for DS and DD

Make my own Christmas Cake again (and marzipan/royal icing ) it was lush . Much nicer than shop bought

I buy useful things for the Dec 1st Boxes (socks./loungwear/underwear/pyjamas/toiletries)
Nice cosmetics for DD -nails, lipbalm, skincare

Booking the extra day as A/L made everything much easier

We did some days out . Theatre , Bus Tour . London shopping . Tried to get all the presents bought by the first week in Dec then we had time to do things .

To make my mince pies at the same time as my Christmas cake (October) and freeze them - had COVID the week before Christmas last year so didn’t make them then, luckily the mincemeat was still in date for this year. Unfortunately DP had a nasty accident the week before Christmas and he was hospitalised and operated on so haven’t had time this year and unfortunately the mincemeat’s best before is the NY so if I aim to do them early then they’ll be done.

Place our Christmas Eve chippy order in the afternoon rather than walking in and ordering there and then (waited nearly an hour to get the food).

Definately buy less cheese next year.

Don't take DP to do the Christmas food shop unless we are going at 5am- even 8am on 22nd was far too crowded for him.
Buy cheeselets as soon as we see them- Tesco didn't have any by 22nd and they are DP favourite which did not improve his mood from the crowded shopping trip!
Buy dark chocolate coins (if DD is still dairy free) early online (divine)- I looked in shops from Nov and never found any, had given up before finding them in a farm shop on 23rd Dec!

I mostly did okay this year, but will definitely buy less sugary stuff next year - I thought I'd already cut down a lot but we still have stollen bites and mince pies and chocolate Yule log coming out of our ears! Think this is because I promised last year not to give into the Christmas food too early, as I'm then bored of it by Christmas and it doesn't feel special. So this year's food has lasted longer!
I do need to stop buying Christmas pudding. No one even really likes it and every year I have two sitting in the cupboard until June, when I finally sling it out. Then buy two more, come December, when I get a hankering for tradition!

Things that went well were not overbuying Christmas presents. The kids got nice gifts that they will definitely use all year but no tat.

Things I need to remember -
I'm never hosting again.
I'm not organising anything again.
I'm abdicating all responsibility over Christmas to someone else (no idea who but it won't be me).

To only buy chocolate advent calendars. The DC were perfectly happy with them and I didn’t need to have spent money on the other ones.

Cut back on presents again. We did this year and I think can reduce a little bit more and still keep the “magic”.

When hosting relatives or friends for present exchanges, just provide simple nibbles and drinks rather than a full sit down meal. So much easier than trying to socialise, cook, open presents simultaneously 😩

Do not bother with the Julbord next year, so much gets thrown away. Just make kötbullar

buy more wrapping paper

no, the Christmas cards are not in the loft. You have got some. They are in the tallboy in the Spare Oom

if your parents are still with us they eat barely anything, don't cater for 5. Cater for 4

buy the stewing steak from pevensey farm not the place you got it this year

get the M&S fake lindor again, they were delicious.

Ignore SIL sly remarks about spending the day with 'their family' rather than my parents/siblings

Tell MIL 101 times not just 100 that i am not hosting Christmas

Stollen and fruit salad was the perfect Christmas breakfast.
do not let yourself be talked out of doing made-ahead beef bouguignon next year, it made the day go so smoothly not having to cook !

Don't forget to buy the Terry's chocolate orange for the stockings.
Don't forget to buy magazines or books.
Do buy the ready Christmas food from M&S, Waitrose, Tesco

Do a bit less rushing about - have a few home days. (We've had or been guests continuously since 22nd Dec, and won't get any rest until New Year's Day. I'm exhausted already.)

Remember to buy marzipan for the Christmas cake!

Perhaps make the pudding too.

Post cards a bit earlier.

If you are roasting three or four different meats, each meat should not be the same size as it would be if you were roasting just that meat for that many people

Don’t book (or let other people book) so many pre-Christmas activities.
Do all the visiting by the 23rd.
Get beef instead of turkey for Christmas dinner and get it from the butchers.
Buy less chocolate.
Get money wallets in November because by December they were a nightmare to find.
Don’t buy any more wrapping paper - I don’t care how nice the new ones are in Costco!

I’ve started a spreadsheet with:
recipes and the links to the website of all the foods I made that we loved,
TV/films that are must watch split into age appropriate for DS and grown up viewing (also done a Halloween one),
gift ideas/hiding locations.

I'm going to add :

Don;t buy wrapping paper from Waitrose , it was a blighter to stick !
The Sainsbury stuff I had from last year was much better .
Also don't buy any cheapie Amazon last minute paper , it was so flimsy .

Maybe next year will be "Don;t buy wrapping paper " !

To not bother carefully selecting presents in a thoughtful way based on what my relatives like or need and just give everyone cash. I think cash is not a gift it makes the whole process transactional and completely pointless but most of the carefully planned gifts were 'wrong' in one way or another even those where the recipient sent me a link to the item and I bought the correct size

To deliver the neighbour's Christmas cards before Christmas Eve.

Things I should remember

🥺 I don't like my family.
😥 They are horrible to me.
🤯 Not to spend time with people I don't like who are horrible to me.
🥴 My sibling doesn't want to see me anyway and only invites me to please my parents.
😵 Sibling has been mean to me all my life and I've always let it go, would be better for my wellbeing if I never saw them again.
🤐 I have no relationship with my siblings children because the sibling prevented it, so they have no interest in seeing me either and are pretty grown up now, so I shouldn't agree to things "for the sake of the children".
🤬 My parents are controlling abusive narcs and sibling not much better.
🎄 Christmas Eve/Day away from them all was lovely and needs to become the norm.
🎁 Suspect parents (who didn't even provide life's basic essentials growing up) are trying to buy my affection now and getting angry when it doesn't work, so if I agree to see them at all over the festive season, asking early for no presents/cards might help.
❄️ If the abusive texts don't cease permanently, a new phone number before next Christmas and not giving it to family is probably a good idea.

To look into 7 of us going to Gran Canaria for a week......

a pre- Christmas tip; Take the last week of term as annual leave. 2 kids, same school, week was only mon-Thursday yet SIX different adults were involved in the afternoon pick ups due to after school disco/carol service/teachers panto/ice skating.

@AshleyBlue

My wish for you is a strong and happy 2024 - you can't choose your family but you CAN choose to not see them anymore especially if they don't respect you

Hope you find your people (or your peace)