what do you do in the period between boxing day and new years day ?

[TomandJerrysmousehunt]

It find it a dull, grey, boring and quiet week. Nothing going on, No more one has any money left, pubs/restaurants are closed/close early as no one is going out (until NYE that is). I looked at going on holiday for this week, but the cost was too much.

What does everyone else do ?

Pre-child we often used to go away and start back late in January.

Now we just mooch at home. Eat all the Christmas chocolate. Go for walks if the weather isn't too awful. Travel to see extended family and friends. We have a light trail booked for the 27th this year, and panto is either just before or just after Christmas.

We always take the kids to the panto one of the days in that week. We book it in the summer usually, so by the time Christmas comes around it feels like a free treat! We sometimes do a cinema trip. A nice walk if it's not raining and usually at least a couple of days of eating leftovers, wearing pjs until lunchtime, watching films and playing with new toys/games. I love that time of year.

Some of the best NH racing in the year that week. Smoked salmon sandwiches made the night before ( always an early start) casserole in the oven to come back to….

You need a good coat , boots and gloves, though, and a furry hat quite often. It’s not Ascot!

It's what you make it. Enjoy being off work, lie ins, slowly catching up with chores, chilling. We also used to go to Butlins for 3 nights but for the past 2 years have visited family in the New Forest & stayed in an air bnb nearby

Drink gin and tonic in pyjamas watching Mary Poppins. I love that week.

We have 2 birthday celebrations in that week!!

My teen DS goes to his dad's from 26th to 31st Dec, the only time in the year so I grab my opportunity....

Pull out all his furniture and deep clean his room. Redecorate if necessary.

Redecorate other bits of the house while he is away.
Go to see friends
Experiment with new recipes
Exercise a lot.

🙂

go swimming - adult sessions are normally quiet
go to the allotment and start sowing shallot seeds, sieving compost, tidying up the polytunnel.
do some sewing if we havent got guests (sewing room doubles as guest bedroom
do jigsaws

Absolutely nothing and it is WONDERFUL. It is the only week of the year I feel we have permission to do nothing. Every other holiday we always keep ourselves busy, make the most of the time, the weather etc. But Christmas week is a guilt free chill.

Yep same. Luckily I can work from home though.

I actually prefer it because it means not having another week of slobby lazing around with too much food and feeling blergh because the TV is getting worse and not using my brain enough. Plus it's never disorientating or exhausting getting back into work, because you've not left it too long.

I actually start my New Years resolutions and habits that week, to try things out before the NY and get back into the swing of things for that instead of a random bout of trying to do too many things in one go just because it's Jan 1.

Work! 😢

I work, it would be amazing just to chill at home for a week.

We either have a family Christmas dinner as both DD and DSiL work in 365 day jobs or have DGS so they can have a few days off parenting.

Relax mainly!

Watch TV, visit family, wrap up and take the dog on long walks etc.

We have also been away to a quiet lodge a couple of times but only do the same things as at home.

Its one of my favorite times of the year, we can all 'just be'.

One of my favourite times of the year. The hard work is done, the house is full of lovely food and drink, we all have time off work and school. So just chill, have lie ons, read, go for long walks, all just lovely.

Normally the bare minimum just lazy days but this year we've booked Center Parcs and I'm really looking forward to it.

This is literally my fave week of the year!
Play with the kids and their Christmas presents loads, eat some of the mountain of goodies.
Have a pjs day.
Go zoo.
Watch a film all cozy before the Christmas tree goes.
See family.

Eat. Relax. Read. Fiddle with new bits/games or whatever from Christmas.

Go for winter dog walks which ds3 joins with enthusiasm and teenagers are dragged on 😂

We have Christmas.

Teen DD spends Christmas eve - boxing day with her dad as she has a younger siblings there so Christmas is still magical etc. Then she comes home and we have Christmas as we are all adults + her. I'll be one of those annoying people at the sales and pick things up to give as filler gifts when they are massively reduced in Boots / M&S Christmas gift food etc.

Later in the week we'll do beach walks, go and see the seals etc.

I find it super boring too. Last year we went for some summer sun but can't afford it this year.

This sounds so magical for your daughter.
My experience of Christmas as a child of divorced parents was horrific. So much so that my brother doesn’t celebrate it as an adult.

Your daughter is very lucky to have you xx

@Elbone that is very kind of you to say. I'm sorry your Christmases werent great as a child

When she was little I worked term time only so it was never an issue, we just shifted the whole time period to When she was home did our own Christmas eve traditions etc. When I wrote our contact schedule it was always 12-noon Christmas eve to 12-noon boxing day and we alternated until she was 12 / her sister was born. I don't understand parents that fight over the day and insist on splitting the day. Christmas is for children (if you aren't religious) and why you would make it stressful for them is beyond me they need time to play with their toys and see both families.

As an adult, sitting watching rubbish Christmas TV and dipping into the chocolates and having a drink and proper child free rest was nice too.

Christmas with a tot is amazing DDs sister is 4 this year and will just be 'getting' it. I hope they all have a lovely day.

work unfortunately

Ours was just our parents fighting. Mum would purposely make dinner late so dad had to sit and wait in the car for an hour for us to eat. He’d be fuming and barely able to speak when we got in the car. Mum would be fuming that we were rushing dinner and not appreciating all the effort she put into making it.
They’d both buy us the same gift because they didn’t speak and then throw a fit if we mentioned we already had it.
Dad’s mum and stepdad are alcoholics so there’d be someone pissed in a corner swearing at us from 10am which ever house we were at.
It was bad.

This sounds absolutely lovely x