What does your Christmas morning look like?

[tattiescone10]

What's your typical Christmas morning routine?

DC 29,27 & 20 so a little different now! Wake up 9ish everyone open stockings. Mixture of showers and breakfast of blinis, smoked salmon and fruit before opening rest of presents. Christmas music on as everyone helps to make dinner and hopefully fit a walk in before dinner at 2/3ish. Film/Christmas tv before jumping in car at 6pm to head down to big family Christmas party

DH, DS(25) DD (22.6) and me .

I will be working on the Monday so on the 24th I'll have a lie in and do the Christmas vegetables prepartation in the evening .

On Christmas Morning , DH is awake early and feeds the cats . DD will bring me coffee then I'll lie in bed a while listening to the radio.
Wash , dress (nice jumper and velvet leggings type )
Breakfast pancakes , eggs and toast for DH .

Then I faff about setting the table , do any last minutes food prep
Do the all important List of Timings

DS and DD get up later - makes me miss the 5am wake-up when they were little but Life With Adults is so much easier ,

Plan when we're going to watch Eastenders

Woken by the kiddies

Christmas Lights all on.

Kids will open all their presents

Have breakfast (toast)
and Adults will get washed and dressed

Kids will play for abit then get dressed

Chill time watching the kids play

Adults will open presents

Potatoes will go in
Then the Veg

Full Xmas Dinner about 3pm
Tidy up from dinner

Play games
Chocolates / Snacks etc

Bed Time for kids

Watch a movie. Eastenders or whatever

Quiet coffee in bed first, shower etc, light sitting room fire, put last presents under tree, turn on Christmas tree lights.

Prep lunch while waiting for teen DS to wake up and listening to carols, make pancake batter.

Have breakfast with ds, pancakes and berries for him, smoked salmon & scrambled eggs for me. Open presents, ring various family.

Lazy morning then a long walk before Christmas lunch.(3pm). Visit friends, board games, general silliness. Home to buffet supper, Xmas film.

Pack ds' stuff for a few days at his dad's. Chase him off to bed.

We usually wake before ds. I nip downstairs make a cuppa, put tree lights and fire on. Feed the cat! We wait a while then wake him if he's not up within about half an hour or he sets an alarm. He's sn older teenager but still brings his stocking in to open in our room as he's always done. We all then head downstairs where all the presents have been laid out in separate piles. Ds also has a, sack. We take turns opening one gift each at a time. After prezzies it's a bacon butty before showers. Finish any dinner prep and potter with presents until mum arrives for Christmas dinner.

Very early morning
Up, shower and dress, switch on all the fairy lights, put the fake fire on tv.
Listen to carols, enjoy cup of decent coffee and 1/2 slice of toast. Put a little bit of makeup on so look semi ok in photos.
Assemble breakfast, is just warming a few bits in oven, getting things out of fridge and making filter coffee.

Early morning
Inform household he’s been. Help take breakfast through to lounge for stocking opening and tree presents.

Mid morning
Clear breakfast things and prepare tea tray for arrival of guests. Chat and gift exchange.
Prep chilled canapés for later.

Late morning
Decant nuts into bowls. Prepare juice and frizzy drinks tray.
Empty and reload dishwasher.

Noonish
Friends pop by for hot canapés and to exchange gift bags.
Change into whatever I’ve planned to wear for the day.

Christmas has been very different for me in recent years. Last year I was in New York for Christmas and had pizza for our Christmas dinner.

For this year:

DP and I will exchange our stockings in bed and then we’ll head downstairs to exchange our main gifts. Then we’ll help our two cats open their presents (they’re getting a teepee bed, a fish toy and a pack of treats this year!)

I expect we’ll have a fruit platter and pastries for breakfast.

Prep Christmas dinner.

I’ll FaceTime my DM and then FaceTime my siblings, nieces and nephews.

Then I expect my in laws will visit, so we’ll exchange presents with them.

We usually have a charcuterie board as our starter and/or to nibble on when waiting for dinner. In laws are welcome to join us 😊

Enjoy our dinner, pull crackers and wear our silly hats.

Then we’ll help our can settle down to watch the TV. We’re looking forward to the new Wallace and Gromit, Gavin and Stacey and Call the Midwife episodes. Armed with snacks, of course!

@Pumpkittenspice Gavin and Stacey is highly anticipated here too!

Wake up about 7am, probably more likely 6am. Kids open their stockings then my parents do breakfast at theirs.
We leave when all presents have been opened and probably just when it's time to load the dishwasher!
Then back home for some cartoons, chill time for the kids.
We'll try to rest a bit ourselves before we go to my parents in law for dinner. We try to arrive not too early but just in time for the canapés. Luckily MIL is a great cook!
After dinner, FIL minds the kids so me and DH can go for a walk together.
Then it's bedtime for the kids. Me and DH both normally shattered and once we get the kids to sleep, we open a Prosecco (gift from my parents) and watch some Netflix.
Boxing Day, I often feel quite jaded from the whole Christmas run up, so DH takes the kids to his parents.

Love reading this thread! Although now I’m really in the mood for smoked salmon. Never knew that was a common Christmas breakfast choice. Sadly I’m the only one who likes it so not eaten it in a while.

I was heavily pregnant last year so it will be nice this year to be more involved. My oldest is 3 so he’ll understand it much better.

We’ll get up and go downstairs to presents. Hopefully have a tree up. I bought a lovely one two years ago and we still haven’t had it up as worried our child would knock it down 😂. Oldest should be ok but we’ll now have a crawling almost one year old.

Open presents and spend some time playing. I’ve already bought presents so lots of interactive toys oldest should like, and some costumes as he’s recently into dress up. Previous years we’ve had normal breakfasts but I like the idea of a special one. Plus chocolate of course!

Have Christmas shows on for kids or Christmas songs.

At 1 or 2 go to my parents for Christmas dinner and stay there until kids become bored/restless.

Then back home to play more with toys until bed.

I just realised you asked for morning routine but so many others gave you the whole day too I forgot 😂 and now I can’t edit

I did the same!!
But the morning is kind of the same as the day?
It's a day where me and DH can get a bit of a rest after all the rush getting everything ready for Christmas (decorating and doing the tree, lights etc..) and we don't have to cook or do too much.
We have two under 8 so it's a busy house normally!!

I'm happy to hear about your full 24 hours @GiraffesAtThePark @fundsandfrolics ! Xx

When DS were little they’d drag their stockings into our room at about 6.30/7 where we’d all ohh/argh over what Father Christmas has brought. Downstairs for toast/tea and smoked salmon etc for 8.30/9 and then serious work in the kitchen for all the veg etc for about 12/14 for lunch (who would arrive at about 10/10.30) I’d get the FIL to carve the meat and Mil would make the gravy which was absolutely fine - my kitchen my rules lol - we’d eat at about 2 which would take hours with all the food and booze.

now that I’m single and that my sons are 16 and 18 so the magic has gone and it’s very boring and almost like another day as they work in hospitality as do their mother so they just make 3x money by working making others happy. I’m not hoping that grandchildren are on their way just yet but that will bring back the magic - I do have a nephew who is 2yo and have spent the last 2 Christmas’ with their family and it has been superb by having children around,

When I was little, we’d sit in mum and dad’s bed (as early as possible) to open stockings. We genuinely believed Father Christmas was still downstairs finishing up putting out presents (although I couldn’t fathom why our house was always last for him to visit).

dad would always go down first to check if “he’d been” then we would go down and do tree presents which was a free for all. We’d usually have our elderly next door neighbour round for Christmas breakfast and a glass of something because he was on his own (if not our turn to do Xmas dinner because he was always invited to that). Then playing until it was time to go to one of my auntie/uncles or they arrived here for big Xmas dinner with extended family. Usually games or a quiz after lunch, then a picky tea buffet at about 6.

Now it’s usually get up, go to the airport and fly somewhere sunny for ten days with DH and friends. I have nieces and nephews now and Xmas for my family is now them and my BILs extended relatives so the cousins can play together. We’re invited but don’t really know BILs family so it’s a bit stiff - M&D love it though because it means no cooking 😂. We usually see my parents the weekend before now and have a mini Christmas.

DC's are older now with youngest being 12 and oldest 19 so Christmas morning probably won't be as intense (they used to wake v early). They're not allowed into us until after 7. DH will always go down and make me a coffee and sort the animals. Then we all sit in our bedroom and open stockings. DH and I do each other a stocking which I love.
We'll go downstairs, light the fire and check that Father Christmas has been. Then we all open presents in the sitting room.
We spend Christmas day with family and alternate who does what. This year it is our turn for breakfast so I'll do homemade bagels, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls washed down with coffee, champagne and orange juice. Then we all go for a big walk.
As I'm not cooking we'll spend the day relaxing until around 4 when we go to family and start dinner.
I love Christmas. It is my favourite time of the year.

Wake up whenever DD who is 15 but still wakes up very early on Christmas Day wakes up. She opens her stocking. We have pastries for breakfast. DS17 wakes up later and opens his stocking. We all prepare lunch. In laws arrive late morning and we have coffee. Sometimes a walk before lunch. Eat lunch about 130. Then do tree presents. Then have drinks and telly. In the evening we eat cheese and this year I'm looking forward to Gavin and Stacey.

I've had do work on my expectations for ours! Kids wake 7ish they open their stockings in our bed. DH flaps about wrapping paper being strewn about.

Go into main room and open big Santa presents. Ensure all wrapping paper is bagged up.

Get back into bed for a bit. Kids watch tv. DH and me will get up about 8.30 and take the dog out. Come home, breakfast, shower and get ready to go to my sisters. Sort turkey crown.

I sometimes try and get a nice shower gel for myself for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning is just the best isn’t it?

Wake up at the crack of dawn by kids. They come in and open their Christmas stocking in our bed while I pay attention with one eye open and DH has half gone back to sleep because we were up until midnight watching Royal Family and wrapping! We then send DH downstairs to check Father Christmas has gone (what he’s actually doing is making us a cup of tea, turning the tree/lights on and putting something festive on the TV)

Then we will all open our gifts, we watch the kids first then open from each other. I’ll go and sort breakfast which is bacon sandwiches, fresh pastries and fruit and make a pot of coffee and we’ll just hang about then until family start turning up and the day gets started.

I love Christmas morning so much.

Husband is a vicar. He's got a Christmas Eve service at 8pm, then a midnight one, then a 10am Christmas morning one. Then to the homeless Christmas lunch, then visits, Hopefully home by 4pm. We do Christmas the day before!

I love reading everyone’s mornings/days. How a lot of them are so similar yet so individual at the same time.

We get up at whatever ungodly hour the kids wake up (they’re 7 and 11) and they pile onto our bed to open their stockings, then we head downstairs to see if He’s Been. Each person has their own area where their presents are so we all find our pile and get comfy. Dh makes a pot of tea and we usually have pastries and selection boxes for breakfast.

We sit and eat while we each take it in turns to open a present until they’re all gone and Dh collects all the wrapping paper in a bin bag.

Then we mess about opening a couple of toys/finding batteries/screwdriver etc during which time we all go and get dressed at some point.

We’re at my mum and dads for Christmas lunch this year so we’ll head over there once we’re all dressed and have lunch then open presents from them and watch the new and old Julia Donaldson show and head home when the kids have had enough and eat picky bits while watching tele.

We can’t wait for Gavin and Stacey and Wallace and Gromit as well!

Kids not allowed up before 6 so we get up around then.
Kids all open presents - stockings first then main presents. Then adults open theirs while kids check Santa's eaten what we left out/left a note etc.
Sausage sandwiches for breakfast and kids are allowed to eat some of the sweets they get.
In an ideal world at this point I'd take us all out for a lovely dog walk and have a bit of calm in the middle of a hectic day. What we actually do is just let the kids have a play and assemble anything that's needs assembling.
Then we either get ready to host or get ready to head out for Christmas lunch depending on the year.

I get up first and put enormous turkey in the oven and make tea. Stockings in our bed (everyone has a stocking). Panettone, bucks fizz and coffee for breakfast, then church. Other presents are opened after lunch, so about 4ish? My children are young adults now, but that's still the structure of the day, only now oldest child spends Christmas Eve and morning with girlfriend's family and comes over later, and we have various older family members staying or arriving. Big family day is Boxing Day with lots of visitors, hence the enormous turkey for a small number of people. Christmas Eve we have friends over. There's been a bit of flex over the years as the children have grown up and our own parents circumstances have changed, but I still love Christmas just as much as when the children were tiny believers.

I love hearing all the similarities but differences too!
I hope everyone has the most beautiful morning making memories and I will keep a thought for those struggling for whatever reason this Christmas.

My son wants his room decorated this year. I do wish I could see the look on his face when he first wakes and realise Santa has managed to magically transform it over night but he will be up way earlier than me!
As a little girl I used to always wake up on Christmas morning in new bed sheets, I thought it was so amazing and magical so I can't wait to do it this year!
(Transformed in the form of new themed wall stickers, new rug down, new lamp on & changed bedsheets - the full room is white for the ease of this!)
And if anyone wants to know how to magically change the bedsheets without them waking...I had to ask my mum 🤣 she said during the day on Xmas eve she would strip my bed, put the new sheets/pillowcase on & then add the old covers back on top so during the night it's easy to just take the top layers off. Obviously wouldn't work if your child is a light sleeper but I don't have that issue!

I'll be up at 5ish no doubt (third trimester insomnia) for coffee and a quiet moment with Carols from Kings on the radio and set all the lights twinkling, candles and fire on. Oven on for breakfast pastries.

Then stockings in bed from 7ish with our three year old, probably watch a Christmas episode of Postman Pat or Miffy.

Breakfast of panettone, pastries, posh jams and juices etc. DH might have smoked salmon.

swap a few pressies then mid morning walk to break up the excitement!