What are you doing for Christmas this week?

[Deliveroo]

Disclaimer - yes I know it’s early, but this is the Christmas Board.

Over the years I’ve worked out a 12 week plan for myself so I can get it all done a little bit at a time. Last week was for reading back over my notes, starting my lists, putting aside money for gift cards (I don’t buy them until December but I put the cash in a card now), and dropping off a bag of unwanted Halloween bits from last year to the charity shop.

This week I have to have the who’s going where conversation so I can get stuck into menu planning. We typically host or visit one set of parents, and then have another family get together on each side too. I need those dates on the calendar so the teens can fit their much more exciting social lives around them.

What will you do for Christmas this week?

Listen to the calm Christmas podcast, it’s gorgeous and she talks about us as the people who keep Christmas. That’s definitely who I am! I am the Christmas Keeper.

This is a genius idea I plan to steal!

This week I’m making my final orders from places that need time to make them (literary stitches in particular for a jumper and bag for dd1)

I’ve got to get a couple of generic presents (Waitrose biscuits, a couple of next candles and m and s munch mix) for people that will inevitably drop by within the next month with a secret gift!

Finally bought some Christmas cards for ds1 to pop his name into. He’s only 4 so this can easily take the next 3 weeks doing one a day 😆

@RestitutionGranted you are acing being a grown up 👏🏼

Aww shucks guys! @TheGirlWhoLived I would kind of hope so given my advancing years 😂

will report back on how it works out….

@RestitutionGranted I meal plan all year round and Christmas is no different. It works brilliantly for us. I sometimes will have Wednesday’s dinner on Tuesday etc, but after initially thinking that meal planning was not for me, I love it.

I used to meal plan before the kids went to uni, but I don’t bother for DH and I as we eat very simply when they aren’t around.

however in all my years, for some reason I’ve never Christmas meal planned beyond 24-26 Dec and am already feeling a huge weight lifted off my shoulders (and if the Christmas fortnight meal plan is anything to go by, that weight will settle on my stomach and thighs!)

Made my 🎄puddings yesterday, they’ve now been steamed for the 5-6 hours.
Tomorrow I shall go shopping for a few (easy) presents on the list, and buy a stack of sausages and streaky bacon, so I can make and freeze the dozens of Ps in Bs I’ll be taking to the big family do at Christmas.
Might get dh to fetch the decorations out of the loft, so we can check the lights are working.

I've posted my sister's gift to Australia today and started wrapping some stocking fillers. Well i say wrap - I've used red and green paper bags from Temu and sealed them with a sticker 🤣

Fast running out of free days and have a busy December too so hoping to find the rest of my motivation before next weekend

Like @AllthingsI meal plan throughout the year but for some odd reason I always seem to go rogue for a fortnight over Christmas.

@RestitutionGranteddo you fancy sharing your plan for inspiration?

I’ve added some chocolate coins to my next supermarket delivery and that will be the children’s stockings all done. (Besides a satsuma). I did get some stickers today at The Works which was second to last thing needed. I also got some toothbrush heads for husbands stocking - hurrah.
I’m very nearly done with presents. Just have a few more things to buy.

I went to the shopping centre Monday morning and bought a lot of toys so my children definitely have all their presents now.

Posted my international Christmas cards to Australia/NZ - all 3 of them for £3.40 each! My UK Christmas card list is restricted to my 2 books of 2nd class stamps - mostly to elderly relatives who still appreciate physical post - those will be sent in Dec.

Shocked myself by wrapping most of DD’s presents plus one of DH’s and a few other relatives too.

Still got DD’s big thing to buy - I don’t like most of what I’ve seen on marketplace and I think they’re cheeky asking what they are asking for second hand and not great condition. So it’ll probably be bought new hopefully there might be some offers for Black Friday.

Ordered photo calendars for a few gifts and also a photo book of the year which I always do and wrap up for DD but really it’s more for me to have the keepsake! If she wants them when she moves out though she’s welcome to them all.

Stressing me out that I don’t know what we’re doing about a tree or when we’re going to decorate - we don’t really have a free weekend between now and Christmas depressingly! It’s a new house and our last place was tiny whereas this is bigger and I’m not sure we have enough in the way of decorations, lights etc. The tree we had was fit for the bin last year, I can’t even remember if we brought it with us in the move in the end. I might go for a rummage in the garage just to remind myself of what we have.

All Christmas cards have been written and stamped - just need to pop to the post office later on to mail them. Not sure if there any festive philatelists here but the Cayman Islands do have some great stamps!

All present shopping is finished so that's a weight off my mind.

I went into B&M and picked up some of their large foil trays which were good value.

I've also stocked up on all the wine and fizz we need as Sainsbury's have their 25% off six bottles. We still need to get beer and soft drinks sorted.

Mmm. I think you peaked too soon. Theres along way to go.
Stay out of the shops otherwise the price drop on lots of presents you didn’t know you needed, the sudden random “ must have” (Kevin the carrot back in the day),the just in case..,

Love the meal planning idea I also get lost and confused over Xmas and for some reason never got my usual food delivery .
This year I do have my usual coming and i think I'm will meal plan also .

A flurry of buying today for one DC who is 18 and gave us a detailed and long list in categories and with price order.

Ive chosen two things from each category.

One bag to get.

I'm totally stumped for the other DC who has asked for one thing. I have two small other gifts I know she will like but I'm stumped she's very particular about clothes and I wouldn't dare but her anything no jewlelry no hobbies i can buy for ..

@OrangesCinammonIvy I am a big fan of meal planning. We have little food waste, it makes shopping easier as we only buy what we need, it’s easier to have a more balanced diet and it saves time and money. I used to hate those daily conversations about what we fancied for dinner and not always agreeing. We sit down once a week make the plan, do the shopping list or online shop and that is it. It makes even more sense to do it over the Christmas period as I don’t want to have to go shopping unless absolutely necessary.

Teens can be hard to buy for as they can be quite exacting about what they want, but their wants can also change rapidly. I used to always ask mine for a list and had to resort to if there was no list there would be no presents other than a stocking. It sounds a bit harsh but that focused the mind.

bringing home presents I have bought where I am living, when I go home this weekend. Hopefully I will do some more buying this weekend (I travel midweek) to reduce panic buying and having to bring loads when I go back closer to the day. I will probably wrap what I bring next weekend while I am home.

if I am really time-savvy, I will also get my sewing machine out and do what I plan for some DNieces presents.

The other thing I plan this week is to buy some specific alcohol that’s hard to find but certain family members love it. I won’t bring that this trip though.

I'm latch hooking a xmas cushion! Hopefully it will be complete by Christmas!!

Me too

Here's where we're at...

We don't do a Christmas Eve box, but do do a Dec 1 Hamper. Which I've got everything for.

For the Dec 1 box, I order a F&M food hamper with Christmas biscuits, coffee, tea, chocolates, brandy butter - this is stuff we'd want anyway, and then I add in things for DD, new PJs, bedsocks, this year some Legami Christmas themed pens and a Brambley Hedge colouring book. Most years I don't bother ordering the hamper-basket, but this year I did because it'll be useful for storage.

For presents, I'm on the home-straight now - DH and DD(9) are done, DDad is nearly done (just need an Oxfam voucher to finish it off), DM is nearly done. Cousins are done, the only real blocks of remaining are my DSis and BIL, and Aunt and Uncle.

"Le Grand Chaussette" is done and wrapped, packed, and hidden in a suitcase (we have two identical stockings and switch them over in the dead of night).

This week I've been amassing a box of Christmas food- so far it has:
Large box of Ferrero Rocher (Nectar price ;0))
Two large bags of Spanish crisps
Waitrose chocolate nutcrackers
Pfeffernusse
A packet of Brutti e Buoni (cinnamon and hazelnut meringues)
A four pack of full fat Coke in glass bottles.

I've learned from past experience not to try to buy florentines until the last minute.

We've also been stocking up on ready-made canapes (3 for 2 from Waitrose, 4 for 3 from M&S) so that we have a bunch of oven-ready treats for unexpected guess.

Last night I dried two oranges worth of orange slices to make a window decoration.

It sounds like a lot, but we're trying not to go too wild this year, reducing the number of presents, reducing the amount of unneccessary food - I find it quite stressful to be surrouned by "stuff" so we're really focusing on things we really want vs. buying things because "it wouldn't be Christmas without it".

Next weekend I'll make the spiced redcabbage/apple and freeze it.

Blimmin' love Christmas.

Oh and I bought a massive tin of gordal olives.

We moved all the boxes out of the office and as a result DH has put a few decorations out.
It was DS's birthday yesterday so we can now seriously think about Christmas.