What was a let down last year?

[slipperypenguin]

Looking for lessons from 2024! Last year we bought a full turkey and it was just a waste and didn’t get eaten. Also spent a fortune on a playmobil set for DS that he didn’t even open.

This year going to just get a small chicken and not going to spend ££ on surprises that we won’t know they will like.

did you spend on anything last year that you thought would be a winner but wasn’t?

We got one of the Sainsbury’s Christmas hampers last year, the stuff inside was good but most of the cheeses went out of date on the 25th and it just seemed rather expensive for what was in it so i plan on skipping it this year.

Past years gifts for the kids have been a bit hit and miss, they’ve hardly played with some bits so I’ll definitely be rethinking this year, I plan on having a big declutter before December and getting rid of all the crap they don’t play with

Any meet Santa event. Especially if there’s food provided. So, so expensive. Rubbish toys. Terrible food.

I stopped buying lots of little extras to bulk out DS stocking; realised it was costing quite a bit and apart from the chocolate, most things didn't really get looked at / played with after opening. I'd rather save that £10-£20 and put it towards a bigger present he actually wanted

Also stopped buying a shit ton of food, and stuff we wouldn't normally eat. We've hosted and I'd buy stuff we used to have as a family 20 ish years ago when my parents hosted (lots of cheese, cake etc) but there are a lot less of us now, and no-one really eats it.It wasn't missed!

Outsmarted the board game. We were really looking forward to playing it with the DC, however it crashed a lot, didn’t work properly and was quite boring.

You could get a turkey crown/butterfly. Far less wastage.

Ours was minor.
Disappointment was the crackers. They were Traitors crackers but one of our teens who is ND couldn't handle the the prospect of the game. It was the lying aspect if they were a traitor.

So to keep Christmas harmony we binned the crackers after getting out the hats/jokes. Instead we played Cluedo.

We deviated from our usual butchers and were so disappointed. I usually order and go in about 3 or 4 days before Christmas, but they insisted on giving out slots so I had to get our massively order 2 weeks before which means a lot of it had to be frozen and wasn't half as nice on the day! Thankfully our usual butchers understood and gave me a date in advance which is just the 22nd of December thankfully!

I grew up in the US and I go over at the middle or end of November every year to buy a lot of American sweets and home decor, candles, clothes etc then have them shipped to England. Last year the boxes arrived completely torn up and things broken 💔 I'm going next week with multiple empty suitcases to avoid that disappointment as I was gutted last year.

The amount of washing up. Getting disposable foil trays to cook in this year

Light trails. DC not overly impressed and it seemed mostly designed to squeeze more cash out of you (snacks, drinks, plastic tat) after having paid the ticket price (yes, you can and I did just decline to buy the extras, but it made it less fun). Also finally figured out it is sensory hell for me.

This year I’m only getting DD (11) things she asks for, apart from stocking fillers like sweets and a calendar. In previous years we’ve always added a couple of surprises but more recently they’ve not been used as much as the things she actually asks for. She’ll still get surprises in the sense that we always tell her she might not get everything on her list, so she’s always excited to see what she does get and it’s a surprise in that sense.

I never go overboard on food and treats but I don’t think you can have too much cheese!!

My biggest regret is not taking any photos. You never know when know when it might be someone’s last.

I am not buying as much sweet treats and crisps this year. Also we are having beef instead of turkey and I normally buy goose fat but the roast potatoes cooked in the beef juices are fine any other time so I am going to save my money. I’ve made a note to buy more biscuits and keep them for the time between Christmas and new year. We used to buy lots of food but we live a minutes walk away from a Co op so we can get things from there if we run out.

Getting bronchitis in the run up - luckily I was better for the big day but I did feel we missed out a bit in the run up. I’ve booked a light trail this year and we’ll do some other nice activities to get into the festive mood!

How is there 'wastage' with a whole turkey?
You eat the meat or freeze it for another time.
And if very keen you can boil up the carcass for stock.

I bought a 'luxury' ham joint. Also bought a cheap own brand gammon joint as a stand by. Luxury one was dry tasteless and not at all good. Cheap one was lovely and succulent!!!

Sensory hell!! I have finally realised this too! Declined to go last year after SIL bought tickets without asking if I wanted to go… managed to not cause a huge family rift but it was a close call. I find I get absolutely freezing because of the slow walking, I spend the whole time losing the kids in the dark while DH strolls along loving life chatting to other adults. Well he goes without me now with his fam and we’re all happy 😊

Stocking fillers that got broken or unused, most of them.
All filler presents for something extra to open.
And the biggest let down of all was....DH. currently considering my options for the new year.

Get a turkey crown and a small one. Its literally just meat. Perfect for the sarnies for tea and with some delicious home made chips on boxing day x

Make sure you put them on or inside normal baking trays other wise they bend when you get them out of the oven.

I agree, never seen the point of them... who wants to walk in the freezing cold in a stressful crowd of people. Also the kids rush past without really looking at anything and only really want a hot chocolate of whatever other extras are on offer (usually for highly inflated prices and then you stand freezing with a boiling cardboard cup burning your hand and a drink thats too hot to drink for like 30 minutes).

We did it during lockdown (a drive through one not walking) as it was basically the only option to do anything and after months locked up we just wanted to do something that was crap enough.

I assume people that like them are the 'outdoors-y' types like dog walkers, horse riders, joggers, campers, cyclists and hikers (all very much not my thing). I'll stick to warm dry indoor activities where the air doesn't hurt my eyes, face and bones lol.

I do this every year i get them from home bargains at a fraction of what supermarkets charge.
Christmas is the only time i do it so i don't feel guilty about it.

I think I still have desserts in the freezer, which I bought last Christmas…..
I bought individual gifts for the table, some of which were left behind.

The Aldi standard turkey crown. We often buy the top of the range Aldi full turkeys and they are really nice. We were convinced to do a crown (it’s just two adults and two pre-teens, who to be fair eat heartily) but dh bought the bog standard one, not an extra special or anything. It was dry (I used a meat thermometer and i am good at cooking meat so it’s moist) but worse than that was the total lack of flavour.

we had taskmaster crackers, they were too hard for the 9 year old and everyone just got frustrated.

I didn’t prep and freeze my veg, had to do it all on the day with a chest infection which the doctor wanted me hospitalised with. It sucked.

Didn’t make my own gravy, bought Aldi fresh stuff, it was fine.

Didn’t meal plan for the period, didn’t have nice or really any idea what we were doing.

This year I’m going to be on crutches, I’m having pretty major hip surgery on Friday and I know from having two previous ops, I’m going to still be on them by Christmas.

Wll my veg is in the freezer, chopped blanched and ready. My gravy is made. Ocado order is placed, m&s order is placed, local farm gate turkey, sausage meat and pigs in blankets bought and paid for. Not messing about this year.

We had a lovely time at one last year with DD19 and her BF.
We walked around slowly and then had a couple of mulled wines and some lovely food from one of the many food carts in the courtyard (Stately home)
We were well wrapped up and had wellies on though and if I had been with young kids I would have been terrified of losing them or them falling in the lake

If you don’t want to buy a full turkey, go to the butcher and order / buy a stuffed rolled breast. Really festive, tasty and no wastage.

Also, you can strip the turkey off a crown / whole bird and freeze it in portions after you’ve left out stuff for sandwiches. Then you can use it in place of chicken in risotto, curry, pie, fried rice or whatever for the next three months.