Any minor Festive Fuck-ups yet?

[lucysmam]

Someone <ahem> decided to go and buy new lights for their 6.5ft really bushy Christmas tree today...and they decided 1000, on a 10m cable, from The Range, is plenty for this tree (bear in mind, their old ones are 600 on a 22m cable).

Dear Reader...

10m of lights, no matter how many are crammed onto it, are certainly not enough for a giant tree. They just about cover it's bottom half...if they're spaced very far apart <sigh>.

And I can't even couple them together because I lose the white and blue from the new set if I do that, and they don't quite sync properly <BIG SIGH>! So now I either put old on back/new on front, slightly out of sync OR I bus back to The Range to once again browse their many and varied aisles of festive lights 🤔 (I cba to bus back tomorrow & really want to decorate by the way).

My dad offered a sensible solution - he will collect 2000 warm white lights, in the morning, when he goes for garden centre cafe breakfast. But they're white. Not coloured. And might not even be enough! I need about 3bazillion metres looking at this!

Any other minor Festive fuck-ups going on? 🎅

Try sending presents across an international border: the customs declaration - which now has to be v. detailed - gets attached so there is no mystery. Last year the contents info was included in the delivery notification emails to the recipient, so he knew exactly what he was getting before the parcel had even reached his door!

I make christmas cakes-one for family on christmas day, one for my two local pubs, one for my part-time work place and one each for two friends.

First disaster-one pub has closed down and the owners have gone to live on a boat.

Second disaster-I don't think I have over-fed my cakes but I either have or something else has gone wrong as we're a few days before xmas and they're soggy as hell! Actually sodden. I am just going to have to use them as they are-more like puddings! Having said that, I already took the one in to my part-time work place and everybody said it was delicious, so that's made me feel a bit better.

I'm in charge of the cheeseboard this year. I bought nice chutneys today, went to store them with the cheese and realised that 3 out of 6 cheeses are already out of date.

I've fucked up my date planning. I knew 2 months ago dh had to work Xmas eve. Completely forgot and had it in my head we were all in sync this year. (Last year he had to work all over Xmas, this year it's NYE). Blithely arranged to go to my parents' 2.5 hours away tomorrow night after work until 27th. All planned and I'm sorting out endless bags to take with us today.

Couldn't see my parents in half term as dd brought Covid back from uni, so I'd feel too guilty to drive up late on Xmas eve. Plus mum has it in her head, so it's unfair to mess them around or the fuss levels will be insane, plus we have to leave on 27th as it is. So dh is going to beg for annual leave but they're bound to say no. Which means he'll be driving up to meet us there straight from a long shift in a shit and ancient car.

I'm an idiot. But I'll get all the prep done on Xmas eve at mum's (we're bringing and cooking the dinner) so he'll be glad of that at least!

Did the marzipan on my cake yesterday. The apricot jam had gone very mouldy so used lemon curd instead.... there was a lack of stick-ability to the curd.

Somebody I know loves making cross-stitch cards for friends, started them too late, and then worked herself into a frantic manic panic trying to get them all done in time, before the various groups where she meets the people concerned closed for Christmas.

This sort of thing happens every year. She loves Christmas, embraces it with both hands, but always takes on more activities than she can manage, so that she has no energy left to enjoy any of the nice things. And when Christmas is over, she often has a huge emotional crash. I keep telling her: do fewer things, and enjoy them more.

We are setting off to visit my DD tomorrow. It's a 4.5 hour drive and 4 adults, luggage for a week and everything for Christmas needs to fit in the car. DD is expecting a baby imminently and I have had multiple people ask me to take baby gifts for her. "No problem, we're going up for Christmas" I said. Looking at the pile of things waiting to be packed I now see quite a big problem. The travel cot isn't going, that's for sure! It's going to be snug in the back for my DSs...

Or being the recipient where I have to pay customs on a gift I’ve received. I’ve asked my family not to send anything

I used golden syrup in a similar situation a few years back!

Now that is brilliant.

Kicking self for picking up the curd but not the syrup...

DH casually announced this afternoon that he had completely forgotten to get the only thing I said I wanted. It's not something that can be got last-minute, so that's nice 😕

Went to wrap the presents and there is no bloody sellotape anywhere in the house. I went to Tesco today, spent 20 minutes trying to leave the carpark so really don’t want to go back.

Thought I'd majorly messed up when I couldn't find the £120 worth of theatre tickets for the 27th. Thankfully I had already put them in the present bag, but I lost a fair amount of time looking for them. Then I discovered that one of the two lines into London is closed and the other has a rail replacement for a section meaning a 45 min journey is now between 1hr 30 and 1hr 50.

Still looking forward to the show, and will just have to take lots of chocolate (and possibly a hip flask) for the bus.

Just thought I’d update. I found the presents underneath the ironing cause who would look there! There’s 1 still needed wrapping which is small so I put it in my dressing table but it’s vanished. I’ve decided it’s my offering to the Christmas spirit.

That’s a result, @Bluescissorsbluepen. I’ve been looking for a bundle of clothes I know I had just before we moved our wardrobe to do some work behind it. I’ve searched every inch of our not very big house including the suitcases in the loft ( the disappearance coincided with DD borrowing a suitcase so not as illogical as it sounds). Absolutely no luck. I have a horrible feeling they might have been swept up with a charity shop drop.

My new "warm white" lights from Asda are actually a horrible shade of yellow. Nothing white about them. Unfortunately the tree was all but finished when I realised just how much I hated them.

Luckily last years lights still work even if they are battery operated.

My 39kg lab ate a whole box of thorhtons one year with no ill affects. My 18kg Bassett grappled a packet of aldi fake clubs thus week anD removed the wrappers. Again no problems apart from the farts we’re getting from the sugar beet they eat on their run

Im still getting over this …….

pushed the boat out today and bought 5 x wagyu fillet steaks to have tonight - the BASTARD DOG ate 3 of them!!!!!

cannot say any more ……..

I think you may have won the thread @bilbodog…

As I said earlier in the thread dogs cost waaaaay too much money eating stuff they shouldnt, whether it's massive vet bills or the waste of expensive food, I don't know how people afford to be pet owners.
I'd don't know whether I'd be sitting on the kitchen floor sobbing or be on the second bottle of wine after that disaster

On a previous year, we realised that we had forgotten to take the turkey with us, moments after turning on to the motorway, so we had to turn back (several miles until the next exit). It could have been a lot worse, though: we might have got all the way there.

Miscalculated on the double cream - enough for the trifle and profiteroles but none left over for pudding. Will have to brave a shop.

DH left the ‘santa’ wrapping paper and our youngest’s (unwrapped) present from the big guy on the table in the tv room last night. I went in just now to discover it, and my 7 year old watching ninjago I just grabbed it and ran, so who knows if he noticed or not.
Honestly, if you want something doing properly… 🤣

At 2:30am I sat bolt upright in bed worrying that the turkey crown wouldn’t be defrosted in time. Got up, put my coat and boots on and went out to the garage fridge to retrieve it. It was fine.

DH has just announced that the dishwasher has stopped heating its water. Google says probably the thermostat or the element.
Possibility of getting someone to fix it today?
NIL

11 people tor dinner tomorrow.