What I will do differently / the same for Christmas 2026

[Twinktoes]

So I want to learn from this year and last year :
I will do this again:
*Prep loads on 24th so there is only the potatoes and turkey to do on the day
make a bigger trifle
*make Christmas pudding without orange rind in plenty of time as I couldnt buy one and there are allergies
*cook turkey earlier so whole oven was free
put roasties in earlier and ditto parsnips as they weren’t quite done

I will buy more , nicer wrapping paper for my children instead of using nice paper for relatives
I will buy more edible bits for stockings
I will buy two boxes of Bendicks so I can eat one
i I will start shopping in September and use the bargain threads properly
I will try to remember it is just one day and that the meal is the most stressful , not because of cooking but because of the company
My kids love a stocking so I’ll pay more attention to those this next year.

I will plan to be poorly and buy ALL the cold and flu tablets in readiness instead of panicking when I couldnt find any on Christmas Eve.

oh. And and make way more roast potatoes than I think I’ll need

Buy hard chocolate mints in advance as I couldn’t find any (the types you get with a coffee in a restaurant)
Buy different wrapping paper for each child
Send Christmas cards earlier

Things that worked well
Buying all stocking fillers by October
Wrapping as I go

Hi OP - just to say if you don’t get as many responses as you expected on this thread it’s because there are two other threads on the same topic already!

Hmm we will be in a different place (parents take turns). However I am looking forward to making crackers again this year and making cakes and puddings, all went well.

I may wrap DH up two.pot noodles instead of one 🤣

I spent a fair bit on my brother and he only gave me a calendar so I'll not spend as much on him.

@ABeerInTheSunshineMakesMeHappy ooh fab. I’ll abandon ship then. What are they called and are they in Christmas topic do you know ? Thank you 🙏

I don’t know how to link but one is under Christmas and called something like ‘what would you do differently thread’ and the other is under Chat, again a similar title to yours and mentions 2026 in the title.