What are you planning to do on Christmas Eve? I'm just a little nosey

[starbear]

As we are such a small family it doesn't seem as buzzy as it was when I was a kid with brothers, sister gran and aunt etc..
It will be just the three of us tomorrow. Seems a bit flat. The only plan we have is to go to church at 4pm for the Children's Service. The house is clean, the shopping has been done. (Not keen on shopping anymore) Just wondered how to get a little sparkle in the day? What are you all up to?

Tomorrow morning will wave bye bye to guests, go to my parents for drinks and then go to pub. Quiet afternoon, family mass with DC's at 5 and then of to ex SIL to drop of pressies and a drink. Home to sort out DD's present for the next day.

We are going to the cinema if dd2 is well enough. Otherwise we will go to the local organic deli for breakfast or for cake and hot choc and then home to watch a film. Later we will go to the carol singing on the village green, home for a buffet tea, then an early night for the girls and a little drink for me and dp as we eat the mince pie, gouge the carrot into reindeer-bite shapes and sprinkle the icing sugar for footprints.

working in the morning, xmas lunch with work, pick up the boys from ex on the way home, friend and her 3 children maybe coming over for half an hour or so, tea, my parents coming over for a few hours at 6.30pm.

We always used to do the rounds of relatively (dad was one of 4, mum one of 5) on xmas eve, no family other than my parents nearby and I really miss that going round to the relatives.

Oh!That's an idea There is a cafe in the park we might go there.

Church & MN.

Work ( with DC with me aarrgghh)
Visiting rellies
trying to get 2 excited DC to bed at a reasonable time

Don't think you'll get any inspiration from my thrilling plans for tomorrow.

I have a dh who has gone down with norovirus so I'm going to do all the things we would have divided between us:

walk dog (ideally twice)
go to doctors for bp check
do food shopping (and decide what we actually want to eat)
clean oven
brief clean and tidy of house
take ds1 for walk around village to see 'all the pretty lights', by request of ds1
get out dcs presents once they're in bed
veg out on sofa watching tv or film, and reading god book

reading good book not god book

i agree starbear, it'll just be dp and I and the 2 children. ds1 will be uber-excited (he's nearly 4) but ds2 is only 1 so won't really care lol

ds1 is actually going to nursery in the morning as he loves it so much and they have lots of great christmassy things planned. so while he's there we'll get the tree in and decorated.

my best friend and my mum are both coming over to drop presents off, so will have some tea and mince pies

then tea time with some of the treats we got that we don't usually have, maybe watch a film or something and drink a little wine!
hang stockings up and get kids to bed then i'll be shattered lol

Prepping Xmas lunch in the morning and visiting friends in the afternoon. Wrapping children's presents with DH and a glass of fizz in the evening!

Oh nearly forgot, opening Xmas pj's before bedtime tomorrow evening.

Christingle, dinner, bath, new PJ's, food for reindeer, phone Norad and speak to a real Elf, teeth, story, bed.

SANTA DOES NOT COME WHILST CHILDREN ARE AWAKE.

we've got neighbours coming round for drinks and that sounds a lot more posher than it really is!

i am at work till 3 pm grrrrrrrr, in then tea which will be pizza for kids, christingle with dd while dh stays in with ds ashes to young , sprinkle the reindeer dust, read the xmas story, bung kids in bed, have a big chinese with local relly round who on todd, get pished, go to bed oh after wrapping presents that are left if any and somewhere inbetween that prep the dinner whoch shouldnt take much as i have took lazy option on most.

Oh I'm jealous.
DH is working as usual tomorrow so its just me and the two boys (3 and 10 months). Just a normal day for us!!

cleaning mostly as rellies coming xmas morning
dh taking ds to cinema, me and dd going stir crazy here

Going to the zoo to see Father Christmas first thing, spending day in panic at how much have left to do, go to Cafe Rouge for dinner in early evening, get kids in bed ASAP, fake Santa footprints and Rudolph's bitemarks in carrot, have nibbles & Prosecco and watch telly. And constantly blowing nose as have stinking cold.

Tomorrow for the Hula family is:

morning - visit DH's grandad
lunch - with PILs
afternoon - visit my parents
tea time - church nativity
evening - dinner at home; sort FC stuff out with DD; snuggle with DH on sofa when DD is in bed

We do the rounds swapping presents on Christmas Eve.

Cinema - Madagascar 2 then pizza with firend and her DS
Supper with Dh - and maybe a bottle of fizz

Going to town in the morning (mad I know - but even when it's "busy" it's still managable) - need to buy the DS's cards , and a card from them to exH. Then going to the crib service where DS1 is going to be a king, and DS2 a shepherd, nanaged to collar one of my teenage (well actually she's heading towards 21 now lol - was a teenager when she first started looking after them ) babysitters to look after DS3 so I can go and play/watch them in peace. Rather nice as Christmas Eve is also DS1's Baptism anniversary - so rather chuffeed he's a King this year

Evening, not sure really, was going to be playing for the Midnight Mass, but (very sad) unforseen circumstances mean that my lovely friend can't come up and sit with the DS's for an hour while I play as previously planned, so have got someone else playing for it.

Will be rather odd, have been to midnight mass to either play or just attend for the last 6yrs so wil be strange being at home.

So probably do my ironing so it's not staring at me on Chrsitmas day..........or maybe I'll leave that for the evening on Christmas Day to pass the time when I'm on my own >

Bring the presents downstairs and put under the tree and them twiddle my thumbs probably.

Dp working tomorrow and i have to go cleaning for someone in the morning then will deliver a few pressies and prob slob around.

Doing some last minute preperation in morning.Then celebrating ds1 aged 4 birthday all day.Getting a takeaway for dinner.Giving both my boys some xmas pjs and watching the snowman before bed.

DP working so me and girls will be chilling at home and I'll change all the bedding, make sure wash basket is empty etc
Let the girls open their new DVDs.
Bit of quickie food shopping, pay in my cheque, post a cheque, pick up dry cleaning
Cook a mini roast
Possible church visit at 6 (but might go Xmas Day morning instead)
Come home - open new PJ's, put girls to bed after a squeeze of the empty stockings and leaving out mince pie and wine etc.
Watch a film with DP and bed.

Am so looking forward to Xmas

Our house is a bombsite so I'll spend a lot of time cleaning, but here are some nicer things we're hoping to fit in at some point:

Christmas tree collage (cut christmas tree shape from green card then stick on sequins, glitter etc to decorate)

snowman collage (cut snowman shape, stick on cotton balls all over and stick on paper shapes for face, buttons and hat)

Decorate some shaped biscuits which the dds made at their friend's house this afternoon, and hang them on the tree

Christmas Kim's Game: using Christmassy things on a tray, eg bauble, playmobil santa, mince pie, piece trimmed off Christmas tree etc

sprinkle 'reindeer food' on the front lawn (dd2 made this at nursery; it's oats mixed with glitter and sequins)

watch Snowman ballet (recorded on Sky plus last year!)

hot chocolate, bubble baths for dds, new PJs, hang stockings.

after the dds are in bed dh and I hope to have grappa with frozen grapes and chocolate, a Jamie Oliver suggestion (if we're not still ill and full of cold...)