Will we ever 'do' christmas? Maybe as the kids get older? Or will we be this laid back forever?

[mustrunmore]

I'm just wondering if we're somehow shortchanging the kids and missing out some part of xmas. Everyone else seems to be manicly busy, stressed, shopping like crazy. But I'm just not.

We have decorations up, we have advent calendars, they've written lists and put them in the chimney for santa, we've made cards and gifts. So the build -up is there!

I do 95% of my present shopping during the year in sales, and we got the kids main presents a couple of weeks ago. We normally only spend £7 budget on each ohter, but have ignored that this year as I was sick of getting crap and ill thought out gifts from dh

I've done 3 trips to Tescos in the lsat 2 weeks, one with a lift from a friend for the heavy stuff, 2 on the bus with rucksack. But tbh we havent bought much diffreent to usual shopping.

We're going over to a friend for xmas afternoon, taking nibbles and gifts, and it will be laid back.

Dh only has xmas day off work, and we have no family close by.

Xmas is like another day but with presents!Its always been this way, and the boys have always been happy. But are they missing some excitement somewhere? I cant help wondering.ds1 is 6, and so much more aware this year eg wanting specific presents rather than just wanting presents per se (although actually he's wanted his main gift for a t least a year and is going to be thrilled!).

This is like me, the DDs are still happy and excited and that's all that matters. I refuse to get stressed over one day.

Are you haveing Christmas lunch?
If kids get their presents, dont think there is much more to it than that.
I have 2 ds's we will get up ( prob at some god foresaken hour)
Open presents
I am doing lunch for us my parents and brother, jsut a basic Turkey dinner with Xmas pud an some nice wine.
And then an afternoon of TV/ family games.
Are we missing out too?!!

I am cleaning/ tidying house today, but refuse to get strressed over it all.

sounds fine

Maybe you have more realistic expectations of christmas than other people?

My eldest are 17 and 19 and for them Christmas is an exciting day because of our traditions, so for example the turkey dinner is important, its important we dont open some presents till after lunch etc - for them this is how christmas should be because that is how they've grown up with christmas - I suspect most children will be the same and your boys will always want christmas to be like it was in previous years IYSWIM

Your Christmas sounds lovely and if you all enjoy it THAT is the important thing!!(and I'm slightly jealous that you're not going to be sending all evening peeling vegetables )

odd question but what more is there to do on christmas day? asking because your christmas sounds the same aas ours.

Good, i feel a bit more normal now I know there's other people like us .
I dont know what else there is, I think thats my point really. If you dont know what it is youre missing, you dont know how to change it. I guess its also little tings like not having 86 diff vegetables. No turkey because I'm veggie and dh only likes pork/lamb . To answwer your question, we're having 'xmas lunch' at the friends,butI'm not yet sure what that entails... not sure she knows either . So we'll snack here, and have roast meal at night when we get back, if we're not stuffed from her house.

We didn't really do Christmas at all when ds (now 4) was a baby. Last couple of years we've had a tree and advent calendars (he ate all the chocs on 1 Dec last year but has been much more disciplined this year!).

Not going to bother with a roast this year as ds' fave food is spag bol! I manage to get organised enough to send cards roughly every other year, this was an 'off' year so I might send new year cards instead.

Ds is quite a lot more excited about it than he was last year because of the build-up at school (play, carol concert .. ) but I don't think has really grasped he has presents coming.

We're meant to be at my parents' today for a big family lunch, which is how we've always done Christmas. Big in terms of numbers not food consumed! Then maybe a few games and that's it. (Couldn't go cos of the snow) A chillaxing Christmas to all.

Actually I think this is just boasting by stealth

There are only very few people who get into a real panic. Only a very few who spend ages actually choosing what type of brandy in their brandy cream.
Most of the threads are people mulling things over and chatting - not panic.You are looking at a sweep of discussions and programmes and threads and assuming that everyone is rushing around fretting about every detail. They are not really.

After all a suprisingly high number seem to have managed to spend quite a lot of time on MN in recent days.

I think your christmas sounds perfectly normal and average. I think you are just trying to sound all cool and laid back assuming that everyone else is fretty and hassled when they arn't

I have a fair bit to do but am not in a panic. I think very few people do get in a panic. I have a lot to do because I enjoy it.

pagwatch, it not just mn i was thinking of. Its RL friends etc too. People seem to do things like cleaning, just because its xmas

are you sure they are not just people who use christmas as an excuse not to clean, like me you

I honsetly don't know anyone running around like a loon. Perhaps it is just you. Perhaps they are hinting..

I'm not stressed except for my house being a tip. My family are coming tonight for a small buffet and Wii night but I'm not bothered about the food or anything (jackets, sausages, chilli, mince pies etc) but I put off cleaning for days and then we were away hence the panic now. No stress once they're here though

Yes, my Mum said to me 'we women have a lot to do at this time of year' in some context or other, and I was shocked. Because I do very little. And she did very little iirc.

But hey ho, dh will be finished work soon as we can all go home and be festive

I know what you mean about not 'doing' xmas. I had a bit of a panic last week thinking should I make a bigger deal out of it? I'm under stressed about it.. all i've done for xmas is the following;

I've cleaned the house.
Going to cook a vaguely elaborate meal.
Got the DC 2 presents each.
Put a tree up.

That's it.... no xmas pyjamas, or letters to Santa , no stockings, no crakers or any thing else.

I do it all, home made mincemeat, cakes, stockings, decorations, huge meal... but don't find it stressful.

I'm not stressed. We will have brunch tomorrow - smoked salmon/scrambled eggs etc and a late lunch, but really that is not much of a step up from bacon sarnies and a roast, which is like a "normal" Sunday. We have an Xmas tree and some nice candles.

It's just us though - we're not entertaining. Though if we did, it would just be more of the same ie more veg to prepare...

We have decorations, brought most of the kids presents online, and are having PILs and BIL and his wife over for dinner. Dh and his stepdad will cook dinner and we will have a lovely meal. We have done it like this for 5 years now and I refuse to get stressed over it. I haven't even wrapped anything yet, we do it on xmas eve and pop them straight under the tree, while listening to xmas music. We have one tin of sweets and thats it. Prefer it this way, MIL used to go so overboard when we went there for xmas day.

I nipped into asda today to get some milk and bread, and people were piling their trolleys high..

It's the magazines I tell ya! I'm not really stressed about Christmas, well, maybe a little but that is because we are away from home and I like to be in control rather than at my family's precarious whims, but he ho. However, every now and then this past month I have had a 30 second wobble over not having a magazine/Nigella Christmas. Well, today I made a peppamint chocolate log, but it was such a faff that I'll not bother again. But I feel like I should create all these lovely dishes to feed the 5000, but despite having various siblings and co dribbling in and out tomorrow it will actually only be me, DH, Mum and DD (2.5) for dinner and they are all fussy and none of them appreciated the lovingly braised red cabbage I made last year, or the homemade gravy etc. so this year I'm not bothering. They better like the fricking log though!