What are your Christmas holiday plans?

[Earlybird]

Holidays can be an especially tricky time for lone parents.

What are you doing Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day?

I'm not a single parent but speaking as a child of a single parent family who's memories of xmas are about the happiest they have!!!! We spent xmas eve watching xmas tv and singing xmas songs and generally getting excited. My mum would do fishfingers for tea, insist we had a bath and then we'd do our stocking out for father xmas bit. On xmas day we'd open stockings and presents and spend the day watching the usual films playing with all our new toys etc!! My mum would always make sure one of us had a game that we could all play together. My great uncle (more akin to a grandad) would spend the day with us. Boxing Day sometimes we'd have my grandparents over but ofen just continue playing having a big boxing day buffet etc. Sometimes we might have cousins over sometimes not. To be honest, it was the only time of year when the house was full of treats and new things etc so we were so excited by it all, we just wanted to be at home playing with everything!!! My mum worked so hard for us to have special xmases and I've bought so many of the things we did into my own xmas now.

My dc are with me for Christmas this year, so I'm really looking forward to it, Christmas eve we'll walk into town for a few last minute things from the market, and to have coffee and watch the hustle & bustle. Then home to snuggle up & watch dvd's. Christmas day I've got family coming over for the day. I'm working Boxing day morning, and weather permitting we can get out for a walk in the afternoon. They are going to their dad's the weekend after Christmas. He's being his usual self and now trying to get them to stay with him from Boxing day until New Year's day, he doesn't seem to understand it's not me manipulating them into staying at home...they actually like being at home...grrr!