Organising Christmas in advance - top tips for those of us expecting in Dec please!

[Twiga]

Ok so Christmas is ages away but feeling large and waddly just as you need to tackle it all is a looming reality for those of us due around then. If you've been there done that, what are your top tips for getting it done before hand? What should we avoid doing? What do you wish you'd done diff? What can we not bother with if have to do the minimum? Thanks

a very large freezer and a trip to M&S food hall with about £200 in your bank account.

I was due with dd on 3 Jan (she was late) but everyone that year got presents from Amazon. I didn't go near a shop.

Then went to PILs and lay around while everyone else cooked and cleaned for me. Bliss.

Don't do what we did and invite all the extended family for christmas day. Try and get invited somewhere locally so you don't have to do food shopping, preparation etc and can go home to your own bed when you need to.

oh, we went out for Xmas dinner to a hotel.

everyone got presents online.

dd2 was born 10 december

On DS1 was due 15th DEC and was told would be induced on 29th if went over!!!

1. arrange for mum or mil to do dinner if poss
2. gift vouchers for pressies - saves hassle of shopping for fussy people! They won't mind at all
3. PLENTY of sex etc to get baby out b4 xmas so you can eat your dinner
4. avoid any amount of nov/dec shopping or do it online and get them to wrap it for you too

Shopping/parking the car close to xmas is a nightmare at the best of times but when preg people don't care or look and barge in to you and thats not fun when pregnant. Parking the car is awful and whan hormones are running wild it makes you want to park the car in the middle of the road!!!! And then if you need a wee in the middle of traffic jam.....

Best to get it sorted now if i were you.

He was born on 17th btw!

Got everything online, and booked to go out for dinner. DS arrived in the early hours of christmas norning so never got dinner! x

Second online shopping for presents and maybe food, really haven't done Christmas shopping any other way since DD was born.

Make lists now and plan what you are going to buy / do.

By all means invite people over but ask them to contribute a meal / course.

BTW I love Christmas and didn't want to skip decs / celebrating.

ds2 was due end of jan but came on boxing day which i was half expecting.

Was super prepared - all pressies pretty much done online and all wrapped well in advance.

Quiet christmas day at home just DH, DS1 and me which was bliss as normally go to family. Quiet lovely day and then it all started during doctor who.

And definitely did the m&s food trip but to be honest with just the three of us its just a roast dinner really.

I know it's easy to say in retrospect, but try not to worry about it too much. Buy all the presents you can early on (like now in the sales ), write all your cards early, stamp them and leave them to be posted nearer the time. If you make cakes and things, get them sorted now and leave them to mature. Get the decorations out of the loft while you can still get through the hatch .

Honestly, DD2 was born on 20th December and we got home from hospital on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was hectic, upside down, but still lovely. Don't sweat the schedule, get someone else to worry about basting the turkey, and remember you can finally have a glass of wine!

(Apologies to all those expecting after Christmas Day. You can have your wine on Hogmanay!)

Either buy presents now or get someone else to wrap them for you - wrapping presents on the floor with a 37w bump was Not Comfortable!

Treat yourself & DP/friend to a night away in a nice B&B and get all shopping done in one enjoyable weekend. Recommend Shrewsbury - we did this and it was lovely & memorable & we did get ALL the presents.

Stock up on Gaviscon for post-Christmas dinner heartburn attacks!

On-line shopping def top of my list! Unfortunately we're really too far from rellies to go somewhere else and also just moved a fortmight ago but my parents should be around so will hopefully do the whole cooking thing. Would love to do the usual make cake, cards etc but just not sure how realistic it all is - want Christmas to go well for the kids if nothing else - baby should be delivered sometime 12th-19th so aware that will be in early bit of recovery, sleep deprivation etc.

mimizan - all the extended family , wow, that was brave!

1. Go elsewhere for christmas - parents?
2. Order all presents online ASAP
3. Rope in DH/DP to wrap/tag
4. Use those really horrid insomniac nights to write christmas cards if you send them
5. If you HAVE to shop in town, take frequent coffee breaks, and make sure someone is with you to carry the bags
6. If you have to stay at home, M&S pre-prepared food is fine, bung it in the oven (or get DH/DP to do it) and do not fret over meal timings
7. No staying guests on Christmas day

I think ive covered a lot of it.

My DS was born 29th November last year and I had the worst christmas EVER trying to do my first ever christmas - hahahahaha - spent 4 days in tears on the verge of walking out on everyone, inc DS. Should have followed my own advice!

gosh, lots of replies while i was typing - thanks! Good tip re: wrapping early, hadn't even occurred to me that this bit of things would be awkward - mind you, you're talking to the woman who consistently forgets that she can no longer squeeze between wing mirrors when walking amongst parked cars .

try and arrange a present amnesty with as many people as possible.
(my dd was born 21/12/07)

Ooh, yes yes yes, present amnesty is a great idea!

If bump has landed by Christmas, give photos in nice, pre-bought frames. Old rellies will love that mor ethan anything else. Boots often do bogof on frames too - cheap, easy, and guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of Great Aunt Doris.

Internet shopping!

By pre-bought I meant bought around now-ish...all presents will be pre-bought unless they are shoplifted

opps posted before I'd finished. Everyone got DVD's, Books or CD's last Xmas. All ordered well in advance - fortunate as I was due 17th Feb but actually delivered on 15th Dec!!

AFM - !

I did alot of internet shopping and made sure we went to my parents for dinner.

Stupid not brave

I am definately a list person.
make sure you write lists now of who you want cards and pressies for. Make sure you tick them off so that you don't panic nearer the time that you have forgotten anyone.

get your cards written and stamped (if you send them) really early, just ready to stick them in the box early december.

do fun christmas things with the children before baby comes so they have happy christmas thoughts rather than it being about the baby... perhaps an early trip to Father Christmas somewhere?

What a lovely Christmas pressie! I was born in December and Mum came home from hospital on Christmas Eve.. My sister remembers it being magical that she had a new baby for Christmas

bythepowerofgreyskull - that's a nice idea re:doing stuff with dcs in advance, dd is just coming up 3 so this is the first year she's going to be aware of the build up etc.

Full agree with the lists and online shopping ideas - I've actually hit the sales already and have a few Xmas presents stashed away. DS was born 22nd Dec 06 and #2 is due Dec 27th (great timing eh!). Is that really bad buying sales stuff for Xmas? I suppose you just need to ensure that the rellies won'r try to return goods.

Also, make the most of that lovely nesting instinct. DS is still happliy eating the Gingerbread biscuits I made when I was nesting with him. I'm a cheapskate and a full on slummy mummy.

Good luck!

I think my bad experience of being ill after DS birth has skewed my idea of what it will be like this time. DC2 is due on 22nd December and I am planning as little as possible for Christmas. If the baby has not arrived I will let my parents come for the afternoon, bringing Christmas meal with them and doing the washing up (they have agree this, bless them!). If he has arrived I will probably just make do with a mince pie and beans on toast. There will be no tree or decorations because I can't face taking them down or putting them away. I am going to buy all the presents well in advance and seriously curtail the number of people who get them at all. No Christmas cards.

Bah Humbug!