Share your Christmas expectations vs reality with NOW TV - chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We all know the biscuit tin or movie version of the ‘perfect’ Christmas is not quite what actually happens at Christmas, and the team at NOW TV would love to know how different your expectations for the most wonderful time of the year were with how it actually went down.

Has snow or bad weather at Christmas stopped visitors from coming? Was your turkey still defrosting when the Queen was making her speech or did the dog ruin your lovingly decorated tree while you were out at the panto?

NOW TV say “if your Christmas plans go a bit wrong or you need something to distract the in laws then at NOW TV we’re all about making things extra easy: sign up and start watching instantly on one of our clever apps - including on iPad, iPhone, games consoles and selected Android devices - you’ll get access to loads of great content for families, including over 1,000 movies on demand plus a new premiere every day - including Christmas classics like Love Actually and big movies like Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.”

Share your tale where the reality didn’t quite match up to what you envisaged at Christmas time you will be entered into a prize draw where one person will win a £300 voucher for the store of choice - from a list (which might make you feel a bit better! ).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs Apply

We went to visit my mother the first Christmas she spent in the nursing home and thought we would plan the food ahead thinking it would just be a quick visit as my sister was going to see her in the afternoon. Unfortunately we were gone a lot longer than expected and some of the food was soup when we got home;

We once paid to eat out on Christmas day because it meant less work shopping for food and preparing a meal. However, although it was very nice, we discovered that we still needed to buy food and prepare it if we wanted the Christmas left overs that we so much enjoy on Boxing Day on wards!

This Christmas I bought both my kids tablets as their main present. My eldest was overjoyed. My youngest, however, took one look at it, cast it aside, and proceeded to play with the transporter and cars that his Grandparents had got him.

I had envisaged winning "mother of the year" but alas, it was not meant to be! Haha.

Expecation. A nice stress free christmas as haven't gone over board , kept it simple made sure cards where sent and everything wrapped by 1st December. Really looking forward to Christmas.
Reality, the entire house hold down with virus so slept on and off for 3 days, and mothers fan belt breaking down on way to nans 300 miles away with no way of getting her back as no breakdown recovery insurace. Sorted out in the end but sometimes being over prepared still bites you in the butt!

I had the perfect Christmas dinner planned for fourteen members of the family I was about of a third of the way through cooking when there was a bang from the oven and the heating element had packed up, and that was that, it was too far to drive to any of the families houses to carry on cooking so we made do with cheese, bread and microwaved Christmas Pudding

Expectations - That I will have an organised, Stress Free and Relaxed Christmas....

Reality- Which member of the household is going to come down with a horrible contagious illness on Xmas Eve?! Hopefully next year will be illness free...

My expectations are that we will all be singing along merrily to the classic musicals on tv, but I look round and everyone is asleep...

I thought I would try and make the beautiful looking pate in a Christmas recipe book, in reality not only did it look awful it was totally tasteless and we all just ate cold toast with butter on!

one year we went on holiday and the hotel and weather was just miserable

Harrods- what’s that all about?!

We had a vegetarian for Christmas and not being that bothered about turkey we thought we'd all have a veggie Christmas, problem was the nut roast was more than terrible and we had no back up! A quickly whipped up macaroni cheese to go with all the vegetables was quite tasty though!

Family from far afield came to visit and I was looking forward to it but they were a nightmare! Criticized everything, even said my dog had no personality! Nothing was right, they didn't contribute to anything and expected me to wait on them hand and foot. I needed a rest at Christmas and I was exhausted afterwards.

All I want for ANY Christmas is to stay on my PJ's for the day doing as little as possible for as long as possible. In reality it involves getting dressed in suitable winter attire and taking a very energetic dog for several walks throughout the day otherwise she's a hairy nightmare!

Searching high and low round the shops in 2016 for a hatchimal, spending £70 and feeling great I got what my daughter wanted.

When she opened it Christmas biggest disappointment ever it hatched in 10 mins and then was never looked at again. Biggest waste of money I have spent at Christmas

Expectation - the children loving their presents, beautifully cooked Christmas Dinner enjoyed by all then a lovely walk in the woods

Reality - the children did love their presents but constantly nagged for me to go on Amazon to spend the vouchers they were sent. Didn't move off the sofa for that "lovely walk in the woods" until the 28th December.

Expectation- enjoying the morning opening presents; having a fantastic dinner; a quick nap after ‘the Queen’ and an evening of Christmas telly, board games and lovely snacks.
Reality - straight to bed after Christmas dinner where I’ve remained since, with an awful fibre flare and a prolapsed disc. Happy bloody Christmas!!

All excited for an . Amazing Christmas reality daughter up all night ill we slept through Christmas day totally exhausted. Opened presents boxing day still feeling ill!!

As a child my parents took us to a hot and fun destination for Christmas which was lovely of them but it wasn't Christmassy. I felt I missed it that year so I'm always at home doing the traditional Christmas for my own kids.

This year:
Expectation - bickering kids, some dud presents, rushing around helping MIL cook the dinner, hangover the next day,
Reality- kids were lovely all Xmas, had loads of lovely presents that all worked as they should, I hardly did anything towards the cooking as MiL had it all under control so I could relax and enjoy the kids, didn’t stop drinking for about 3 days but strangely no hangover at all!! Was a lovely Christmas

Expectations a lovely family get together with laughter and love.

Reality - arguments galore like a bloody episode of eastenders!

Congratulations to @Cailin7 for winning the prize draw of a £300 voucher!