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

Expectation: fun car trip to my dm's on Christmas Day morning, singing away to carols and enjoying the winter scenery. Dh and I tell our old Christmas stories for the hundredth time.

Reality: Dd (not yet 2 then) overtired after waking early, is in a complete grump and refuses to sleep in car, whines at the music, suffers disastrous poonami meaning we have to pull over in the freezing cold to change her.

Expectation: get there in good spirits, dd opens her presents from family with big smiles and gleefully explores each one, ushering us to open them.

Reality: completely stressed by the time we arrive, dd has zero interest in the presents and wants to chase the cats instead. She plays inside a big Amazon box then falls asleep on the sofa.

Expectation: a lovely Christmas dinner with everyone enjoying their food and telling jokes and stories.

Reality: I am ill and can barely taste the food. Eldest brother obsessed with his phone. Dd refuses to eat anything except a Yorkshire pudding then tantrums wildly. We still have lots of laughs but have to watch her closely as she dances to Mother Goose Club in the living room (French partition so we can see straight into the room)

Expectation: go to bed smiling after a long lovely day of festive joy.

Reality: get me into bed I've had enough hic

Expectation- son gets off the Xbox to enjoy a family xmas playing with toys and board games
Reality - I end up playing Monopoly with the dog

Going out for Christmas lunch instead of cooking at home.

Imagined: whole family together, no stress, no complicated manoeuvres with the oven space, children sitting nicely, 5 week old DS sleeping blissfully.
Reality: roast dinner that’s not as good as homemade, sitting in a room full of strangers which just feels wierd, trying to breastfeed tony baby in room full of said strangers and paying an arm and a leg for the privelidge

Invited round to Christmas dinner with some of DH's relatives. My expectation was to have a really sociable and yet relaxing day.
Reality was all the men cleared off to the pub, the women all piled into the kitchen.
Dinner was 'nice', nothing wrong with it but nothing exceptional either, just like a standard Sunday roast.
The women were expected to clear up while the men had a snooze. An hour or so later half of the family had disappeared upstairs.

It doesn't sound so bad written down but it was quite miserable in reality.
For many years we'd had family bereavements, serious illnesses etc in December and my parents and DH were usually working all over the Christmas period so we'd really been looking forward to it.

Christmas is now non-negotiable, everyone's welcome at our house but we never accept an invitation to Christmas dinner elsewhere.

Expectation:
A delightful walk in the crisp white snow; my daughter's eyes twinkling with excitement as she finally gets to experience snow for the first time (that she remembers) with laughter and merriment all around, followed by building her first snowman and making some snowballs.

Reality:
A slow slippy walk with a toddler in a freezing wet glove from holding a soggy handrail, followed by a sit-down in the heated entrance foyer to Sainsbury as I tried to warm up her chilly fingers on my tum.

I love the run up to Christmas. Buying and wrapping gifts, the school nativity, Carol concert etc but usually find the actual day a huge letdown.

It’s odd because on paper my Christmas mustn’t look great.

Single mum of two young children, both my parents deceased and estranged from my sister.

But in reality - it’s wonderful.

My and my children and my brother.
The children and I open stockings in my bed. They’re perfect ages for Christmas atm (almost 5 and 7.5)
Lunch is easy.
I adore my bro, we have a fab time together.
The children worship my brother.
We will see my ex husband (very amicable) in the afternoon as he will pop around for a mince pie.

There’s no arguing (genuinely). No stress.

Will finish up with my brother and I having an amaretto in front of a film.

I love Christmas. And my expectation meets my reality despite the fact that, as o say, on paper it certainly doesn’t fit the image of a perfect Christmas!

Expectation: Delicious relaxed family meal of turkey and roast potatoes etc.

Reality: My mil has put the sprouts on at the same time as the turkey and is serving mash. Within no time the kids have had enough and are trying to climb down from the table.

(I am grateful that someone invites and cooks for me though!)

Expectation - children will go to sleep straight away so I can lay everything out and sit down with a glass of wine.

Reality - they are still awake at gone 1am and I am losing the will to live!

Expectations - kids would behave and do as told
Reality - overly excited kids screaming the place down

I’m always hopeful for something different but, on the whole it’s a day of domestic slavery. This year I’m on strike.

myfamilyhomeblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/04/how-to-survive-christmas/

Expectation: beautiful christmas dinner. Few drinks with the OH whilst hes cooking the turkey.

Reality: few too many drinks. He drops the turkey, then scoops it back up in hopes no one notices (obviously being subtle and drunk are never in the same equation 😂).

Another one, another year...

Expectation: beautiful beef joint alongside the traditional christmas dinner. Our dog and sisters dog sepeated into different rooms whilst we go for a lovely family breakfast at Nans.

Reality: one dog was seperated in the room with the resting beef joint. He ate the whole thing!!! The round dog couldnt move he was so full!!

Expectation- lazy breakfast in bed with fresh croissants, lovely jams and gorgeous coffee followed by present opening.

Reality- Kids bouncing on us at 4 am demanding to open the presents whilst we push them off, bleary eyed. They come back half hourly until we sucoumb at 7am.

My first ever Christmas with my partner and his family 4 years ago. I imagined a lovely civilised Christmas dinner chatting, laughing, singing at the dinner table. What I didn't expect was everyone rallying round to empty prosecco from the plate of freshly carved Christmas turkey because I'd knocked the bottle into it 😬

Expectation: My DCs being as excited as I was when I got an Osmonds Lp, a doll and a selection box.
Reality: Why have you got me an iphone when i asked for a galaxy?

Expectation, relaxed family Christmas, nothing ostentatious , stockings, presents , nice roast dinner.
Reality, we had all of that last year but DF was taken rather ill at the table and had to be bluelighted to A&e. We had a second go on New Year's Day which was lovely though.

lying in bed planning the meal timings down to the letter.an hour later everything already gone to sh* haha.
planning to go for a walk vs ooh that movies on again lets watch instead
no arguments this year v always huge argument
convining ourself we wont overcook turkey v oh just five more minutes to be on the safe side equals dammit overcooked!
looking forward to tv v what is actually good to wathc this year?
plamning something nice to wear v would actually do anything to stay in pjs all day

I decided to cook Christmas dinner last year. My oven broke.I dropped the triple choc gateau on floor and I set fire to my neighbours tree when my 'romantic' Chinese laterns blew into it. Also my cat was ill and vomited all over my mother in law. FAIL.

Christmas Tree Day.

Expectation : Going as a family for a meal in our favourite restaurant, then over to the Christmas tree farm to pick out a beautiful tree. Putting the tree in the car and getting some great photos. Driving home and decorating it.

Reality : Everyone running late for the restaurant and almost losing the table. Finishing and heading over to the tree farm only to realise that A) we've forgotten the wellies and B) it is literally a mud bath. Keeping positive and carrying children over piles of thick mud to then realise that since the farm has been open for 2 years, all the good trees from the field by where we park have gone and we now have to trek what seems like miles to the next farm because naturally, we just missed the tractor that's giving people lifts up to the top field.
Walking up an endless hill of mud and on the verge of reaching the top field where I can see lots of Christmas trees and hearing those 4 little words, those 4 words that always come at the worst possible time. I need the toilet. My 7 year old decides she needs a poo and has no problem telling me (and everyone else within earshot!) very loudly. At this point I've lost the will to live so we start the long hike back down to the car. There's no toilets on the farm so we have no choice but to leave, with NO TREE !!!!!

My expectations are that nothing will go on fire this year.

EVERY year I am mistaken and something goes up in flames.

We have become very proficient at fire safety as a precaution.

(I think my MIL's house is haunted and it's ghosties. It's the only plausible explanation.)

Ummmm, DS1 was scheduled to make his appearance on Jan 27th, but arrived instead on Dec 14th. That Christmas was spent in NICU. The nurses were amazing, and I treasure the gifts given in a little knitted stocking by BLISS. (He just turned 11 a few days ago!)

Expectation - Me serving properly done turkey as in-laws doing their every Christmas
Reality - Someone forget to get out giblets in plastic bag and it wasn't me. My husband offered to help earlier on and it seems to he got distracted and as the result when came to slice turkey.....Oops! Plastic!

Christmas dinner with sister..expected to eat at 2. Cooking so delayed all hungry and drinking. Got to eat 6.30. All adults very drunk!