In't Christmas brilliant!!!

[rodgy-dodge]

Fantastic....just blumming Fantastic....love the decorating...the twinkly lights... FAKE snow...food....wine....cheesy music, but most of all immediate family. They make my Christmas.
Also a time to think about those members of family who are no longer with us Dad 14 years ago dec 10th and eldest brother august last year, I raise my glass

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Fantastic....just blumming Fantastic....love the decorating...the twinkly lights... FAKE snow...food....wine....cheesy music, but most of all immediate family. They make my Christmas.
Also a time to think about those members of family who are no longer with us Dad 14 years ago dec 10th and eldest brother august last year, I raise my glass

I'm not a big fan of Xmas or this time of year generally but a house full of family on Xmas day is superb.

 

[lukesdad]

The kids decorated the tree yesterday whilst watching their fav. Chrissie film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Luke and Jack are just starting to bring their decorations home from school and nursery this year. We ll be taking good care of them to use for future years. Any ideas on wrapping their new bikes would be much appreciated.

 

[slugonabike]

Just Mr Slug and me for Christmas and I am soooooo looking forward to it! A nice tastefully decorated tree (although artificial) and I've banned MS from putting tacky tinsel all round the room. We'll see SlugMummy for a while on 27th and SlugBoy will be down on 3rd January. After decades of 'people pleasing' I have no intention of doing it again this year . Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy Christmas with my nearest and dearest but that doesn't include SlugMummy, MIL or assorted in-laws.

 

[Archie_tect]

9 with us on Christmas Day so I'll be in the kitchen, getting laced with sherry and nuts with F-in-L helping with the veg!

Arch's Christmas preparations sound just like ours... each decoration has a story and the memories come flooding back as we unpack the shoeboxes from the loft!

 

[trj977]

Will be buying and decorating the tree next weekend. Sort of a tradition now, always bought the weekend before, chosen and decorated by my daughters.
Started when my girls were young and we were busy preparing for Christmass, I took the girls off to "choose" the tree brought it home and let them decorate it. No decorations were higher than half way up the tree and all at the front! They were so proud and happy and it was left just as they had done it.
Eldest arrives back from uni today and I was given strict instructions that the tree could not be bought until she was there. Brought back all those memories of the first time they did it and I started welling up.
Now wondering where those 16 years have gone.

 

[Archie_tect]

Will be buying and decorating the tree next weekend. Sort of a tradition now, always bought the weekend before, chosen and decorated by my daughters.
Started when my girls were young and we were busy preparing for Christmass, I took the girls off to "choose" the tree brought it home and let them decorate it. No decorations were higher than half way up the tree and all at the front! They were so proud and happy and it was left just as they had done it.
Eldest arrives back from uni today and I was given strict instructions that the tree could not be bought until she was there. Brought back all those memories of the first time they did it and I started welling up.
Now wondering where those 16 years have gone.

...just thinking that myself this morning. Eldest goes off to Indonesia for a year flying out just after the New Year. We know he'll be ok... ho-hum!

 

[Trembler49]

We had an early Xmas day yesterday with half of the extended family.

I was so tired after making Xmas dinner that I had no appetite to eat it!! First time that has ever happened.

 

[slugonabike]

We had an early Xmas day yesterday with half of the extended family.

I was so tired after making Xmas dinner that I had no appetite to eat it!! First time that has ever happened.

I used to feel like that after catering for 14. Never actually too tired to eat it but often too stressed to enjoy it, muttering under my breath about it being my turn again - hence looking forward to a really quiet one this year!

 

[summerdays]

I generally enjoy the preparations in the kitchen (well mine ... more stressful trying to help out in someone else's kitchen) ... there is no fixed time to eat ... and if I forget to put something on ... well there is more than enough with the rest anyway. The only one who has ever given me stress in my kitchen is my brother-in-law ... came and sat in the kitchen to read his newspaper now I didn't mind him reading it (elsewhere not in my way), wouldn't have minded him sitting there with a glass chatting ... but to simply get in my way .... ended up asking him to entertain my kids to get him out of the kitchen. He is very thick skinned so doesn't get any hints but he is nice - just couldn't be married to him!

 

[Bman]

Only last year we finally got rid of our multi-coloured programmable lights from when the kids were small and now have some plain white lights that don't make me feel like I'm on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

We did add a few more lights around the place yesterday as with just the tree up, it was feeling a bit less festive than normal. That and a glass of sherry and a lazy watch of Jingle All The Way seem to have redressed matters.

Shaun - enjoy every minute of Christmas!

"PUT THE COOKIE DOWN!"

 

[snorri]

Last year we had a major emergency, our old fibre optic artificial tree decided to die about two weeks before Xmas.

Ah yes, the happy childhood memories of the parcels under the fibre optic artificial tree. Christmas is just ain't what it used to be.

 

[fimm]

We (just my boyfriend and I) have decided not to put up the Christmas tree this year because there's a bike frame and a TT bike with no wheels in the space where the tree would go... I did say we would put up some tinsel over the pictures but have not got round to it yet...

My sister has some delighfully tacky Christmas figures which she got in Matalan. She's got 3 children and the 3-year-old twins were wanting it to be Christmas NOW, according to my mother, so sister got them Advent calenders to try and help them understand that it isn't Christmas yet!

My boyfriend complains a bit about us putting the tree up in advance as in Austria, where he is from, the tree doesn't go up until Christmas Eve. And it has real candles on it!

 

[summerdays]

We (just my boyfriend and I) have decided not to put up the Christmas tree this year because there's a bike frame and a TT bike with no wheels in the space where the tree would go... I did say we would put up some tinsel over the pictures but have not got round to it yet...

My sister has some delighfully tacky Christmas figures which she got in Matalan. She's got 3 children and the 3-year-old twins were wanting it to be Christmas NOW, according to my mother, so sister got them Advent calenders to try and help them understand that it isn't Christmas yet!

My boyfriend complains a bit about us putting the tree up in advance as in Austria, where he is from, the tree doesn't go up until Christmas Eve. And it has real candles on it!

What about an alternative tree then... tinsel, baubles and candles on the artistically arranged frame and wheel.


My mum packed me off to Uni with a small artificial tree and lights ... apparently cleaners came to view it from different parts of hall .

 

[summerdays]

And I've just made a vat of mince... figs, dates, cider, sultanas etc. Just got to make the pastry and then mince pie feast here we come....