EGLU HEAT PROBLEMS

[xChicken04x]

Hi all, since I'm feeling all christmassy I thought I start as thread so we can all share our Christmas plans starting from Christmas eve.

 

Christmas eve: Get up early (nothing new, coming from a chicken keeper). Walk Zara (the GSD pup) come home and start cooking our signature gammon. This takes about 8 hours so we start cooking it around 10am.

Rest of the day is pretty much the same as always, just the last minute things such as tidying the house (which does get done more than once per year, promise ) Walk Zara again about 1pm. We always watch Elf in the evening with gammon & chips (take all the good bits before the rest of the family show up, well, we paid for it )

Finish wrapping presents and off to bed.

 

Christmas morning: One word. Mayhem. Get up early, around 6:30am, put our free range turkey (of course) in the oven. Unwrap pressies lounge around in our pajamas til mid morning. Drink about 50 cups of tea. Prepare the dinner. Prepare the table, look for the spare chairs that seem to go AWOL every year.

Get ready for various relatives to come round to eat here, we never know how many will show up. Put our best party gear on and smile sweetly as 10 more people than we expected show up. Look for more chairs .

Have our dinner and about 2 hours later make very loud yawning noises and pray that the relatives get the hint that it's time to go. They usually don't.

Once they've gone, relax and look through the presents and cards you've received.

Even though Christmas day is mayhem, I LOVE every minute.

This year I'm doing video as I have a new camera .

 

Boxing day: More family members arrive, they only stay for an hour or so (I'm sure they just come for the free food ).

Finally a chance to properly relax, soak in the bath and really regret wearing killer heels for 2/3 days straight. Then try to prize 10 coats of mascara off your eyelashes.

 

Believe it or not, Christmas is fairly relaxed in contrast with our normal days .

 

What are your days like?

[lisa33]

My Christmas is going to be a bit different for me than normal this year.

 

Christmas Eve: Work till about 1ish. Go Home, pack my suitcase. Give the girls a good clean out. Take the dog to my brother to look after. 9pm go to bed.

 

Christmas day: Get up 1.30am, drive to Gatwick Airport. Get on Plane to Portugal then chill out for a week with Andyman.

 

I can't wait!!

[Guest]

Gosh, mine is very different too!

 

Christmas Eve - last minute stuff plus cooking ahead of Christmas Day - sauces desserts etc. My father usually turns up and stays for a couple of hours whilst I tear my hair out wondering how I'm going to get everything done. Cooked lunch, then off to church for an orchestra practice at 3pm. Crib service at 4pm - the biggest service of the year with at least 650 people coming! Clear up the church and set up the choirstalls and vestry for the evening service. Go home at about 5:30 and have sandwiches. Spend the evening doing more bits and preparing the vegetables, preferably in front of the TV. DH prepares the turkey. Most of the family goes back to church for the midnight service. Choir practice at 11pm. Home at 1:30am. Meanwhile I babysit the younger children and finish off the cooking preparation, table, presents etc. I rarely manage to get to bed much before they all come home.

 

Christmas Day - up at 8am to open stockings. Turkey is already cooking in preprogrammed oven. Breakfast then off to church. Practice at 10am, service at 10:30. Home by 12:30pm and then start cooking veggies, roast pots, desserts etc. Mother arrives at 1pm and we usually manage to eat soon after 1:30pm. By about 3pm the meal is cleared away and we are ready for coffee and PRESENTS! Yes, we wait until the afternoon for those. By the time we have given and received presents it is usually time for a slice of cake and another drink. We don't drink alcohol at lunch because it knocks us out, but may have something in the evening. Sometimes my mother stays late or sometimes gets too tired and goes home. We'll try to watch some TV and play a game. We usually go quite late to bed.

 

Boxing Day

- we reserve this day as time to do nothing - we need it! Get up late, have a leisurely breakfast. Tidy up a bit and then watch a film together, do a jigsaw, play with presents etc. There are usually more presents to open which came by post, so we'll do that too. Generally a complete lull in the whole festivities and I really look forward to it!

[Lesley]

Christmas Eve - last minute cooking and then a big clear up!!!! We attend Christingle/Crib Service with grandchildren at 3pm.

If I'm doing the Christmas Lunch then we'll prepare all the veggies ready, but this year it's my sister's turn eat something light and then go to the Midnight Service and are back home about 1.30 am,

 

Christmas Day - up early so that we can get the sheep and chickens sorted. This year I have no cooking to do but just some preparation for the things I'm doing to take to my sister's. Give Jazz her present - Carl and I don't do presents for each other. We'll be leaving mid morning, will eat around 1.30

We'll have presents after the table has been cleared - great fun with 4 children....my sister's two and my two grandchildren.

We'll put loads of food out for tea - but we'll all be too full to eat much We won't be too late leaving as we'll have to check the sheep and se eif we can collect eggs if the hens haven't gone to sleep on them!

 

Boxing Day - we have a day off!

 

...apart from feeding the sheep and hens and ducks and quail and rabbits!

Long walks with Jazz and slobbing around catching up,on the Christmas TV.

[fowlbird]

Xmas eve: last ditch attempt to get house clean and tidy

 

Xmas day: set out nibbles, plonk self on sofa and let OH set up laptop - watch Desperate Housewives DVDs... the entire series 4

 

Boxing Day: as above but with eldest daughter and grandsons coming round for dinner - younger daughter may be cooking

SORTED!

[bigmommasally]

It's my turn to have Christmas off this year so I'm really looking forward to it:

 

Christmas Eve: We're taking my niece and nephew to Colchester Zoo. This is to keep them out of SIL way as she is hosting Christmas day this year. My grown up daughters want to come along too as santa is there with real reindeer.

 

Christmas day: I usually wake early all excited and have to hold off of waking my daughters until 7am! I have a musical santa which I wake them up with every christmas morning, they always groan but they secretly love it really . We'll have a lovely leisurely breakfast and open our pressies then toddle off to my brothers house for mid-day. Christmas dinner will be around 2pm. I'm planning to pop back home around 5ish to put the bunny and chickens to bed (it will be nice to get out in the fresh air for a while which will hopefully revive me). We will probably stay late at my brothers playing games and drinking and eating too much before we stagger home and fall into bed.

 

Boxing Day: Lazy morning then off to the Out laws for another christmas dinner and slap up tea!

 

Saturday - Back on the weight watchers diet to shift all the extra pounds I'll have put on over the holiday!

[Cate in NZ]

My Christmas will be very different this year

 

Just to make things more complicated we move into our new house on the 23rd (we actually get the keys on the 22nd, so I'm scooting round there after work on the 22nd to stick up some Christmas decorations), but we couldn't get a removals lorry until the 23rd.

 

So Christmas eve, hubby & both children are working, I'll be unpacking madly trying to get some order into our new home. Then when they all finish work we're hopping into the car to drive down to Ohope beach where we have a bach (beach hut) booked. Dinner will be a barbeque, washed down with plenty of fizz. Christmas Day will start with breakfast, probably smoked salmon, scrambled egg & croissants....that's a bit of a family tradition. We'll then open pressies. Hopefully we can find a church for a Christmas Day service, then we'll be off to the beach . Picnic lunch, then drive home late. Boxing Day both children are working again (the sales kick off and it's all hands to the deck in the shops that they work in) so hubby and I will have a quiet day at home, no doubt still trying to sort out the house.

 

I'm really looking forward to it even though I still don't feel in the slightest bit Christmassy

[Jillus]

On the 23rd we are getting a new wood floor laid in the room we usually have our Christmas party in, it was flooded back in August and this is at last the resolution of the matter from insurers and assesors etc. So this year the party is going to be in the rest of the house. Only a small party for about 20 and all the food from Nigells new book

 

Then on the 24th we always have a barbecue, rain or shine and this year we will be congregating round the little tree we have planted to remember a dear departed old friend, we have had a plaque made and that is being put into the ground that evening. Cooking prawns and fishy things. Then back into the house to warm up and probably dry off. The boys usually sit up till late but I will be in bed, the sooner you get to bed the sooner Christmas comes.

 

Christmas follows an old pattern, all up by 9 and then stockings round the tree for all, the youngest child is now 26! Then bacon sandwiches, Bucks Fizz and cups of tea. After a traditional speech, same one very year! proper present opening, one at a time given out by the youngest child first and then up to the oldest. This goes on until around twelve when we all go and get dressed, Christmas dinner is around three but we like to watch the Queen first. we eventually get up from the table in the early evening!

 

Somewhere in amongst this I light the wood burner, feed the hens and doves, collect the eggs, scoop the poop they have done it in the nest box and generally do everything else, phone relatives, take a christmas group picture, find scissors, batteries, headache pills and try and keep tabs on who got what from who, but we do have a great time.

[dancing cloud]

Christmas Eve - party with friends who live across the road. Will be food, wine, excellent company and I may stagger back across the road in time for breakfast on

 

Christmas Day - tuna for Pud and Loki's breakfast, whole day free-ranging for little monsters, show them all their presents, open mine, ring family with xmas wishes, sober up in time for

 

Boxing Day - take food for the five thousand (and presents) to brother's family (4 children ) for lunch

 

Then home to appreciate the peace and quiet

[chelsea]

christmas eve - work till 2.30pm, then over my sisters to see my mum and her partner

 

christmas day - morning with the chooks and the dog, out to lunch at a restaurant with the inlaws, open a few pressies, come home for brief interval and then over to my sisters house to see my lovely nephews open their presents and sing a bit of karaoke

 

Boxing day - home, quiet, eat loads of rubbish and watch escape to victory on the telly!!

[craftyhunnypie]

Christmas eve - going with my friend, who is 93 - to the ethnic shop to choose some nice earrings she wants to buy me. It's only round the corner from her house. Back to hers for cup of tea, cake & a chin wag. Give her her prezzie.

Back home - have a takeaway, prepare the room for next day - lay the table all festive. Prepare the chickens Xmas porridge for morning. Make fake snow & sprinkle round garden.

Pop round the neighbours for a tipple & to give her prezzie.

Get glammed up & walk into town for a bit of festive celebrations.

Come home & put hubbys prezzies at end of the bed. Go bed & watch something good.

 

Christmas day - wake up to the sounds of Xmas music on the radio & the crowing of my cockerels! come down & do the chickens, give them their xmas porridge & sing ' we wish you a merry xmas' to them. Make cuppas & take up to bed. Open prezzies. Get up & ready, down for brekkie & bucks fizz. Then start preparing dinner.

Mum & dad, sister & brother in law & Peggs the jack russell coming over about 11.30am. Exchanging of prezzies, pulling of crackers, tears & laughter. Xmas cd on.

Eating of choccies & drinking of booze for the non drivers.

Dinner served. All sit round absolutely stuffed.

Everyone goes home & we have time in the garden with the chooks & finish making the trifle, carving some turkey etc.

Then I'l drive to mum & dads house with the stuff for butties & the trifle, cake etc.

We shall mess with whatever prezzies we may have, play a game or two, give the dogs & the parrot their prezzies & watch telly. Mum & dad usually nod off.

Have tea & a good laugh...hubby gets a bit tiddly.

 

Boxing day - usually have a drive up mow cop & a walk.

 

Emma.x

[ClaireG]

Christmas Eve Hubby is working. I will be making trifle ready for Christmas day. Trying to keep son from becoming too excited! Wrapping last minute bits and pieces. In the evening we'll all watch something Christmassy on TV and eat something light. Put out snack and drink for Santa and Rudolph, get son to bed. Watch more TV, panic that i've not done something go to bed.

 

Christmas Day Will be woken early by son shouting " It's Christmas" We all look at contents of sons stocking and then go downstairs to see if Santa and Rudolph have had their snack. Sort chickens, dog, cat, bunny and g. pig. Have a bit of toast and Adam opens his pressie from us. Get into our Christmas finery and go to the inlaws where we may have a cooked breakfast. Exchange presents with inlaws. Drive to my parents. I help Mum in the kitchen. We all drink bucks fizz and have Dads own caught salmon that has been smoked on some brown bread. We have lunch at about 2. Take coffees in my parents drawing room where the tree is and a large open fire. Adam fetches the presents from under the tree and we all open presents. Men all collapse whilst Mum and I tidy up and make cucumber sarnies and a pot of tea (family tradition). If we can move after all the food etc we will all play on the Wii and watch TV. Later on we have yet more food, cold turkey and a ham with salad. watch more TV, have a few more drinks and stagger to bed.

 

Boxing Day One of us will come back to check on chickens, rabbit, g.pig and cat and feed them all. Have a very light breakfast and veg out for the day. Return home late afternoon.

[crazygal]

Christmas Eve- manic tidying of house and sorting out of spare rooms/beds for family who are staying over. We will go to Crib service at 4pm which is lovely with a brass band playing. Get out nibbles in the evening, and prepare veggies for the morrow.

 

Christmas Day- Open presents by the tree at about 8 am all in our pjs. DIY breakfast. Get stuck into lunch duties at about 11. Eat at about 1.30. Watch the Queen's speech. Then out for a walk around the lanes whatever the weather . Evening time complain about whats on tv and play with the children's toys instead!!

 

Boxing Day- Another walk, leftovers (I absolutely adore leftovers- sorry gone a bit Nigella there- wrong thread!!!). Complain about whats on tv, nibbles, play with children's toys...oh its a lot like Christmas Day but without the turkey!!

[clootie]

Christmas Eve - from 2pm it's open house for mulled wine and mince pies etc. for friends and neighbours

 

Christmas Day - just the four of us so nice and chilled in our pj's taking it all as it comes, playing games, eating and laughing a lot

 

Boxing Day - much of the same

 

Although, I do have a sneaky suspicion that a certain brother of mine is going to make an appearance!!

[Janty]

Christmas Eve we do the big tidy up (as you do). We get some of the prepare ahead food made, roll up the pigs in blankets and store them in the fridge, make stuffing, etc.

 

Christmas Day and Boxing Day we have my dad and the In-laws round for both days. We like a nice relaxed Christmas. Lots of home cooked food like most of you and a nice family time.

 

However....we could have a bombshell dropped on us this year.

 

A family member has just announced that he is leaving his wife three months after the birth of their latest child (nice!). They have SIX between. He wants to move back home with the in-laws. If he comes round for the day it will be awful. I will have to say something. It sounds really uncharitable but he winds people up, is horrible to any children that may wander into sight (he calls his other nephew gay-boy constantly) and flits between being OTT and miserable when he sees that people do not like his sense of humour. If I have to spend Christmas Day with him I may just insert the turkey somewhere painful!

 

Luckily I told hubby last night and he agreed so at least there won't be a battle from him.

 

Sorry that I sound so horrible. I love having family round at any time but this man at Christmas might just push me too far.

[clootie]

Janty that's just awful. You would think that he would be in hiding for a while after dropping a bombshell like that. His poor wife. Couldn't he have chosen a better time? Good luck in keeping your cool, I just hope he doesn't spoil Christmas for you and yours.

[Janty]

To be honest they sort of deserve each other. There are children from previous marriages who are totally out of control and they decided to have more. They undermine each other and both are spineless when it comes to boundaries.

[clootie]

Poor kids.

[Seagazer]

Christmas Eve - usual panic about cleaning the house. In the evening we are going to my ES's girlfriend's 18th birthday party. It'll be the first time we've met her parents - yikes!

 

Christmas Day - this year we don't have any family with us so it will be very relaxed. Croissants for breakfast, the kids will have opened their sack presents by then. Then hubby and I will start the dinner preparations washed down with some yummy champagne. Rest of the day spent with the kids (I'm so glad the older two still want to be at home at christmas).

 

Boxing Day - mum is coming over for the day and will be staying over as she is looking after YS as the next day hubby and I going to Chepstow for a work do (racing and staying overnight - yay!!) better still work will be paying for it

[new_minilops]

This will be my first Christmas in my new home with my boyfriend, we moved out together in April!! I'm not sure if it will be strange yet but i am very excited about waking up in MY OWN house on Christmas morning for the 1st time!!

 

Christmas Eve - it is tradition that we go and watch The Polar Express in 3D, i recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it, it is magical!! Then we will have dinner with friends and probabaly go home and drink wine and stare in amazement at OUR OWN pretty Christmas Tree!!

 

Christmas Day - We will spend the morning at home together and open our pressies, feed the bunnies and dish out lots of Christmas cudddles! They will play in all the paper (supervised so no celotape nibbling!) If they are lucky there may even be a treat for them!! Then we're off to my Mums for lunch and more pressies, then off to his parents for even more pressie swapping, then back to my mums for dinner.

 

Boxing Day - We usually all go to my Aunt & Uncles but this year they are coming to us and we're all going for lunch at the pub, wasn't sure about that idea at the time, but now i am really looking forward to us all being together and no1 having to cook. I'm sure there will be a lot of football watching too, yay!!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

 

xxx

[Olly]

I'm always away at Christmas, so I'm spared the tidying-up and all the work but sometimes I think it would be nice to spend it at home ... still, I had family round last weekend for a pre-Christmas lunch which was my turn.

 

Xmas Eve: load presents in car, pack bag, have several panics about whether everything is packed/turned off/locked, drive to Cambridgeshire where sister lives. Stop for cup of coffee, BIL thinks we can all travel in one car this year, I think he's dreaming as glamorous 22-year old niece will have enough luggage to fill a truck! Continue journey up A1 to Yorkshire Dales, where eldest brother lives, stopping for lunch on way.

 

Help SIL with veg etc if not already done, have a drink or two and get lovely warm family feeling, there will only be 11 of us this year which is small for an Olly Family Gathering! Go to midnight service at their village church, come home and give sister her stocking (in return for mine!)

 

Xmas Day: open presents one at a time, squeeze gorgeous Oscar who is one year old tomorrow and the first baby in the family for ages, drink too much, eat lunch about 3.00pm, lie around groaning. Phone those family members not present this year. Try and avoid row which is always bubbling under between sister and SIL! Watch new Wallace & Gromit.

 

Boxing Day: Go for lovely long walk in Yorkshire Dales, weather permitting; cold turkey and jacket spuds for lunch, open rest of presents if not finished on Xmas Day. Try not to fall out with sister, who will be doing my head in by this point even though I love her very much.

 

27th: hurrah! I can go HOME!

 

A friend is coming in Xmas Eve and Boxing Day to top up the cat-feeder and chicken food, afraid there will be no treats for them on Xmas Day but I will make it up to them when I'm home.

 

I love hearing about what other people do! What a great thread.

[jlo]

Some of this depends on whether or not my cooker man arrives before Christmas Eve!!

 

24th : Prepare meal for evening when sister, her OH and DS arrive. Try and persuade darling children to get up before midday to help In the afternoon, take a little time off to go round to friends who always have their anniversary party on Christmas Eve. This will involve a lot of champagne being drunk (though not by me as I am driving!) Come back home, finish meal preparation (hopefully - see above!) and welcome family. Make up for not being able to drink at friends' house! Have meal with mum and everyone else.

 

25th. Wake up far too early - not because children are massively excited but because we have to get to Milford on Sea for the family service. Spend rest of day with MIL and her hubby. I will be driving back so won't drink. In the evening will come back home and join in with silly games.

 

26th: OH will be off to watch Bournemouth lose at Brentford. I think that he has a streak of masochism to keep supporting them! Vegging out seems like a good idea to me!

[Valkyrie]

So many different versions - Janty I hope you manage OK.

 

Christmas Eve - OH goes to the farm to collect our humungous turkey at some unearthly time in the morning. Later in the morning after brekkers and sorting out the girls, I will do the mince pies and jam tarts (for those who don't like mincemeat) - also some gluten free ones for a relative arriving for New Year. In the afternoon after stuffing lots of mince pie testers we crack on with preparing the veg, pre-cooking the parsnips so they will be ready to roast. OH helps make the stuffing (he just loves the food processor) and the turkey is washed, dried, stuffed and lashings of butter smeared over and bacon on top of that. Then it is wrapped up and put in the coldest room. I know you aren't supposed to stuff it beforehand, but we have done this for years and so far "Ooops, word censored!"ody has been ill (it gets a good blasting of high regulo for half an hour first the following morning). DD and OH lay the table and chairs are put in place after being dragged away from the kitchen. DS will probably be out with friends as usual (actually preferred to whingeing). Finally we get a Chinese takeaway as a treat and settle down to some serious film watching. Sometimes I am still wrapping pressies - yerk! Mum will be with us this year to help out - or hinder.

 

Christmas Day - turkey on at 7.30 (unless it is bigger than normal and then I will have to get up earlier). Different this year, first time with no stockings (DD and DS have revolted in previous years but I don't think it has crossed their minds, they'll soon find out!). We usually let the children open some of their pressies. MIL and FIL are with us yet again for the 3rd year running - pooh to that. Drinks all round - yo ho ho mine's a bottle of rum, hic!

Assuming that I haven't got double vision, the veg, pud etc will be put on in my regimented format and hopefully all will be ready to eat around 1.30 - 2pm. Play with the crackers, lots of choccies and sweeties while opening the last of the pressies which probably means more choc. Then we are subjected to OH's games. I really hate that bit - MIL gets even louder and more obnoxious. bites tongue just thinking about it FIL also gets louder, but he is funny. Mum will probably be attacking the dish washer - which is her toy when she comes round. Can never find anything afterwards though. I will then do the usual "sit down and rest" or "don't do that, stop it and rest" to her - only doing so when I make her have a cup of tea, otherwise she'll find something else to clean up. Tea time is usually snacks or MIL has to have her turkey sandwich. Last year she stuffed all the Pringles - we have stocked up this year (what's the betting she decides not to have any this time). More games - last year we had "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" DVD which was not as good as the original version. We got cross, so not an option this time. If we have to play in teams for something like Pictionary I will miss saying "bags not on Dad's team" as he only ever drew arrows pointing to a blob. Hopefully OH's folks won't stop overnight.

 

Boxing Day - generally chilling out and eating leftovers. Turkey will be picked to the bone if not done the day before, and portioned and frozen, while the bones will be turned into stock - then portioned and frozen. I'm a bit worried this year because the freezers are full to the brim because of rellies coming for the 30th and New Year. I will probably make a turkey curry to eat in the evening, and will likely go to bed earlier than usual.

[Helly Welly]

We've never quite managed to perfect our christmas time. In DD's early years we were often at one or other of the in-laws. Still, we think we've got it right this year. On Saturday and Sunday we'll be decorating the tree and house. On Monday, DD is singing in a carol concert in a local church with her choir. Then on Tuesday she's singing at Tesco to try and raise some money from the choir.

 

Christmas Eve - DD and I will watch tv and generally mooch, waiting for OH to finish work as early as he can get away with. Then we are all wrapping pressies and bringing thm all down to put them under the tree. Then it'll be tv again. DD will badger us to open one pressie each and no doubt we'll give in.

 

Christmas day - OH and I will be up when we get rudely awoken by DD, probably around 7ish. We'll leave the chicken run open so they are alright for a few hours. DD will climb into bed with us to open her stocking. Then we'll pile downstairs to.....have breakfast. Last year we opened pressies first and DD got soo hungry and excited she was sick. Kind of ruined Christma dinner. SO breakfast of bacon sarnies then open the pressies. Then we'll get dressed and see if there are any good movies on. If not we'll be helping DD to get the horrendous packaging off her pressies and reviewing ours. For lunch we have bought some of those party food packs from Sainsburys so that we can just nibble. We have never managed to be able to eat christmas dinner at midday so we're not having the main meal until the evening. So in the afternoon, OH will start on dinner, we're having lamb. None of us like turkey and we haven't had lamb for ages as it's too bloomin' expensive. Pudding is traditionally pavlova, we're having meringue nests with our home-grown fruit and whipped cream.

 

Boxing day - We also have a really relaxing day, although, tbh, our whole christmas is relaxed as we don't have any relatives who live near enough to visit. The main meal will be a gammon joint, one tradition we have always kept to. Pudding is also traditional, tinned fruit and evaporated milk!! My Dad always used to nick the cherries from our bowls and have us in fits of laughter, to the point where our cheeks hurt.

 

I think it takes years to establish traditions and with only one child we don't feel we've had time to establish our own traditions. She already doesn't believe in the big red man. Still, we usually manage to have a good time.

[Mutrix Farmers]

Ginette's post could be my three days too but with slight variations

 

Christmas Eve - always book this day off. Lots of baking (turkey and ham) and food prep. Crib Service at church at 4pm. Fish pie for supper (become a bit of a tradition). Lay table for dinner the following day. Midnight service, last year was the first year Son was old enough to come too, so we are enjoying attending as a family. Home for glass of brandy then bed.

 

Christmas Day - Santa stockings followed by church at 10.30. Home to cook dinner then family presents after the Queen's speech (old family tradition). Talk about getting tea but settle for glass of something alcoholic instead. Watch a bit of TV (Doctor Who or a Christmas special.)

 

Boxing Day - a day for visiting friends or family, or they come to us.