4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Old Speckled Hen]

I know I know a bit early

This will be the first year ever that my mum isn't coming to stay. She's been on her own for many years since dad died and it will be very strange. MY daughter may pay us a fleeting visit and the step children have to see their mum otherwise she complains so it looks as if hubby and I might be on our own.

I feel like locking the doors and taking the phone off the hook, even for just one day.

We'll go for a walk in the hills with the dog and have steak and chips for dinner. Heaven

Family is wonderful but you know it's nice to shut that door and heave a sigh of relief once they've all gone home.

[littlecrow]

The months are going so fast , its no wonder your thinking about xmas already .. i feel a bit " humbug" about it all until about a week before.

I've no idea what we'll be doing , i often thought about a party or going out for a meal, but it always ends up too dear.

oh and theres a tree to buy this year.. and the pressys, i neva know what to buy people.

[kitbag]

Well usually my auntie and her partner come to our house on Christmas eve and stay until the 27th. On christmas day everyone helps with lunch and then my aunties partner goes to see her mum and then boxing day is just a 'pajama day'! Its great! I might have to work on boxing day this though!

[Tiggy]

we are going to my SIL again, had a lovely time last year walking dogs on Whitcliffe & seeing friends, everyone brought something for christmas dinner it felt more like a celabration instead of the usual slog in the kitchen, it will also be the first time MIL will not be with us RIP. SIL has a smashing victorian house that does christmas really well

[Sunshine]

We are hopefully going up to Scotland to stay in a lovely family run hotel. Its fantastic.

 

We went last year(and the year before, plus many times before that with a break inbetween) and there were 13 of us. We were known as a the 'large party'. There are loads of activities to do during the day and great walks. Then each evening there is a Scottish ceilidh which is great fun. Plus its the one time of year i get to dress up 'posh' and wear pretty dresses each evening.

 

Grandma has provisonally booked but dad is not keen and it depends on how well grandma is at the time. We are all crossing our fingers!

[Space Chick]

I'm going to Vegas

 

Then San Francisco for New Year

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I can tell you what I'm not doing. Inviting my mum round .

[Guest]

Med cruise - in and out of Barcelona, stopping at Egypt, Pompeii, Rome and some other places! Rubbish boat but nice stops

[chick wiggle]

I knew yesterday that christmas is just round the corner, i delivered 26 pallets of christmas cake to Sainsburys!!!

Debs, i wanna come with you! Otherwise it'll be the same as most other years, us, the kids and my mum and dad I love it really

[Blackrocksrock]

I can tell you what I'm not doing. Inviting my mum round .

 

Really !! - why would that be

Hoping for two of us for once and steak will be on our menu and a lazy day and a walk here too.

[chick wiggle]

That sounds heavenly SusanK, I vaguely remember Christmasses when it was just OH and me and a PIZZA! Bliss

[AJuff]

We'll definitely be at home. With two choristers in the family we are always back and forth for services at Christmas. Just the five of us at home togather . . bliss.

 

Boxing day is DD 12th birthday so we'll be busy a second day in a row.

[Redwing]

OH usually works on Christmas and Boxing days but to be honest we don't really make a big thing of christmas and never really have family round

 

THis year I am looking forward to a dinner made from our own produce and visitng the sheep

[Couperwife]

right gang

 

this year (unknown to my WHOLE family - including Kevs lot) I am doing home made presents - its a good life christmas for us

 

so I need a number of things

 

1. a regal kick up the backside to make sure this happens

2. a lot of ideas for presents

 

I am making mors bags and going to fill them with "stuff".

stuff being - home made nice things , jam, jewellery, chutney, ipod cases, and such like nicities

 

if we dont do it this way, there is a good chance that christmas wont happen

 

so, ideas? or general abuse if I dont state what ive made would be lovely

 

cathy

x

[poachedegg]

It could be a strange one for us, as ES goes to uni in September so hopefully he will be home for Christmas and if we EVER get through our Fostering Application (looking hopefully like October), we may have 1 or 2 little foslings too.......so a little different this year.

[Valkyrie]

DA how could you!

ANH - you dooooo surprise me.

Lots of nice things happening with everyone - I guess it is everybody here again. It would be nice for someone else to do it - I've done it for the best part of 15 years now. Still, it's always under control and easy as it is second nature now. I am usually Bah Humbug too. I get that way until the 21st and then summer's coming and I get much happier. I do like wrapping pressies, but I loathe shopping for them - mostly because I don't like shopping at the best of times. What to buy for people who already have everything (and in MIL's case she never uses preserves that we have given her - she gives them back - actually I might return that awful tune playing cake slice to her if I can find it). One good thing is that my niece is a liddle baby and so we have a few years of fun stuff heading her way.

[bluekarin]

We are hoping that we will be at home, just the five of us. Well, thats the plan. This year is our year for driving up north to stay with sil and family. Which is nice and we do have a good time there. But ED really wants to relax at home. And actually, so do I as I quite like doing the big christmas dinner and vegging out properly in the evening, which you can't really do properly at relatives. Not really properly

 

 

As for presents, thats another story! And one I'm not even going to think about for at least 2 months.

[theherd123]

How odd this topic should come up as I was just chatting with my mum about it earlier today.

 

Ideally I would love for my family to come here however as they have come down for the last 2 years it should be our turn to do the travelling but dont think we can so it looks like it might just be the 3 of us.

 

Presents? The little one will no doubt be drowning in them!

[Cate in NZ]

Barbequeing our Christmas dinner, no doubt drinking rather more than is entirely good for us, and just generally relaxing. I suspect dog walking will fit into it somewhere, whether we stay locally at our gorgeous forest, or venture to our holiday home at the beach is not yet determined, but it's far enough off in the future not to worry just yet. And I do only have our immediate family to worry about .

 

But, and this is absolutely unknown for me...history in the making. I have pretty much completed my Christmas shopping! All ready to go seamail in mid Sept. WooHoo!!Still need to buy for hubby, Seb & Immy, but they'll be last minute as usual

[Valkyrie]

I had to read that twice - BBQ!

[theherd123]

 

But, and this is absolutely unknown for me...history in the making. I have pretty much completed my Christmas shopping! All ready to go seamail in mid Sept. WooHoo!!Still need to buy for hubby, Seb & Immy, but they'll be last minute as usual

 

Im still in shock - i nearly fell off the sofa!

[Lydia]

Well MIL told us today that she and SIL aren't coming to us this year. This is despite offers of lifts here and back, staying over etc....

 

So it's just the 2 of us.

 

 

RESULT!!

[Valkyrie]

I hope my MIL does the same!

[Janty]

My in-laws and Dad are coming over as usual but that's great...I like doing the big family thing as long as that doesn't include B-I-L and his unruly brats (I know that it's a horrid thing to say but they drool snot constantly, they swear and are always coughing all over the place ).

[Chook n Boo Mum]

My in-laws and Dad are coming over as usual but that's great...I like doing the big family thing as long as that doesn't include B-I-L and his unruly brats (I know that it's a horrid thing to say but they drool snot constantly, they swear and are always coughing all over the place ).

 

You could always bring the chooks in & house the brats in the WIR.........maybe not.... decontamination after the festive season so it's safe for the feathered ones to return may be a long process

 

Sha x