Christmas routine

[sime42]

I thought it might be interesting to see what everyone else does in the way of family traditions or routines over the festive season, well, two days. Ours is fairly mundane, anyone do anything unusual or even better, outrageous?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sime42]

I'll kick us off.

 

Christmas opens with stockings for the tinkers. Then a normal breakfast followed by some preparation work for the meal, veg peeling and stuffing making. Then it's a short cycle, or drive for some, to the pub. Once there the objective is to get as many pints in as time/family/bar que length allows, 2 or 3 normally. A slightly wobbly ride home and it's time for the main present carnage. Dinner is towards the end of the afternoon following an intense period of family squabbling, too many cooks in the kitchen and all that. Dinner is chickens rather than turkey. The evening is a bloated blur of TV and board games punctuated by a cheese and port supper, depending on bloat status.

 

Boxing Day is similar in terms of venue and participants, but a shorter affair, starting in the afternoon after a walk or another cycle. Ham and a leg of lamb are the main events on the table this time. The challenge is to try to keep the children away from any kind of screens for as long as possible and try to make them play with all the toys they unpacked in about 30 seconds the day before!

 

 

 

 

[maybelateron]

Maybe not quite the answer OP had in mind, but it certainly made me laugh when one of my friends send it to me.

[eggsarascal]

6 minutes ago, maybelateron said:

Maybe not quite the answer OP had in mind, but it certainly made me laugh when one of my friends send it to me.

Not so much family but friends, I thought I was well hid up in a lane not far from you when almost everyone I know decendeded on me today. Where they think I'm going to store this shite in a camper is beyond me.

[devon TWiG]

I just grin and bare it !!   ( I hate Christmas )...

 

[Steven P]

Likewise, nothing outstanding, try to get out for a run or walk Christmas day, take The Boys if they'll come. I'll cook so it's done right. Afternoon recovering, sleep on the couch till I can make it to bed.

 

Boxing day is racing rather than a walk, lunch wondering how come there are no left overs from the day before (Yesterday we had a turkey big enough for twice our family, a ham that would also feed them, bacon, pigs in blankets, roasties, veggies, stuffing, gravies and sauces, sweat treats... and yet.. not a thing I can put in between 2 slices of bread today (frustratingly no apple sauce, the ones from my trees had decided to rot this year)). Then friends rather than family after a quick dash to the shops (because they were closed for nearly a whole day yesterday).

 

No racing this morning, and so unusual for me on boxing day, I had an hour to kill and went out with the litter picker and grabbed a couple of Tesco bags full from the wood and lane. I prefer racing, but that makes the world a prettier place.

 

And now, see what comedy is on the TV.

[daveatdave]

Christmas day not much different to any other day except for a few presents to open, boxing day went to see the local trail hounds could not believe how many had turned out to watch the meet i would guesstimate about 1000 and 60 riding someone said the meet on Christmas eve had 120 riders 

[Mesterh]

This spiralled downhill quickly.

Personally I love this time of year. Its a time when family and friends have time off from the mundane shite so we can all get the chance to catch up and have a laugh.

The usual  Christmas routine is to get woken up by the kids at silly oclock(4 this year), get them to open their stockings and argue with each other quietly until around 7 when we open the presents. Depending on where we are having Christmas dinner its usually a trip around the parents stopping off for dinner or a big day of fun chaos if we are cooking it.

Boxing day, did fook all, just lounging about in pj's. Tomorrow out to the park so the lads can try out their scooters, footballs etc.

 

 

 

[Big J]

I struggle with Christmas somewhat. It's all very sociable and I have limited energy for that. We always have family staying - usually my wife's parents, brother and sister in law over Christmas and then my mum over New Year.

I am good and bake, cook and do the dishwasher as required, and I'm sociable for most of the day, but I also cycle a lot during this period. There is this challenge on Strava called the Festive 500 where you cycle 500km between the 24th and New Years Eve. So I'm doing that. I swear it was invented by grumpy, antisocial dads who just need some time to themselves! 😆

 

I don't like the concept of gift giving either because I don't like to have things that I don't want or need, and find the overconsumption and waste associated with this time of year rather frustrating. Especially with the kids, who just want pointless, plastic shite that is lost/broken/forgotten in a month.

 

But I do really enjoy all the Christmas lights around the village. Sweden still does Christmas very tastefully, and even though we've not had any snow this year, it still looked lovely.

 

Either way, the highlight of my Christmas (holiday) is having more time out in the forest on the gravel bike, even if I did nearly get taken out by five wild boar yesterday! 😄

[sime42]

12 hours ago, devon TWiG said:

I just grin and bare it !!   ( I hate Christmas )...

 

 

I've not reached that level quite yet, but I do find with each year that I'm tending towards that sentiment. I love the family time and time off work, but I hate the massive overconsumption and waste that comes with Christmas now. (Last minute shopping the day before Xmas eve has scarred me for life I think, so depressing). I'd be happy if there was just a couple of special meals and that was it, no presents, no massive hype.