Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

You're flying close to the wire grannyactivist! You've only got another 24 hours to see who blinks first!

You know you want to!

Waiting for" Mother " Christmas--------she does it better

Lovely?
Looks like you have taken care of the important bits ga
? and ?'s

I've cleaned and shopped and cooked and wrapped; I've written cards, posted them, sent flowers and booked 'experiences'; I've washed linen and towels and walked the dog and fed the toddler - and now I'm done!! My husband and one of my sons are lurking in the kitchen talking in hushed tones, so I suspect they are aware that I have done as much as I feel like doing and are hatching a plan to step up to the mark. We shall see.

Hold out ga, you will prevail .

The Wonderful Man has put lights on the tree - still no decorations though. My tree is baubleless, tinselless and dare I say it, loveless.

grannyactivist so was mine until about 5.30 pm yesterday - the lights were on but no-one home no baubles or fairy. Then I put the baubles on in about 20 minutes - I don't know why I kept putting it off!

DH said 'it would look better with another bauble there, and there, and that one moved up a bit' …… he can change it if he wants to.

I think I was hoping for two little elves to come and help me but they've been too busy.

Any luck GrannyA Hope you have a beautifully decorated tree now !!
If not its time to have firm words even if it is the season of goodwill. Next year lay down the ground rules early for a fair division of labour. Hinting is no good, you need to be explicit about where you need help. Good luck

Even unadorned I can see it's a beautiful tree! Do hope your wonderful man has stepped up to the plate by now - looking forward to seeing your beautifully lit and decorated tree

If he hasn’t dressed the tree yet am guessing that the wonderful man may well have aquired another name by now!

lemongrove

Start hanging sprouts and carrots on it then he'll get the message ?

How's the tree granny activist? I confess to always putting an evening aside to do the tree. When our children were young we'd do it together then I'd tidy it up after they'd gone to bed. the same approach now works with our toddler grandchildren. The focus on the tree means I discovered we'd no walnuts for the stuffing I was making this afternoon. I also forgot to order streaky bacon when we picked the meat order up this morning. I do have extra butter though so all is not lost on the turkey front.

I feel a bit of a flibberty gibbert focussing on the tree when there are more serious things to be doing but I love it.

I have to have a dressing changed at the local surgery every other day (ouch!) and by the time I'd had it done this morning, picked up some extra bits of food from the local butchers and got home I was not feeling very Christmassy, but lo and behold.....the junior elves (aka my sons and daughter-in-law) were busily festooning the tree and immediately I felt better. I'll take a photo tomorrow as, apart from meals, this is the first time I've flopped into a chair all day and I'm not moving. The menfolk are all in the sauna, the toddler's in bed, my exhausted daughter-in-law disappeared to put the baby down and has obviously fallen asleep herself, so I've got a few minutes to myself. Bliss.

Not bliss was when, at about 6pm, my son mentioned that his toddler's mum and her mother are joining us for Christmas lunch tomorrow. Arghhh! He thought I knew, he said. Normally two extra places at a meal is nothing to cause a stir, but toddler's mum only eats fish and white meat and I have pork, venison, lamb and gammon in the house. We've been eating turkey for the last three days and it's gone. Fortunately The Wonderful man remembered he had bought some rather special salmon a week or two ago and popped it into the freezer - It's now defrosting in the fridge. Phew!

Your food sounds delicious grannya. Your fluidity on the guest front sounds like ours usually is. This year remains a moveable feast, we may have two or three extras or we may be a very tiny group of two. In previous years we've been 17 and regularly between 12 and 15 so this is a new experience. I'm remembering loved one's who died this year, others whose health is poor and as always, counting blessings. Happy Christmas x