Ahead or behind?

Good for you Grandma70s you have the right mindset. Enjoying your family in their traditions whilst taking time out to savour the parts you line best too. Very sensible and measured approach. I intend to do my best. Go with the flow and be grateful for what I do have instead of focusing on what I don’t this Christmas.

Thank you Rocketstop2 for your kindness. Appreciate it. x

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I’m not a fan. And it’s not going to be the same without Himself here. He loved it. 💙

Last Christmas was so sad we all knew it’d be our last one so younger daughter and son in law hosted a dozen of us. Just because.

I can’t face it this year neither can our daughter so we’ve decided champagne at hers mid afternoon then a curry (which we will book). Our Yorkshire Lass and her husband have spent the last 3 Christmases en famille, again, just because - so I expect this year they’ll either stay home over the Pennines or visit t’other family in Oxford.

I’m not even sure what to do about writing Christmas cards with my name only in them, a much loved twig tree we’ve had for 20+ years will make my cry assembling it on my own so I may not bother. Why press the emotional bruise? I may go to the Trafford Centre and buy a small decorated table top one from John Lewis.

Apologies for bringing the thread down. I realise I just have to get on with things, not overthink and do as much ‘differently’ as I can now. It will never be the same without my Mr Jovial by my side 🎅🏻

Thoughts with others in the same boat as me this year. xx

You didn't bring the thread down at all. It's good to have balance in the replies.
Brave of you to speak about it. It will be sad for you all but I hope it will be more bearable than you are expecting.

I did it for years for my children and MIL but noone wants to take the baton so I have stopped doing it.
You are lucky Grandma70’s

My sons do Christmas in our family. I don’t have to do a thing apart from buying and sending some cards. Not many. We don’t give presents to adults, and the ‘children’ are teenagers now, so they like money.

I was responsible for Christmas for many, many years, and I am very happy to hand it to others. My favourite bit is watching/listening to the carols from King’s College, Cambridge. I like the food, too, providing someone else prepares it!

From what little I know, I would agree.

I do remember last year, going into Dunelm beginning of December, and much of it's Christmas stock had already been sold by then. Empty spaces.

fancythat

I know there are some who dont start on anything to do with Christmas, until 1 December.
Or later.

For those of us who start a lot earlier, are you ahead or behind?

I am ahead. Partly to do with circumstances.
When I go out, there seem to be more people than usual, both on the roads, and shopping.

Is that just around here? Spreading cost of living? Weather is still good? People go out for coffee more, and then browse?
Or starting getting ready for Christmas earlier?

I do think people are starting earlier these days, perhaps partly to spread the cost and avoid the December rush. I’m usually somewhere in the middle myself and start getting things organised in November.

If a couple of bottles of elderflower fizz, a pouch of ready-cooked chestnuts and a jar of cornichons counts as "ahead", then I suppose I'm ahead. Oh, and I got out our shoe-box of Christmas cards today. DH is our official card-writer and he's very slow, so he might just have them finished by early December!

Just now noticed an email from Boots about some perfume and aftershave heavily discounted so ordered both.
I have now officially started C......s shopping.

Nope , I haven’t given Christmas a thought. And I’ve got 4 family birthdays before Christmas.

Not being religious it is a low-key event in our family. No grandchildren either.
Just one pleasant day with nice food and treats to eat and drink.

Oreo

Talking to a work colleague the other day, it seems that they usually give Christmas gifts of actual cash, is this a thing now?

Money for everyone.

Bank transfer to family in Australia, no idea what any of them want nowadays, and GC grown up.

The same for family over here.

DH and I stopped buying for each other years ago.

Usedtobeblonde

All my shopping is online now as I can’t get to the shops easily or walk about if I do.
My family are mostly cash or for close family bank transfer.
That suits me.

Me too, Usedtobeblonde

I try to buy a small gift to open but mostly it is money or a voucher or something advised by a parent for a grandchild, available online.

Fallingstar

Life has been too unpredictable in the past couple of years, and not in a nice way, so have stopped planning ahead with very much at all. Christmas will happen but am not even giving it headspace at the moment.

💕💕

fancythat

It would.

Thank you xx

I bought some cards recently, some from the RNLI shop and some in a church I visited. That is the extent of my preparation so far.

Present buying is very limited these days as wider family agreed with us when we suggested to not buy presents for each other - it solves a lot of problems.

Hugs to all of you who are going to find this Christmas particularly difficult. 💐

Don’t like Xmas - we used to have brilliant times when the kids were little. Divorce put paid to that. It’s all so different now.
But, for the sake of the AC and GC, I put on a show.

Buy rolls of wrap fancythat cheaper and easier.

So much easier to wrap up ànd I hate wrapping up.

I have more than usual to wrap this year.
Not looking forward to it.
And some happen to be unusual shapes!
Someone told me about there being longer Christmas paper.
So bought some of that.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Fallingstar 💐
I can understand.

Thanks for that xx

I buy non Jewish friends a Christmas gift ….they give me ideas of what they want.

For the first time ever I’ve started already, only a couple of bits. I’d get everything now if I could but the grandchildren have no idea what they’d like yet.
The adults usually give me ideas for themselves, so not too bad.

Surely there isn’t a right or wrong way to supply gifts? It’s more about giving the person something they want isn’t it?
I can understand teenagers prefer to have money.

I dislike giving money or vouchers, I find it soulless, and think that what counts most almost is things piled up under the tree, but I do it for grandchildren between about 15 and 18.

At the university stage and beyond I often buy them things for their rooms, flats or whatever. Sometimes, and this may be one of those years, I buy everyone books. So much easier to wrap up ànd I hate wrapping up.

Oreo I buy online, our family supply wish lists, I’ve never given money but occasionally vouchers, so wrapped gifts. Larger items may be hidden about our house, the (disguised) wrapped present contains a written clue.
The latter tended to happen more when the grandchildren were younger, obviously they are here on the day for it to work!