For us. We wake up at a reasonable time because the kids know that waking early means only one present gets open at best, so they don't go mad about it.
I'll probably make brekkie for me and Mrs B - this year it'll probably be smoked salmon and egg in either scrambled or omelette form. May well open a bottle of cava and have a wee drinkie.
After breakfast everyone will get dressed - Mrs B frequently dresses up "nice" although I wear The Usual.
Present opening time - dedicated piles round the floor, with us opening presents one person at a time. May film or take photos.
At some stage I'll start Chrimbo lunch - probably around lunchtime. May go for a plod when the turkey is in the oven if I haven't already overdone the booze.
Meal will be round the dining table with the best china, crackers and music, some time around 3 o'clock. This is when I'll start on the red wine.
No Queen's Speech.
Stuffed by 4.30 ish, I'll then ship the china into the kitchen, then veg out. May return to strip the turkey for leftovers and possibly even chuck it into a pan to start the curry for Boxing Day.
Then fall asleep for a bit till Doctor Who comes on, followed by more drinking and nut nibbling. Board games may feature at some stage assuming I can still string a sentence together.
Youngest to bed at 9, others when they feel like it, me when I can't take any more booze.
Boxing Day, longer run, turkey butties and turkey curry! Woohoo!
That's mine, what about yours?
Comments
Early
Manic
Greedy
Sleepy
Peaceful
My five stage christmas day.
Up around 7-ish, now B&H are teenagers, they're less likely to be awake at 3am. Into lounge in PJs & dressing gowns for opening first presents from stockings, then pause for fizz and croissants. OJ available for those who prefer it.
Rattler is MC of presents, and passes them out to everyone. I try and insist that we take turns to open a present and try to keep gift tags with gifts for thank yous later. Once all presents are open, phone calls to family/texts to friends, followed by nibbles/chocolates. Play with/look at/exclaim over presents for rest of morning, with TV on in background.
The beast generally goes in the oven by 1-ish. Sit down for dinner, 3 courses with more wine and then back to lounge. I watch the queen if I remember, but often don't. Cold food goes out on counter tops/breakfast bar sometime in the afternoon, possible board game/cribbage while we try and eat our own weight in over-rich food.
Fall asleep on sofa sometime during early evening, while pretending we didn't, then stagger off to bed.
Boxing Day is always Full English Breakfast, with what looks like a competition to get as many different foods on your plate as you can. Try and get out for a walk either on the moors or the Hoe if it's not good weather. No proper lunch, but plenty of leftovers. Think I've got walnut & roquefort tarts planned for tea. Generally Wii/board game marathon in the afternoon.
Croissants are a good idea.
*jots it down*
Johnny...er...are you using this thread to get some fresh ideas for your own day??
No, not really,.....
Silly FF, if I was working as a gritter, I would of course be dropping my load in the middle of July and not on a day when the grit was actually needed
LB, it does indeed *nods wisely*
Woken at 5 by daughter - send her back to bed
Woken at 6:30 by daughter singing 'we wish you a merry Christmas' - send her back to bed
Woken by son around about 7, listen to him chatting for a few minutes, bring him into bed with us. Daughter jumps in too, all very squished but OH still sleeps.
Go downstairs about 7:30 after daughter has brought up all the stockings, including the cats and threatened to open the all.
Feed children and take up coffee to OH.
Give up on makin children wait for daddy and allow them to open stocking presents
OH appears - he will be pounced on by daughter and made to open his presents. She will hunt the cats and open theirs.
Realise it is nearly time for church so mad panic to get ready.
10:29 arrive at church
11:30 go to local hospital to sing Carols and allow children to be cooed over by patients and nurses
12:30 get home and make sandwiches
Eat presents and open sandwiches
Cook dinner
17:00 guests arrive and eat
19:00-19:30 children to bed
Clear up
Parents collapse in heap
21:00 parents to bed
Our own grown up kids will be coming round for lunch - they and hubby will almost certainly get rat faced and I'll go for a run at sometime just so I can try out my new kit;-)
Other than knowing that we won't get any kip and hubby will be snoring on the sofa about 5 mins after his dinner anything could happen!
I like to think I'll go for a run. but it would be less fun on my own (last year me, mum and sister went for a Christmas family run, but I'm with my OH family this year). We're staying with my boyfriend's sister, but going to his aunt's for lunch, which means at some point we're going to have to figure out which one of us is not going to be able to drink (shocked smily for the fact that I've only just thought of that!)
Don't know what it will be like, we're going to be at OH's youngest brother's house, he's single and always has been so Gawd knows what sort of Christmas dinner we'll be having! Apparently it's likely we'll be eating out on Boxing Day.
Previous years with MrAN have been fab: wake up and empty stockings, breakfast (eggs Benedictus last year) with fizz, then the rest of our presents, cook lunch, devour lunch, watch kid's film, nap, then more telly. Last year there was a programme about winning the Ashes, proper good end to a lovely day.
After keeping my son in bed until 6:45 - up and open his presents - then get ready to go to Father in Laws for Xmas - he is taking us out for Christmas Diiner at a local working mans cafe that he frequents - where the toilets are in a tatty old porta cabin with no paper or soap (normally) it is very squashed and the food normally involves chips!!!
But the reason I actually decided to comment was to respond to Sunluvva's post.
"No idea what's going to happen as it's our first Christmas as foster parents looking after a hyper active deeply damaged little girl - she was up at 5am on 1st December so she could open her advent calendar, gawd knows what she'll be like on the day itself!"
What an incredible exciting and worthwhile day you are going to have - You are giving the a little girl what may turn out to be hers and your best ever christmas - and that is what christmas is all about -
Good luck and I hope it is as great for her and you
Wake up 7:30 ish... Coffee in bed
Swap our presents
The one sprog at home will be heading over to her Dads around 9ish, So we were planning on hitting the gym for an hour
Serve traditional Christmas meal as it goes dark, All the sprogs over, Swap presents with the kids after the meal
Then watch the recording we made of the Doctor Who Christmas special from earlier
Then a glass of a very special single malt I have been saving
Reasonably early to bed as we are racing on Boxing Day
No children in my house so we have a lie in on Christmas day.
Get up around 10, go downstairs in PJs and have a nice lazy breakfast with buck's fizz, mimosas and smoothie served in a cocktail glass for teetotal dad. Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for those that like it, scrambled eggs and bacon for those that think smoked salmon is an abomination (me and sister ), mini croissants, lots of fancy jams, fresh brewed coffee.
11ish open stockings ... everyone gets one and everyone else collaborates on buying presents for them and then sneaks around during the night filling them up. Then get dressed and come back for round 2 of present opening, followed by a good amount of laying about uselessly, drinking more buck's fizz .
Lunch is around 2-3ish, followed by a walk, followed by a film - either Bond or a kid's film, or Wallace & Gromit. I'll get the mulled wine on the go after lunch so its ready for the evening.
Evening is whichever Xmas present DVD has the most votes, with mulled wine. No proper dinner, but maybe sandwiches ... last year we had a cheese board which went down really well so might do that again. Christmas cake, mince pies, gingerbread etc will all make an appearance.
I'd like to go for a run this year, so I think I'll sacrifice my Christmas morning lie-in to get it out of the way first thing.
Have porridge for breakfast
Go for my first 20 mile run of the spring marathon campaign
Have a shower
Eat pizza and ice cream. Drink wine whilst watching The Godfather parts 1 + 2 (but not 3 because it's boring)
Go back to bed