Christmas planning and chat

[Madeleine]

Yes I spotted a few houses with lights and trees last night.

 

TV ads started very surreptitiously quite early, with perfume ads popping up!

[Kudz]

My favourite radio station Magic is now playing non-stop Christmas music 24/7 from today until Christmas… I mean seriously, what?! I can take the occasional Christmas song mixed in now and again with everything else but cannot listen to it non-stop, especially when it’s not even close to Christmas. Smooth Radio it is for the next month!

[timebug]

Christmas cards all written and stamped,ready to go; anothr pile unstamped to be posted by hand locally; Presents for my Son and Grandaughter all sorted. Just three more presents to buy for close friends and I will be done!

[Madeleine]

Have about half of my presents, need to check a couple of things and hopefully get most of the others this weekend.

[lunababymoonchild]

I have two presents to buy and only getting around to thinking about it. Two cards made, which is one more than I planned on making, about three more to post. Decorations made (see upthread) Then it's just what I want to eat etc.

[Hayley]

On 11/25/2022 at 6:19 PM, Kudz said:

My favourite radio station Magic is now playing non-stop Christmas music 24/7 from today until Christmas… I mean seriously, what?!

Magic don’t usually do that do they!?

 

I do always tune a just-Christmas radio station into my car, so I can get Christmassy whenever I want to, but I have my usual radio station on the other preset! 
 

I have done 0 Christmas cards and two presents… there’s a lot left to do! 

[lunababymoonchild]

I have one present to get, the rest of the cards, some stamps and to figure out what I want to eat. But that's all. 
 

I haven't listened to the radio in years. Keep meaning to but never get around to it.

[Madeleine]

I got all the Xmas stuff down earlier, ready for tomorrow's onslaught ie decorating!  Plus I've got some new decs this year, so might get out my old little tree and put those on it, and have a red and white theme.

 

Need to get cards, as I want to post them early due to the postal strikes, which are affecting deliveries, not sure about collections.  Plus a couple more presents for friends I'm meeting up with next week, and then presents for my mum.

[timebug]

Final three presents bought,wrapped and ready to go! So barring anything unexpected I am ready for it!

[Madeleine]

Trees up, just need to put some batteries in some of those little fibre optic figures, got some more wrapping paper yesterday - in sheets, not rolls which I hate - just in case I need it, though I don't have that much to wrap up.

[Madeleine]

Bought batteries ,got them home, had a mammoth struggle to get them off the card.... and then 3 of them (6 altogether) didn't work, I can't be bothered to try the other 3 (they probably won't work either), so will take them back to Sainsbury's tomorrow.  The same thing happened last year with duff batteries ,despite them having a long sell by date on them.

[Hayley]

On 12/1/2022 at 11:54 AM, Madeleine said:

got some more wrapping paper yesterday

This has just reminded me that I need wrapping paper!! 😬 that wouldn’t be a great thing to forget 🙈

 

On 12/1/2022 at 4:55 PM, Madeleine said:

Bought batteries ,got them home, had a mammoth struggle to get them off the card.... and then 3 of them (6 altogether) didn't work, I can't be bothered to try the other 3 (they probably won't work either), so will take them back to Sainsbury's tomorrow.  The same thing happened last year with duff batteries ,despite them having a long sell by date on them.

That is really annoying! I don’t want to jinx it but, luckily, I’ve never had that happen! 

[Chrissy]

I only buy for a few people now, so the planning and peripherals are really simple, which is great. I managed to finish to last of my card writing today. I made some last year (very, very simple things with a star shape and a button  - nothing like @lunababymoonchild 's wonderful creations), but this year just did not have the motivation, so have bought them. 

 

For the past few years we have taken to having our Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, and enjoying leftovers (especially bubble 'n' squeak) on the day itself. We really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of doing things this way. 

 

This year we have been invited to join my son and his partner for the day, so will be travelling up first thing on Christmas Eve, and returning first thing Boxing Day. We have bought little gifts for them both, and some other 'bits' like crackers, and posh ground coffee and some special flavoured seas salt and that kind of thing. It should be a lovely visit. 

[lunababymoonchild]

1 hour ago, Chrissy said:

I only buy for a few people now, so the planning and peripherals are really simple, which is great. I managed to finish to last of my card writing today. I made some last year (very, very simple things with a star shape and a button  - nothing like @lunababymoonchild 's wonderful creations), but this year just did not have the motivation, so have bought them. 

Aw, I'm sure that they were lovely. This is the first year in a very long time that I've been moved tomake cards and I only made the two. The rest will be bought.

 

1 hour ago, Chrissy said:

For the past few years we have taken to having our Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, and enjoying leftovers (especially bubble 'n' squeak) on the day itself. We really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of doing things this way. 

 

This year we have been invited to join my son and his partner for the day, so will be travelling up first thing on Christmas Eve, and returning first thing Boxing Day. We have bought little gifts for them both, and some other 'bits' like crackers, and posh ground coffee and some special flavoured seas salt and that kind of thing. It should be a lovely visit. 

 

That sounds lovely!

[lunababymoonchild]

We are having Christmas this year because my brother wants to, my father and I are too miserable! I have one present to buy and then just the food.

Edited December 5, 2022 by lunababymoonchild

[Madeleine]

Just went to the Post Office to send off hopefully the only present which needs posting, there was a queue but they are pretty quick so it wasn't too bad.  Have a few cards to write out and post, the others, which don't need posting, can wait a bit longer, just trying to plan ahead a bit, with the postal service strikes.  Hopefully the others can be given in person, or put through the door for our neighbours, so hope to post the others tomorrow.

[Hayley]

6 hours ago, Chrissy said:

We have bought little gifts for them both, and some other 'bits' like crackers, and posh ground coffee and some special flavoured seas salt and that kind of thing. It should be a lovely visit. 

That’s such a lovely idea. Also clever because it means you get nice coffee while you stay 😁.

 

I have a few presents now and I’m looking forward to wrapping them! I also have the day off on Thursday so the house is going to become extremely festive 🎄 

 

 

[Kudz]

On 11/28/2022 at 3:23 PM, Hayley said:

Magic don’t usually do that do they!?

 

They’ve done it for the last couple of years. Not sure what their thinking behind it is but it must be popular otherwise they wouldn’t keep doing it.

 

We have all been given an additional paid day off this year for Christmas shopping and mine was a couple of weeks ago so I’m now all set for Christmas. Presents are all bought and wrapped, the house is all decorated and festive looking and I have started watching Christmas movies. I’m not feeling all that festive though for some reason, but hopefully this will change the closer we get to the big day itself.

[timebug]

Final three presents to be delivered by hand and thats me done for this year!

[muggle not]

We decorated our Christmas Tree on Sunday while also watching the World Cup. When the World Cup was over I turned on the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game and watched it while decorating the tree. I must say that the Christmas Tree looks pretty good despite all the distractions. 

[poppy]

16 hours ago, muggle not said:

We decorated our Christmas Tree on Sunday while also watching the World Cup. When the World Cup was over I turned on the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game and watched it while decorating the tree. I must say that the Christmas Tree looks pretty good despite all the distractions. 

 

Your Christmas tree is always beautiful, Muggle 🥰

 

For the last three years I've done away with a big tree and bought a little fir tree that I'm growing in a container. I wheel it inside with a sack barrow and it's very minimalistic with only a star on top, fairy and seed lights and a few decorations. My brother and niece are staying from Alaska and my niece has decorated out letterbox (a local tradition) with unused decorations.

[timebug]

Got an 'extra' present for my Grandaughter  the other day. I already have her main gift wrapped and ready to go, but she expressed an interest in my 'new' laptop (Reconditioned from a local reliable source) so I got one for her! With her work and college stuff it will no doubt earn its keep!

[Hayley]

14 hours ago, timebug said:

Got an 'extra' present for my Grandaughter  the other day. I already have her main gift wrapped and ready to go, but she expressed an interest in my 'new' laptop (Reconditioned from a local reliable source) so I got one for her! With her work and college stuff it will no doubt earn its keep!

That is so thoughtful! My grandad always used to being out an extra present on Christmas afternoon, when we thought all the presents had been opened 😄.

 

I’ve just done my last bits of wrapping (just had enough wrapping paper!) so I am ready now!

[Hayley]

Merry Christmas everyone! 

[lunababymoonchild]

Yes, Merry Christmas everyone