The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: little blue on October 12, 2009, 08:46:28 pm
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What are your plans for Christmas then?
Any traditions?
First time plans?
Local traditions?
Share them with us accidental smallholders!
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hehe booked a home visit from
hubby in santa suit Santa if he has time before christmas.
not got any plan just thats it's gona be interesting with a 3 month old lol.
Not sure how many at our house as step kids mum is 'dumpping' them at xmas for her to look after her sisters kids.
Linz
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Please, don't remind me how near it is!!! Cannot believe how the shops are already geared up. I really cannot face looking at Christmas puddings in October.
I liked the old fashioned christmas ....cards, small gifts, tree.....snow! It is far to commericalised now for me, the true meaning has gone.
Children expect expensive toys etc. people feel under pressure to buy all and sundry presents, and get so stressed about the shopping.
We stopped going to the family christmas dinners years ago. It was too much of a rush going there, and getting back to feed all the animals, so easier to stop going. Really its a normal day for us, feeding animals and riding horses. We always go out riding on Christmas Day.
I do have a little tree up, and a few decorations, but we definitely do not go overboard on trolley fulls of food.
I have cut down on christmas cards in recent years, preferring to donate to an animal charity instead. And last year, a lot of my friends decided to do the same.
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Ba Humbug ! ........ only kidding, I also would prefer it to be how it used to be ........ we now get Christmas stuff in the shops in September ! .......... I think we need to put it back where it should be instead of just another way to milk us for cash !
Dave
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Well we have children and i can honestly say we have never had a request for a hugely expensive gift.If a request is above budget they get told santa doesn't like greedy children and he only brings what he feels they deserve as their are so many children to give to he has to be fair. Always worked and now that 2 are too old to believe they do realise they can't have everything just because it's christmas.
Last year we went away and left the fuss behind it was fantastic[wifes first christmas off in 19 years] so we did something special.We'll never repeat it until retirement going by the numbers.
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Oh thank heavens we dont celebrate Xmas.
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It will be our first christmas with little un who will be 4 months, round my parents xmas eve and inlaws xmas day which will be weird because i have always gone home for christmas, being 1 of 9 children its always manic/lots of fun ;D
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Xmas day in our house is very laid back!
The boys open their, sometimes expensive, presents. OH then goes out and feeds and checks all the animals. Possibly lamb a ewe or two!! He's usually home by lunch which then involves gouging out in front of the tv and eating till we burst!
We hardly see the kids all day, bonus!!!
No hassle, no pomp and ceremony, no socialising!!
I love it!!
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I love Christmas!!!! Even though I have teenage sons we still 'pretend' there is Father Christmas. They humour me!! ;D ;D
All the family come to me for Christmas. Grans, Grandads, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins....So around 25 of us. Fantastic!
Will be really exciting this year, our first Christmas here in North Devon. I must get organised next year to have our own turkey!
A changeover in the holiday cottage to do on Boxing Day.
:love:
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Must admit our favourite bit is boxing day lovely and relaxed ALL the family round nice large buffet and plenty to drink if you wish. Kids all playing happily with their new pressies. relaxed bliss
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56 views and only 9 replies? C'mon!
Share you Christmases...
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I love Christmas, love doing the house up all Christmassy, I have gone down south alone to visit my daughters since living up here, I like the train journey but sadly cannot go as a couple as we have guests staying and our dog should be having pups so, my Oh will stay to hold the fort. When my children were young it was a traditional affair, I loved the toys myself, it was hard work but all part of the fun. A few years ago I took my familly to Devon, renting a big cottage for 13 people, it had a swimming pool and was great fun, open fires, loads of food, shooting, cycling and swimming with the added bonus of a baby to admire!! Us women made the paper decorations and brought branches in etc to decorate the house, the night before we left we were able to burn them all!!!! I hope that one year they can all come here to do the same, my eldest in in Austrailia so needs loads of money to get here. Before moving, I often worked over Christmas, in residential units...that was fun too, anyway I'm rambling and getting all sentimental :(
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Come on Little Blue, you started this thread, so tell us about your Christmas!!!
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Well, it'll be first Christmas with goats and pigs. The dog absolutely loved it last year, unwrapping the presents, taking decs off the tree, dinner! So we'll be better prepared this year...
Jay goes mad with Christmas decs and ornaments, and he sets up a whole scene on the grand piano, with fake snow and everything (will see if we've a digital pic I can show you)
family v important, not just at Christmas of course... but with O/h's and father in law's health probs, we tend to encourage them to come here and I cook.
Nice to be off work in current job, Like Sandy I've done my time in resi care units!
We always went to a local pantomime, but again, J not up to that at the mo
But before that, theres the madness of THE CHRISTMAS CONCERT at work, the be all and end all of the season!! Manic,magical and (hopefully) musical ! Planning starts v early...
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ooh yes, you must take a pic of the piano with the scene - we would love to see that!!
I keep buying decorations for my little tree, and now it ends up rather top heavy - and last year it toppled over due to being over adorned!!
I also have a thing about those large santas, not the plastic models, I mean the ones of him decked in his long coat, carrying a sack of parcels, etc. I started off with one, but he looked lonely standing at one side of the inglenook fireplace, so got another, then found a sitting down santa, so he joined the other two, and then the following year a fourth joined in. Now I have moved, I have nowhere for them all to stand!!!
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I would love a HUGE wire lite up Raindeer to put on the porch roof, last year I put a real tree on it and it looked nice but on taking it down it fell and broke the window so I am not allowed to do it again :-[ I do put little christmas trees in all the winow boxes with white fairy lights, that looks nice.....last year I collected some free decorations from a pretty little village, it made my Christmas as the box had some nice things in it!!!!! Little Blue, have you ever worked in Castle Greasly (not sure thats how you spell it) I did!!!!!
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I usually refuse to produce or buy anything X-massy before Halloween or more like when there are no more apllles that need processing ;D. I'll start baking a selection of cookies after H,they keep well and are lovely presents. Possibly some Stollen, too. I broke my own rule more than justifyably this year by making green tomato mincemeat as we had blight. it's absolutely lovely! We always put the tree up late (on X-mas eve), it gives a more X-massy feel than if it is up weeks before and nobody really notices anymore. Other than that - good food! I'd love to have venison this year (hate turkey), or maybe a goose. No expensive presents this year, they better save up for what they really want now... :&>
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Sandy, no but we have family living near there.
We have a set of 3 wired light up reindeer, bought in the sale last year... so o/h left them up til his birthday (end of feb) to make up for it!
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We have a very low key xmas and have mixed my family traditions with my OH. Like Gavo our children know that Santa doesn't like greedy children. They can request 3 presents in their letter to Santa, but know that they won't necessarily get all 3.
The last few years we have alternated between going to my OH's parents or them coming to us. When I was young we had big family xmas's that were so stressful in fact one year there was a punch up over a game of monopoly!
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I have done all the entertaining and having family stay for years, this year we are gonna have a quiet christmas on our own at home - with lots of lights and trees in every room, loads of christmas music and lotsa nice food.
Will be wonderful in the cabin in front of the log fire -mmmm looking forward to it ;D
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I LOVE your cabin - its beautiful and a perfect place for a peaceful Christmas!
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Generally spend Christmas at home in the morning then go over to one of my sister's for lunch, spend the afternoon and early evening there, then home to feed the animals and lounge in front of the telly with something nice to drink. Our house isn't really big enough to accomodate all of us. Even with just us, my sisters and their families, we still make 12 people! We have nice food, 2 christmas tree's, and I have in the past couple of years had fairy lights outside too.
I try and keep a lid on the cost of presents, but I do like getting all my neices and nephews something nice- and there are 7 of them! Christmas is way too expensive.
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Okay our xmas is gona be mad, just arranged for Robin's christening is gona be the 20th December and my parents are coming up and staying for a week and also have the kids for christmas but i think they are going to go back to their house at night so should have room for everyone or lots of bodies everywhere lol
Linz
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we will be hoping that the snow comes to aviemore caingorm mountain makes Christmas for us as people arrive on Holiday .winter should start 2nd week off november iff all goes to plan last yere 20 th november .christmas day will be spent with the silkies feeding cleaning warm dinner for them
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I love Aviemore - it must be a great place to live and spend Christmas.
As a child/teenager we used to go there because I love ice skating and we always had great holidays -
only one complaint - never had brown malt vinegar in the Fish and Chip Shop and that clear vinegar just isn't as strong ;D ;D ;D
Is there much work there - its very beautiful, but well off the beaten track. Do you get a summer at all?
Julie
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I love the anticipation of Christmas but tend to run out of steam at the last minute. We ( Dan, me, his Mum and Dad, brother, sister in law, their to boys and our daughter) usually get together at one of the three houses for lunch / tea. Our house has most room so last year we were all at ours BUT Mark and Mo cooked. That was pretty good - getting looked after in your own home! Not sure what we're doing this year.
We usually have a party on the Sunday before Christmas but might make it Christmas Eve this year - if you haven't got the prep done by then, you might as well relax and go with the flow! It's usually just sausage rolls, mince pies and Chhristmas cake, plus mulled wine and "Winter Pimms". Last year, Dan did a pub quiz, which was a really good icebreaker. Teams of two and you couldn't be in a team with anyone you had slept with!
I go to the watchnight service - I love it and it always makes me cry. My favourite carol is "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem". I usually try to go to church the four Sundays of Advent too. Dan's a heathen so doesn't go.
I'll make Christmas pudding and cake at Hallowe'en or thereabouts. We don't do many cards - usually buy charity ones but this year will buy CSSA ones, if they are available.
We don't really do presents - small gifts only. Last year, gave Dan's Dad a fleece - cost him a fortune, 'cos he had to get a spinning wheel after that.
One regret is that I've not had Christmas with my sister since she got married 42 years ago.
Oooh, I'm all excited now! Thanks, littleblue