Getting Your Christmas On - UPDATES??

[ronandannette]

OK, so it's mid-December, which is when I always start our Christmas preparations. We've got a couple of events this weekend which will actually seem Christmas-y to me; we've already been to several things but it was just too early for me to be feeling it.

I've taken today off to haul out the tree and decor and am looking forward to jollying up the place! I'll do some baking in the evenings next week and begin to seriously think out my shopping list. I'm off from the 20th, so the shopping and wrapping will get done on the 22nd and 23rd most likely. Out-of-town company arrives on the evening of the 22nd and I'm greatly disappointed to find that virtually all the seasonal entertainment and activities around our city will have concluded - I really, really wanted to plan some fun outings for the 23rd and 24th. We may just take a day trip to Banff and have an early dinner at one of our all-time favorite restaurants, but sight-seeing will require an early start as it's pitch-dark here by 4:30 pm now.

Plans for hosting are still a little up in the air; there's one local set of friends I want to have over but they're still figuring out their availability - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day. When they come will determine the menu planning for the other days when it's just family. We've got church Christmas Eve but not Christmas Day. DH and I are both off work until the 30th but we're not sure yet when our company plans to leave, so we're playing the days after Christmas totally by ear.

I suspect I'm a lot farther behind than some of you - how are your things going?

 

[Kitty 34]

DH and I are going off to finish Christmas shopping and of course stopping at the casino for a little BJ.
Finished all my Christmas cards and got them in the mail yesterday
I will be wrapping gifts all this weekend.
Next week I will start buying food for our kids and family Christmas which is Sunday the 22.
Our Christmas Bonfire is Monday the 23rd but DH gets that all ready. Unfortunately I don't actually attend the fire (cuz of my lungs) but people come and go in and out of the house, too. We sometimes get a card game going.
Then off to Christmas Eve to my sister's with our whole extended family..........

 

[CdnCarrie]

We always put up our tree the first weekend in December.
Most of the shopping is done. Waiting for 2 parcels from Amazon and husband needs to pick up couple gift cards.
Half my baking is done. I don't do that much.

About 3/4 of the gifts are wrapped.

I'm off from the 20th until early January. Need to get a few groceries for Christmas dishes. We aren't hosting this year so it's minimal. Just having ILs stop by Christmas morning for brunch.

 

[Moliphino]

We haven't started yet. We may get a tree this weekend, since we'll be away for a wedding the next weekend.

 

[ImDMous]

I've been sick since before Thanksgiving so not much has been done. I'm finally getting better but now I'm just overwhelmed. We have some of our outdoor lights up, but not all. Tree is not up yet, haven't started shopping. I think I'm skipping cards this year, haven't even thought about them yet. I hate being sick! At this point I'm really just looking forward to being off work for a week, starting Christmas Eve.

 

[easyas123]

We managed to get our lights on the front porch at the beginning of the month.
And the artificial tree came out of the attic and is sitting in one of the upstairs bedrooms until I can haul it down to the lower level of the house! I have no idea when we will get around to decorating it, I'm guessing this Sunday (hopefully).
I've done some online shopping for 3 things, and picked up all the dog toys (of course!). But that is it - I'm determined to go shopping Sunday and as I told my husband, I'm not coming home until I'm done, and whatever I don't come home with isn't being given!
I haven't finalized the menus for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day yet, although we do have a meal planned for St. Stephens Day/Boxing Day.
My husband and I are off the 24th until Jan. 2nd, and are looking forward to a little down time.
I do plan on making some cookies - I already have the stuff, just haven't decided when to do it! Although I did make some rum balls a few days ago.

 

[MGMmjl]

We put our Christmas tree up last week. Since we have an (almost) two year old, the tree doesn't have many ornaments on it this year. A few ornaments on the top half of the tree, but none where he can reach them.

We have almost all of our shopping done, with only a couple more gifts to buy. We haven't started wrapping yet, but probably will this weekend. We also have a Christmas party with our Sunday school group tomorrow evening.

We'll do Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at our house with my wife's side of the family, then head to my parents for Christmas dinner with my side of the family.

 

[Hikergirl]

We've had our Christmas on since Thanksgiving weekend.
We put the tree and decorations up on Black Friday day, and had 3 parties to go to over that weekend.
Our friends usually plan for that weekend since a lot of our other friends are in town visiting family for Thanksgiving.
This weekend will be just a regular weekend, birthday party and basketball games and projects around the house.
Next weekend will really start the Christmas-y feel I think, my college kids will be home, my youngest will be on his break and we'll be visiting our families throughout the rest of the season.

 

[RamblingMad]

Haven’t started yet. Still unpacking from our move. Won’t be a golly Christmas. More like an unpacking Christmas with lots of Hallmark movies.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Shopping is done except for some clothes for DS16. I'll try to run out and find something the weekend before Christmas (this weekend is packed already and mostly with activities for him so no getting out to shop by myself). I also need to start bringing things home from work (had everything shipped there, boss is about to kill me) and wrapping them.

3 trees are up, one still needs lights. I can't find the purple strand I used last year on it, just multi-colored and blue. I want something different for this one so I'll have to go get some more. All other inside decorations are up. I can't find the stupid elf. My kids are too big for him now, but it's still fun to come up with some obnoxious things for him to do. He romanced a Barbie doll last year. Barbie is getting repurposed into a Weeping Angel tree topper this year, maybe he'll go on a revenge spree.

Outside decorations are done but I think a deer got tangled in the projectors, they were all moved around last night and projecting on the ground, not the trees. It's raining today but maybe tomorrow I can get outside and fix them. I've got 4 more that need to go out as well but I'm out of extension cords. I also really, really want to make some large light balls for the yard but I probably won't have time.

Seriously, the only thing I like about Christmas are the decorations.

No entertaining is planned, family isn't coming until the 26th, we don't do a Christmas dinner - just finger foods on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we open gifts, go to a movie (STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!!!), then to the local Chinese buffet.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I've entered the phase of Christmas where the Christmas songs are basically taunting me because I have so much left to do.

We basically have 1 week to do whatever we're going to do because my siblings and their families arrive to spend the weekend with us a week from today. So we have to buy, cook and clean in preparation. Then we go right into prep for Christmas Day itself, then we drive on Christmas night to my in-laws where we'll have a luncheon and exchange presents the next day. So the next week is basically going to be an up at dawn, pride-swallowing siege as we prepare for the waves of Christmas coming at us.

Ho, ho, ho.

 

[ronandannette]

Shopping is done except for some clothes for DS16. I'll try to run out and find something the weekend before Christmas (this weekend is packed already and mostly with activities for him so no getting out to shop by myself). I also need to start bringing things home from work (had everything shipped there, boss is about to kill me) and wrapping them.

3 trees are up, one still needs lights. I can't find the purple strand I used last year on it, just multi-colored and blue. I want something different for this one so I'll have to go get some more. All other inside decorations are up. I can't find the stupid elf. My kids are too big for him now, but it's still fun to come up with some obnoxious things for him to do. He romanced a Barbie doll last year. Barbie is getting repurposed into a Weeping Angel tree topper this year, maybe he'll go on a revenge spree.

Outside decorations are done but I think a deer got tangled in the projectors, they were all moved around last night and projecting on the ground, not the trees. It's raining today but maybe tomorrow I can get outside and fix them. I've got 4 more that need to go out as well but I'm out of extension cords. I also really, really want to make some large light balls for the yard but I probably won't have time.

Seriously, the only thing I like about Christmas are the decorations.

No entertaining is planned, family isn't coming until the 26th, we don't do a Christmas dinner - just finger foods on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we open gifts, go to a movie (STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!!!), then to the local Chinese buffet.

I'm not much of an on-line shopper myself but porch-pirates are a real thing in our city. At this time of year everybody has their stuff delivered to the office. Our receptionist might as well be in shipping and receiving.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I'm not much of an on-line shopper myself but porch-pirates are a real think in our city. At this time of year everybody has their stuff delivered to the office. Our receptionist might as well be in shipping and receiving.

My boss brought me a couple of boxes yesterday, looked at the pile in my office and said that he really hoped I had a prime membership. Thankfully, he's an awesome guy.

We don't have porch pirates, fortunately but I do have: 1. DS16 who believes that all Amazon packages belong to him and is home all day long so he opens everything. If it's not for him he just tosses it wherever and ruins surprises for his brother. 2. Dogs - we find packages in all kinds of places where it's obvious the UPS guy walked up as far as he could in the driveway, realized the dogs were out, and just pitched the package wherever. We find them in the bushes, in the bed of DH truck, everywhere. We have the same delivery guy here at work, I give him a hard time about it periodically but also completely understand that my dogs are idiots.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Decorating, gift shopping and wrapping, and some of the cooking is done. My DH is away on a business trip and if I can get the kid to cooperate with me, I hope to finish the cooking this weekend. In fact, I’ve got supplies sitting on the counter right now staring me in the face but I’m procrastinating to reply to @ronandannette’s post. Priorities. I had most of the ingredients delivered but I’ll need to make a trip to the store to pick up a few specialty items.

Next weekend we have plans to go downtown to a Chinese lantern display and a Christkindl market, plus another Christmas market closer to home. We’re saving the big light display at the botanical gardens until sometime after Christmas, before New Year’s. We’ll probably take a night before then to drive around and look at the local lights.

 

[disneychrista]

I honestly don't do much for Christmas. I am not really a holiday person. They just make me feel lonelier than I do the rest of the year.

Next week is the "big" Christmas events for work. On Tuesday we have our department luncheon, gift & cookie exchange. I will bake/bring cookies for the cookie exchange but opted out of the gift exchange. Friday is the company Christmas party, I am not really a social person and things like this are very awkward for me but I am going because it is expected.

 

[easyas123]

We went to a Christmas Market in Philly last Friday - it's something we have been wanting to do for a few years, and finally got around to it. I'm guessing that will probably be the only holiday-themed event we will attend, aside from the Christmas lunch in the office (we work together).

 

[Searc]

The entirety of our Christmas celebrations with family will be finished as of this weekend. So after Saturday, our Christmas is over (except with each other).

 

[lovesmurfs]

Not feeling it this year. DH, bless his heart, actually pulled everything out of the storage area so that I can decorate. I'm so, so behind. I actually got most of the fall stuff put away, so progress, right?

I didn't start shopping until earlier this week. Amazon should be declared a national treasure.

 

[ronandannette]

Not feeling it this year. DH, bless his heart, actually pulled everything out of the storage area so that I can decorate. I'm so, so behind. I actually got most of the fall stuff put away, so progress, right?

I didn't start shopping until earlier this week. Amazon should be declared a national treasure.

I'll be heading out front a little later to chisel the frozen sunflowers and pumpkins and whatnot out of my harvest display so I can replace it with my Christmas stuff. In my own defense, autumn is not officially over for another week...

 

[CdnCarrie]

I honestly don't do much for Christmas. I am not really a holiday person. They just make me feel lonelier than I do the rest of the year.

Donn't you have your children with you at holidays? Or can you go stay with them so you're not lonely?