My nephew-in-law ordered the turkey for our clan's celebrations today, and is compiling a list of what else needs to be brought. There'll be nine adults (three of whom are vegetarians and will bring their own stuff) and (I think) six littlies.
My usual contribution is mushroom pâté and smoked salmon pâté with breadsticks, by way of a starter.
I have no idea what we'll be doing for Christmas yet but hope it will involve some time with our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter . I'm assuming our son and his husband will be with his in-laws as they were with us last year. I'll need to know soon for shopping purposes... haven't done any real gift shopping yet...
FatherInCharge may at times henceforth be referred to as Father Smeagol. I'd tell him that to his face, but I know he wouldn't pick up on the reference, or see the joke. Least said, and all that.
I see what @ChastMastr means, though I've not heard of any of those sibilant characters.
FatherInCharge may at times henceforth be referred to as Father Smeagol. I'd tell him that to his face, but I know he wouldn't pick up on the reference, or see the joke. Least said, and all that.
I see what @ChastMastr means, though I've not heard of any of those sibilant characters.
Kaa from the Jungle Book animated film: "Trussst in me, jussst in me . . ."
FatherInCharge may at times henceforth be referred to as Father Smeagol. I'd tell him that to his face, but I know he wouldn't pick up on the reference, or see the joke. Least said, and all that.
I see what @ChastMastr means, though I've not heard of any of those sibilant characters.
Kaa from the Jungle Book animated film: "Trussst in me, jussst in me . . ."
My neighbor just spent the day putting up his Christmas lights. The first in the area amid Thanksgiving and fall yard decor, everywhere else. Oh yes, and one house still has Halloween.
My brother sent me a photo of an empty nativity scene, labelled 'Reform Party Nativity'.
There are no unmarried mothers, no Middle Eastern people, no refugees, no-one seeking emergency accommodation, and not a single wise man in sight...
Says it all, really...
Nice. Lights are just starting to go up in our little South Wales town. Things kicked off slowly after Halloween, the picked up the pace after Bonfire Night. Visiting my old home town if Preston at the moment. No sign of lights yet
Mr Nen and I had quite a lively (let the reader understand) discussion this afternoon about the forthcoming festive season. It's likely that this will be our last Christmas in this house and I want to make sure we enjoy it and observed that he probably doesn't feel the same as he doesn't like Christmas. He corrected me on that, insisting that what he hates is the commercialisation and the pressure to buy presents and he would avoid certain shops and places at the moment as he doesn't want to see the lights or decorations or hear the music yet. He didn't elaborate on when he would be ok to see the decorations or hear the music; and I accept for most tastes it is a tad early. Even mine - I can't really feel properly festive until 1 December. However, our son used to work in retail alongside his studies and said that they would often get complaints from customers that Christmas started too early. His point was that they start early because people buy it. If they didn't, retailers certainly wouldn't be using valuable shelf space to display it.
Mr Nen, like @Puzzler , would like the arrangement that no one buys presents for him and he doesn't buy for anyone but I do all the shopping anyway and, to be fair, we don't have that many people to buy for. Buying for our granddaughter is nothing but a joy.
Regarding where we'll be when over the festive period is something I'm hoping to have an initial discussion with our daughter about when we see her tomorrow.
@Graven Image coleslaw with a roast dinner sounds unusual to me - or is it more of a picnic/buffet type meal?
@Roseofsharon as someone who doesn't like like geting gifts (I think maybe it's an autism thing, because I don't enjoy surprises) but who does enjoy giving gifts - please don't be afraid to enforce boundaries here. It's not loving or a blessing to ignore a loved one's actual wants, imo. If someone I wanted to get a gift for told me they didn't want a gift, it would be horribly selfish of me to insist on giving a gift anyway just because I wanted to. Gifts are supposed to be a way of showing love to the recipient, but giving somebody something they don't want isn't loving. Maybe be very specific about what you do want? If there's nothing specific, maybe specify a donation to a particular charity.
@Puzzler I don't think it's mean to be tired of commercialism and overconsumption. There's no point in giving a gift somebody doesn't want or need. Personally as someone who does enjoy giving gifts but doesn't care about recieving them, I'd much rather have experiences than things - maybe you could suggest some nice days out as a family in lieu of presents? Maybe theatre tickets or something like that?
@Pomona No, it is a family Holiday meal thing. Both my late mother and my late mother-in-law always made slaw. One was from the South, the other from the West. You could think of it as a salad course. They had very different recipes for it; one used mayonnaise, the other did not. Turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pie.
This evening we had a meal at the house of a couple who are fairly new to our church. They were all decorated for Christmas - lights all over the garden and the house, lights inside, Christmas tree, stockings hung on the mantelpiece (one for each of them, one for the dog...), Christmas tablecloth and table mats. Apparently it all went up in October . I love Christmas but that was definitely too much too early. I don't know how Mr Nen made it through the evening.
Discussions with our daughter today about Christmas were inconclusive so I'm none the wiser about what we might be doing.
Reading the autobiography of a well respected ecclesiastical, I learn they had their first Christmas card on Nov 13. Heavens to murgatroyd!
What is the earliest shipmates have had cards?
A tangent: we will be sending some 'e-cards' this year. I like them (hedgehogs singing carols etc); Mrs RR is dubious ... any opinions 'real' cards vs e-cards?
I love real cards and put them out to look at all season as I pass through my living room. E-cards I view once or twice. At the end of the Holiday, I cut them up for gift tags for next year.
Our first Christmas card is generally from Mr RoS's sister in Ontario. On occasion it has arrived before the end of November.
I don't see the point of e-cards. Our Christmas 'decorations' consist solely of the cards that we have been sent, can't do that with e-cards.
We have 'proper' decorations in the loft. They have been there for 6 years, and neither of us are going to attempt climbing up to get them!
I've made a start on the cards so am feeling a little virtuous; before they go in the post I've a few Advent calendars to send out too.
Presents: I've a load of flavoured gins coming along nicely - sloe, damson, and blackberry and blueberry; there are also smalll(ish) jars of marmalade to go out with small Dundee cakes and/or homemade chocolate truffles.
I'm not sure how many we'll be at Christmas, it all depends on whether or not #2 son can get leave, and whether or not the lodger will be with us or with his girlfriend's family.
It's almost time to send a Christmas card (from Canada) to my sister near Johannesburg. I shall be careful to wish her a Happy Easter, as that's when it will arrive.
A tangent: we will be sending some 'e-cards' this year. I like them (hedgehogs singing carols etc); Mrs RR is dubious ... any opinions 'real' cards vs e-cards?
Since you asked, I’m not a fan of e-cards. We don’t get many, but we have a few friends who send them for holidays, birthdays, etc. I have yet to encounter an e-card I liked. To be honest, pretty much the only reason I open them is is fear that the sender gets notifications that would let them know I haven’t opened it. But if it has any audio, my volume gets turned off off.
I am no fan of e-cards, although I'd rather have that than nothing at all. Someone I met some years ago always sends one, and I used to reply with several lines of our news, hoping she would do the same. She never does, so the e-card is just an "I'm still here" signal.
Real Christmas cards start to arrive here as soon as December starts and I really like them - they're so pretty. I don't put any out until I've enjoyed my birthday ones for a few days, however. I've bought this year's cards (we don't send many and I try to make sure that those I do send contain a paragraph of news) but haven't made a start on them yet. I always mean to and it always ends up rather last minute and feeling like a chore.
I shall buy the Advent calendars this week if I can and get them in the post soon.
A tangent: we will be sending some 'e-cards' this year. I like them (hedgehogs singing carols etc); Mrs RR is dubious ... any opinions 'real' cards vs e-cards?
Since you asked, I’m not a fan of e-cards. We don’t get many, but we have a few friends who send them for holidays, birthdays, etc. I have yet to encounter an e-card I liked. To be honest, pretty much the only reason I open them is is fear that the sender gets notifications that would let them know I haven’t opened it. But if it has any audio, my volume gets turned off off.
The e-card company I use sends me a notification when someone opens the card I've sent.
Up until 2012 we sent real cards by post to a very large number of family and friends, quite a few abroad. Not cheap!
Then we went to Kenya as mission partners and it was not possible so we sent e-cards instead for Christmas and birthdays etc.
By 2016 when we returned to the UK our list of people to send to was much smaller (for several reasons) so now we send an e-card to about 40 and real cards to around 20 people.
And music really features in my choice of e-card, several times a good graphic has been spoilt for me by the music attached to it 😆
I usually get a couple of e-cards from friends in Canada; they get viewed once, and a polite reply.
I haven't seen any domestic decorations yet, but the town tree at the Cross is up, and waiting to be bedecked with lights.
Someone on the Linlithgow Facebook page out up a plea that they string the lights round the tree, rather than up and down (as they usually do), and I heartily agree; I've always thought the vertical strings look silly.
I still have to buy my Christmas cards. We have quite a few unused from last year, but will probably need more.
I bought advent calendars when I spotted them in the gift-shop area of a garden centre last week. I haven't looked since I got them home, but I fear I may have made the same mistake as last year.
I hadn't checked the dimensions, and they were too big for even a 'large letter' stamp, and had to go as small parcels. That made them a bit pricey, considering there wasn't a single chocolate between them. I do hope this year's are smaller.
Captain Pyjamas already has an Advent Calendar With Lego In hiding under my bed. My sister-in-law bought it when she was here a little while ago. For the adults we have one of those wooden ones that you fill up yourself. Trouble is that the drawers are extremely tiny. I shall need to give it some thought.
@la vie en rouge We had one of those Advent Calendars with the tiny drawers: our solution was to write "treats" on a bit of coloured paper for most of the drawers - anything from rembering to wheel the bin to the roadside without being asked to putting PJs on the radiator an hour before bedtime.
E-cards - I'm not a fan and only use them if a birthday has been forgotten until too late to get a card in the post.
@la vie en rouge We had one of those Advent Calendars with the tiny drawers: our solution was to write "treats" on a bit of coloured paper for most of the drawers - anything from rembering to wheel the bin to the roadside without being asked to putting PJs on the radiator an hour before bedtime.
E-cards - I'm not a fan and only use them if a birthday has been forgotten until too late to get a card in the post.
Comments
Indeed they are - I'm very lucky in that respect!
We hatess it, Preciouss, yess, we doess...
My usual contribution is mushroom pâté and smoked salmon pâté with breadsticks, by way of a starter.
Yess, I think I ssee what you’re ssaying. It makess me think of Kaa or Cobra Commander or the ssimilarly ssnake-themed villain Kobra, it doess…
Or any of thesse fellowss…
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SssssnakeTalk
I assumed it was more of a Gollum thing .
I have no idea what we'll be doing for Christmas yet but hope it will involve some time with our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter
FatherInCharge may at times henceforth be referred to as Father Smeagol. I'd tell him that to his face, but I know he wouldn't pick up on the reference, or see the joke. Least said, and all that.
I see what @ChastMastr means, though I've not heard of any of those sibilant characters.
Kaa from the Jungle Book animated film: "Trussst in me, jussst in me . . ."
Thanks! Yes, I remember now...
There are no unmarried mothers, no Middle Eastern people, no refugees, no-one seeking emergency accommodation, and not a single wise man in sight...
Says it all, really...
Nice. Lights are just starting to go up in our little South Wales town. Things kicked off slowly after Halloween, the picked up the pace after Bonfire Night. Visiting my old home town if Preston at the moment. No sign of lights yet
Mr Nen, like @Puzzler , would like the arrangement that no one buys presents for him and he doesn't buy for anyone but I do all the shopping anyway and, to be fair, we don't have that many people to buy for. Buying for our granddaughter is nothing but a joy.
Regarding where we'll be when over the festive period is something I'm hoping to have an initial discussion with our daughter about when we see her tomorrow.
I noticed today that Tess Coe have now put on the shelves their annual display of festive CHEESE...
And we all know its all about the little baby cheeses!
Thought I'd get that one in first.
Ah - that reminds me of the Mice doing Mouse-to-Mouse evangelism, and preaching about Cheeses...
...or, as Father Smeagol would say, Cheesess...
@Roseofsharon as someone who doesn't like like geting gifts (I think maybe it's an autism thing, because I don't enjoy surprises) but who does enjoy giving gifts - please don't be afraid to enforce boundaries here. It's not loving or a blessing to ignore a loved one's actual wants, imo. If someone I wanted to get a gift for told me they didn't want a gift, it would be horribly selfish of me to insist on giving a gift anyway just because I wanted to. Gifts are supposed to be a way of showing love to the recipient, but giving somebody something they don't want isn't loving. Maybe be very specific about what you do want? If there's nothing specific, maybe specify a donation to a particular charity.
@Puzzler I don't think it's mean to be tired of commercialism and overconsumption. There's no point in giving a gift somebody doesn't want or need. Personally as someone who does enjoy giving gifts but doesn't care about recieving them, I'd much rather have experiences than things - maybe you could suggest some nice days out as a family in lieu of presents? Maybe theatre tickets or something like that?
Discussions with our daughter today about Christmas were inconclusive so I'm none the wiser about what we might be doing.
What is the earliest shipmates have had cards?
A tangent: we will be sending some 'e-cards' this year. I like them (hedgehogs singing carols etc); Mrs RR is dubious ... any opinions 'real' cards vs e-cards?
I don't see the point of e-cards. Our Christmas 'decorations' consist solely of the cards that we have been sent, can't do that with e-cards.
We have 'proper' decorations in the loft. They have been there for 6 years, and neither of us are going to attempt climbing up to get them!
Presents: I've a load of flavoured gins coming along nicely - sloe, damson, and blackberry and blueberry; there are also smalll(ish) jars of marmalade to go out with small Dundee cakes and/or homemade chocolate truffles.
I'm not sure how many we'll be at Christmas, it all depends on whether or not #2 son can get leave, and whether or not the lodger will be with us or with his girlfriend's family.
Real Christmas cards start to arrive here as soon as December starts and I really like them - they're so pretty. I don't put any out until I've enjoyed my birthday ones for a few days, however. I've bought this year's cards (we don't send many and I try to make sure that those I do send contain a paragraph of news) but haven't made a start on them yet. I always mean to and it always ends up rather last minute and feeling like a chore.
I shall buy the Advent calendars this week if I can and get them in the post soon.
Never again - though my Family WhatsApp group will no doubt be sharing some amusing cartoons.
The e-card company I use sends me a notification when someone opens the card I've sent.
Up until 2012 we sent real cards by post to a very large number of family and friends, quite a few abroad. Not cheap!
Then we went to Kenya as mission partners and it was not possible so we sent e-cards instead for Christmas and birthdays etc.
By 2016 when we returned to the UK our list of people to send to was much smaller (for several reasons) so now we send an e-card to about 40 and real cards to around 20 people.
And music really features in my choice of e-card, several times a good graphic has been spoilt for me by the music attached to it 😆
I haven't seen any domestic decorations yet, but the town tree at the Cross is up, and waiting to be bedecked with lights.
Someone on the Linlithgow Facebook page out up a plea that they string the lights round the tree, rather than up and down (as they usually do), and I heartily agree; I've always thought the vertical strings look silly.
I bought advent calendars when I spotted them in the gift-shop area of a garden centre last week. I haven't looked since I got them home, but I fear I may have made the same mistake as last year.
I hadn't checked the dimensions, and they were too big for even a 'large letter' stamp, and had to go as small parcels. That made them a bit pricey, considering there wasn't a single chocolate between them. I do hope this year's are smaller.
E-cards - I'm not a fan and only use them if a birthday has been forgotten until too late to get a card in the post.
A post chock-full of Common Sense!