View Full Version : Christmas is very soon upon us
As from today it is 49 sleeps to Christmas, has this year gone very quick or is it me, it seems the older you get the quicker the time passes, my kids now have apps on their ipod/phones now counting down the sleeps to go :eek:
forgot to add, my gorgeous wife has the app as well, i'm doomed i tell you
ourdogmax
05-11-2010, 23:06
Don't I know it, my son has tech to shame Jodrel bank.
But if it had valves he'd be knackered :lolsign:
Bah Humbug. Poo to Xmas:ner::ner::ner::ner::lolsign:
Beechwoods
07-11-2010, 18:04
I won't start worrying about it until we're at most 2 weeks from. I'm working Christmas, but looking forward to the New Year...
Reid Malenfant
07-11-2010, 18:07
Only difference for xmas to me is i'll break open a bottle of Cava & have a few glasses of bucks fizz about midday :eyebrows: Just an excuse to get on the lash a bit earlier as with my birthday :lol:
:cheers: :drinking: :cool: :D
Rare Bird
07-11-2010, 20:06
I've booked to work all christmas
i've booked not to work all Christmas, or should i say delegated :eyebrows:
Covenant
08-11-2010, 19:27
As long as the Royal Family is on the box I will be happy (and I dont mean the Buck Palace lot either....)
I’m cooking for 6 :eyebrows:
This year we all decided to not give the usual type of presents. Instead we are all going to give food or drink, something unusual or something we would not normally have.
I rather enjoy Christmas Day. I get to see those who I love and normally have a great time. It’s the relentless financial pressure leading up to the event and for some, the difficulty of paying for it for months after that we all hope to avoid this year.
The Vinyl Adventure
08-11-2010, 19:57
Turns out we aren't invited to Hannahs parents so we are having a few wafe and stray type mates round for a bit of a party ... I couldn't be happier with that outcome ... I can pass out from the meat sweats on my own sofa for once
47 sleeps to go or 1106 hours 66388 minutes or 3983320 seconds if your counting, We are at home same as you Hamish it's nice to eat drink and be merry at home then go for a kip
Jac Hawk
16-11-2010, 00:14
Well i'm off to Pamplona in the Basque Country of Spain to see my kids for the holls. And even though me and the ex have our own lives now, we still spend the hols together with the kids, so i for 1 will be looking forward to it, plus over there xmas still has that magic, street parades for the kids, plenty of drink and good food.
So Feliz Navidad
aquapiranha
16-11-2010, 19:41
I will be in my new home. No job, no money, but, no worries!
Today, I spotted the first 'pavement pizza'! Has the Christmas excess started earlier than usual?
Certainly Christmas cards have been on sale for the last couple of weeks or so. I have yet to do any Christmas shopping. Were it not for the fact that I spend Chrismas with friends, I would choose to be out of the country and spend Christmas in a non-Christian country; which I have done in the past.
It's not that I'm a Scrooge (bah humbug!), but I think Christmas is for children and a family occasion. As I have none, I find the 'excessive' and unbridled consumption and the false bonhomie irksome, vulgar and contrary to the 'message' of Christmas. It's all become far too commercial!
Perhaps I am a Scrooge after all. :scratch:
anthonyTD
16-11-2010, 20:13
Today, I spotted the first 'pavement pizza'! Has the Christmas excess started earlier than usual?
Certainly Christmas cards have been on sale for the last couple of weeks or so. I have yet to do any Christmas shopping. Were it not for the fact that I spend Chrismas with friends, I would choose to be out of the country and spend Christmas in a non-Christian country; which I have done in the past.
It's not that I'm a Scrooge (bah humbug!), but I think Christmas is for children and a family occasion. As I have none, I find the 'excessive' and unbridled consumption and the false bonhomie irksome, vulgar and contrary to the 'message' of Christmas. It's all become far too commercial!
Perhaps I am a Scrooge after all. :scratch:
i tend to agree with a lot of your sentiments there barry.
i'm just glad to have a nice meal with my family, and a bit of a rest!
Anthony,TD...
Pete The Cat
16-11-2010, 20:53
Love Christmas but I always work between it and New Year. No traffic at all so it's an easy commute, no incoming work so it's stress-free, get loads done (or not) and a good atmosphere. Breaks up the stir crazy post Christmas period at home and better to use the holiday up at a busy time of year IMHO.
Pete
39 sleeps to go, and not a clue what to get the wife
Jac Hawk
16-11-2010, 21:54
39 sleeps to go, and not a clue what to get the wife
how about a nice new set of speakers in a dark brown colour, or if you want to stay married maybe something sparkly
how about a nice new set of speakers in a dark brown colour, or if you want to stay married maybe something sparkly
She actually loves my Tannoys in their nice shade of brown, she was less impressed when i showed her a picture of some horns i want to build, perhaps i can cover the horns in diamote :eyebrows:
The local Heart FM station was playing Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody yesterday... Really! FFS! I'm not grumpy about Christmas at all these days now having Avatar, (she will love it this year) - but really, do we need to start "celebrating" 40 days or more before the big day? I suspect we will put the tree up earlier than normal now (usually I resist until around the 21st) but still no earlier than December - making it last for 2 months takes away the magic, IMO.
anthonyTD
17-11-2010, 09:34
The local Heart FM station was playing Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody yesterday... Really! FFS! I'm not grumpy about Christmas at all these days
now having Avatar, (she will love it this year) - but really, do we need to start "celebrating" 40 days or more before the big day? I suspect we will put the tree up earlier than normal now (usually I resist until around the 21st) but still no earlier than December - making it last for 2 months takes away the magic, IMO.
:)
stevie wonder's "isnt she lovely" sums it up nicely Alex:)
enjoy her while you can, their not baby's for long these days!
Anthony,TD...
Well, Christmas is one of our favourite times of the year. Living in an old house with character, it kind of lends itself to creating a 'Christmassy vibe'....
We love getting the house all warm and cosy by putting up the tree (we like the real type, not those horrid artificial things) and lots of nice decorations, lighting some candles, and snuggling up beside the roaring log fire, with the room lit by nothing other than candlelight and the glow of the fire, as we watch the snow fall outside whilst enjoying some nice food and sipping a few glasses of wine, listening to music.
Plus we've got two new lovely little kittens, so it'll be fun watching them run around and destroying the tree and all the decorations! :eyebrows:
No, roll on Christmas (although I do utterly detest the commercial side of it)! :christmas:
Marco.
Well, Christmas is one of our favourite times of the year. Living in an old house with character, it kind of lends itself to creating a 'Christmassy vibe'....
We love getting the house all warm and cosy by putting up the tree (we like the real type, not those horrid artificial things) and lots of nice decorations, lighting some candles, and snuggling up beside the roaring log fire, with the room lit by nothing other than candlelight and the glow of the fire, as we watch the snow fall outside whilst enjoying some nice food and sipping a few glasses of wine, listening to music.
Plus we've got two new lovely little kittens, so it'll be fun watching them run around and destroying the tree and all the decorations! :eyebrows:
No, roll on Christmas (although I do utterly detest the commercial side of it)! :christmas:
Marco.
Ah Happy Memories!
Your Christmases Marco remind me of the Christmases we used to have as a child.
A week before the 25th, my father would dig up the Christmas tree, that had been growing in the garden and plant it in an old decorated oil drum and bring it indoors. It was my job to decorate the tree; using proper metallised-glass baubles and the old fashioned large-bulb fairy lights. For some strange reason our tree had developed a bit of a 'bare midriff' - providing a convenient space for the 'Tree presents'.
The living room was decorated with the usual paper decorations and chinese lanterns. Our house was a four story Edwardian town house; without central heating, so at this time there would be welcoming coal fires burning. My parents would entertain and hold parties - they were very happy times for me. There was all the usual festive trimmings, tangerines, dates, nuts as well as the traditional Chrismas Day grub.
We didn't have a TV in those days, so we played party games instead.
Goodness I've come over all nostalgic - but you know what they say: "Nostalgia isn't what it was".
Cheers
:)
stevie wonder's "isnt she lovely" sums it up nicely Alex:)
enjoy her while you can, their not baby's for long these days!
Anthony,TD...
Cheers Anthony, I'm biased, obviously, so I won't argue that she's lovely! I've missed her this week as I'm working in London so gone when she get's up and she's in bed when I get in - which is what is so nice about Christmas this year - a really good break of 11 days using only 3.5 days leave - looking forward to spending some family time together and of course the Christmas music!
Hi Barry,
Ah Happy Memories!
Your Christmases Marco remind me of the Christmases we used to have as a child.
It's about making it as special as you can, creating the right vibe, and spending as much time as possible with friends and family.
With Del being a teacher, she's off work from 17th December, right through into January, and also I wind things up in my business around then, so we've got the opportunity to make the house really nice and spend plenty of time enjoying ourselves, without the stress of work getting in the way...
Also, being practicing Catholics, there's of course the religious side, and it's really lovely going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and being part of the candlelit procession outside making our way into the church, as the cold night air bites your nose and you watch the candles flickering in the darkness, and then singing carols inside with the rest of the congregation.
The church is usually beautifully decorated too, with a lovely big tree and a huge crib. The building is old and gothic in style, so it really lends itself to the occasion and helps create that Christmassy vibe, before we return home to a roaring log fire, open up a bottle of Champers, and toast the arrival of Christmas, and then Del prepares the goose for the following day.
We just love it! :)
Del's talking about helping out in a local soup kitchen this year before we have our own meal later in the afternoon, as we always like to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves, so that should give Christmas day a somewhat different aspect.
A week before the 25th, my father would dig up the Christmas tree, that had been growing in the garden and plant it in an old decorated oil drum and bring it indoors. It was my job to decorate the tree; using proper metallised-glass baubles and the old fashioned large-bulb fairy lights.
That's what Del's dad used to do when she was little, as they had a huge house (and garden) in Gresford, just outside of Wrexham, and so like your dad, grew their own Christmas trees. Now we buy our tree from the local garden centre.
Yes, you can't beat good old-fashioned decorations! We have a collection of antique decorations, and ones that are made from hand-blown glass and hand painted, and traditional fairy lights, too.
Somehow the glow they give is warmer and more inviting than the modern varieties, and the colours of the metalised glass baubles seem richer and more vibrant. We make the tree a real centrepiece feature of the room, along with Christmas lanterns with candles inside hanging beside the fire, and a multitude of other little festive trinkets and ornaments (mostly antique) to create that real feel of Christmas.
Although, this year with having the kittens, we've bought some cheapo plastic baubles, etc, from Ikea, as otherwise it'd a case of bye-bye to the vintage stuff! :eyebrows:
For some strange reason our tree had developed a bit of a 'bare midriff' - providing a convenient space for the 'Tree presents'.
Lol - we do that, too - although we're careful to select the nicest tree we can from the garden centre to avoid that 'bare midriff' syndrome.
The living room was decorated with the usual paper decorations and chinese lanterns. Our house was a four story Edwardian town house; without central heating, so at this time there would be welcoming coal fires burning. My parents would entertain and hold parties - they were very happy times for me. There was all the usual festive trimmings, tangerines, dates, nuts as well as the traditional Chrismas Day grub.
We do very similar things now. As you know we love entertaining, so over the festive period we have lots of friends round for dinner parties, and for listening to music. Del has a chance then to push the boat out and make some of her authentic (remember she is half German) German and Hungarian/Austrian festive specialities (which require a lot of preparation - stuff like traditional goulash, Salma and Grießklöße Suppe), based on old family recipes, that are really warm and hearty and lend themselves perfectly to combating the cold winter nights, all washed down by the finest plonk - you can't beat it!
You'll be sampling some of this yourself when you visit :cool:
Goodness I've come over all nostalgic - but you know what they say: "Nostalgia isn't what it was".
Indeed, but it's nice to keep the magic of Christmas going if you can - and we certainly enjoy doing that :cheers:
Marco.
Ali Tait
21-11-2010, 12:13
Yes, you can't beat good old-fashioned decorations! We have a collection of antique decorations, and ones that are made from hand-blown glass and hand painted, and traditional fairy lights, too.
Somehow the glow they give is warmer and more inviting than the modern varieties, and the colours of the metalised glass baubles seem richer and more vibrant. We make the tree a real centrepiece feature of the room, along with Christmas lanterns with candles inside hanging beside the fire, and a multitude of other little festive trinkets and ornaments (mostly antique) to create that real feel of Christmas.
Must be the NOS lightbulbs. They give a much better light than the modern ones.:-)
Yes, you can't beat good old-fashioned decorations! We have a collection of antique decorations, and ones that are made from hand-blown glass and hand painted, and traditional fairy lights, too.
Somehow the glow they give is warmer and more inviting than the modern varieties, and the colours of the metalised glass baubles seem richer and more vibrant. We make the tree a real centrepiece feature of the room, along with Christmas lanterns with candles inside hanging beside the fire, and a multitude of other little festive trinkets and ornaments (mostly antique) to create that real feel of Christmas.
Must be the NOS lightbulbs. They give a much better light than the modern ones.:-)
I also have a box or two of the very old german ornaments from great,great grandmother and some newer stuff from the soviot block countrys.
But I have never seen fairy lights?
Marco: fantastic Christmass,makes my heart warm.
Nosheen and I where discussing it last night,last year we took our son Conner .AKA pooman to see Santa at the mall one 8X10 with Santa $60.00
here it is.
$40.00 to put it on a small thumb drive and $20.00 for 2 5x7 and 4 wallet size+ the 8x10 = grand total of $80.00
I told here mabey this year will just take him to getto mall not the Fountains or whats left of the Gallaria that just got turned into a rageing inferno by a homelees kid.
My wifes birthday is just before Christmass and she really wants a newer car,she has only been driveing a little over a year so I got her a 8 passenger tank.She really wants a BMW 4 door.(not happening in my life time).Unless money falls from the sky.I think I will get the wii game she has been wanting.
and mabey a modle car of a 5 serise Beamer for her!
Must be the NOS lightbulbs. They give a much better light than the modern ones.:-)
Hahaha.... Aye, defo!
It's not that, though, it's either the glass itself on the baubles and fairy lights, or the pigment used to colour them, where the difference lies. The colours on the vintage decorations are definitely more dense and vibrant, and less garish looking.
I notice these things from having an 'artistic eye', as it were - I need it for the sort of job I do!
For example, have you ever compared the colours on original stained glass windows from 100s of years ago (the sort often seen on period houses) compared to modern reproductions?
If so, you'll get what I mean :)
Marco.
Hi Jeff,
Marco: fantastic Christmass,makes my heart warm.
Cheers, Jeff. Love the Santa photo, too - I bet your little boy was in his element! :)
Marco.
Jac Hawk
21-11-2010, 16:06
You know what, a few years back we went to disneyland paris for christmas and the new year, it cost a fortune and to begin with i was a bit sceptical, but i can honnestly say it was one of the best christmas's i've ever had, i know you will all say it's not for you, but if you have kids especially young ones, nothing comes close. the only draw back is that it costs A LOT.
It's the sense of wonderment and the look of sheer joy on their faces that does it, Mike. It's memories like that your kids will treasure for the rest of their lives (and you, too!), so the expense was well worth it, mate.
Although we don't (yet) have any kids, that's a feeling I can relate to with great affection from when I was little, as for me Christmas was a truly magical and unforgettable time :)
Marco.
Hi Jeff,
Cheers, Jeff. Love the Santa photo, too - I bet your little boy was in his element! :)
Marco.
Yah,he did ok for a 6 month old!
Mabey Christmass isen't as expencive in England but here to be a good parent you need to take out a second morgage on your house!
I have allready heard parents complaining they have maxed out all there creadit cards,Way to start the new year.
I will try to teach my son what Christmass actually is from early on.
Sad really the whole meanning really got hijacked by merchents.
34 sleeps to go and i saw santa today at a local garden centre, he wouldn't let me sit on his knee and see what was in his sack though
34 sleeps to go and i saw santa today at a local garden centre, he wouldn't let me sit on his knee and see what was in his sack though
Seriouse,Here Santa before Thanksgiveing would just be wrong but the Christmass stuff is out every place,no one even puts up Thanksgiveing decorations in the stores much any more.
I know Thanksgiveing is an American holiday,but it's a great excuse to eat Turkey once a year and get a good buzz from all the wine consumed and Brandy or scotch after the desert pie and coffee.
Trust me after getting the whole family togather to bicker and argue for 3 to 4 hours while the football game blasts through the TV, youll need the after desert drink of something stronger than beer or wine.
My Wife's Dad (Avatar's Granddad) has been spending months making her a doll's house from scratch, almost everything he has made from junk or from scratch from wood, leather offcuts, fabric, bits of plastic - where he hasn't been able to make it, he has been getting stuff from car boot sales or from ebay. Because of this we are not going to spend too much on her, as they just get overwhelmed at this age, and we want her to spend time enjoying being with the family not just being spoilt! Not quite so easy to resist once they succumb to all the TV advertising though I suspect!
Hi Barry,
It's about making it as special as you can, creating the right vibe, and spending as much time as possible with friends and family.
With Del being a teacher, she's off work from 17th December, right through into January, and also I wind things up in my business around then, so we've got the opportunity to make the house really nice and spend plenty of time enjoying ourselves, without the stress of work getting in the way...
Also, being practicing Catholics, there's of course the religious side, and it's really lovely going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and being part of the candlelit procession outside making our way into the church, as the cold night air bites your nose and you watch the candles flickering in the darkness, and then singing carols inside with the rest of the congregation.
The church is usually beautifully decorated too, with a lovely big tree and a huge crib. The building is old and gothic in style, so it really lends itself to the occasion and helps create that Christmassy vibe, before we return home to a roaring log fire, open up a bottle of Champers, and toast the arrival of Christmas, and then Del prepares the goose for the following day.
We just love it! :)
Del's talking about helping out in a local soup kitchen this year before we have our own meal later in the afternoon, as we always like to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves, so that should give Christmas day a somewhat different aspect.
That's what Del's dad used to do when she was little, as they had a huge house (and garden) in Gresford, just outside of Wrexham, and so like your dad, grew their own Christmas trees. Now we buy our tree from the local garden centre.
Yes, you can't beat good old-fashioned decorations! We have a collection of antique decorations, and ones that are made from hand-blown glass and hand painted, and traditional fairy lights, too.
Somehow the glow they give is warmer and more inviting than the modern varieties, and the colours of the metalised glass baubles seem richer and more vibrant. We make the tree a real centrepiece feature of the room, along with Christmas lanterns with candles inside hanging beside the fire, and a multitude of other little festive trinkets and ornaments (mostly antique) to create that real feel of Christmas.
Although, this year with having the kittens, we've bought some cheapo plastic baubles, etc, from Ikea, as otherwise it'd a case of bye-bye to the vintage stuff! :eyebrows:
Lol - we do that, too - although we're careful to select the nicest tree we can from the garden centre to avoid that 'bare midriff' syndrome.
We do very similar things now. As you know we love entertaining, so over the festive period we have lots of friends round for dinner parties, and for listening to music. Del has a chance then to push the boat out and make some of her authentic (remember she is half German) German and Hungarian/Austrian festive specialities (which require a lot of preparation - stuff like traditional goulash, Salma and Grießklöße Suppe), based on old family recipes, that are really warm and hearty and lend themselves perfectly to combating the cold winter nights, all washed down by the finest plonk - you can't beat it!
You'll be sampling some of this yourself when you visit :cool:
Indeed, but it's nice to keep the magic of Christmas going if you can - and we certainly enjoy doing that :cheers:
Marco.
Thanks Marco - I'll look forward to that! :)
What is it they say about the Italians and Christmas? - that it is based around la famiglia, l'amore e il cibo. I'm sure you know what I mean.
Regards
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