Be Excellent To Each Other

Twas the week before Christmas
and all through the place,
not a student was stirring,
not a one showed their face.

Ah, the last week before Christmas! I have a few light duties to take care of and three DVDs to watch. This may be a quiet week for me.

SO... any fancy Chrimbo/new year plans this year? I am spending xmas at home, then bobbing off to Staffordshire with a dozen close friends for a week long party in a rented cottage. It's going to be excellent

Up to the in laws on the 23rd until the 28th, then down to Mummy and Old Man Afterthought's from the 30th to the 2nd/3rd.

Term finishes on Thursday.

Working up to Christmas eve, then the inlaws for Christmas day, then back to work on the 29th.

Are you Bob Cratchett?

I love working Christmas. Short days with long lunches, no dress code, empty trains, and sod all to do.

Working 'til Christmas Eve lunchtime, driving down to Cardiff for Christmas at my sister's, then... I dunno, probably drinking on my own while trying to avoid my ex who I still share a house with 'til Jan 3rd before back to work on the 4th, or something.

Going home to the parents at some point this week, then spending New Year hiking in the Peaks with friends.

Not feeling particularly festive at the moment: I think I might put my frock coat on and throw pennies at orphans from my carriage.

That's my story too, apart from replace inlaws with family.

Bigwigs are now wanting the library to be open Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, I mean, ffs! Some idiots have volunteered to work it as well, even though we can only open the ground floor which doesn't really have any stock in it.

Still, looking forward to it.

"Why, it's Christmas Day, sir!"

Finish work the day before my birthday. Which is ace.

Then home to see The Olds who I haven't seen since Feb due to the leg, so that will be nice. But then this year is a odd year, so it's New Years with the GFs friends. Which is nice, but a lot of work.

It would also appear that by the time I leave the frozen north and head to Kernow, most of my mates will have bee and gone, leaving New Year looking decidedly uninteresting. Swapping some dates around, naturally, isn't an option.

Finish Xmas Eve where I'll be off to my parents - not for a family Xmas, but to house/cat-sit till the 27th (so I need to decide what consoles to take with me). Everyone has to save three days holiday for the shutdown period so we won't be back in until the 4th so not bad.

We told the families that Christmas day itself was just going to be me and my wife at home, but everyone was welcome round ours in the evening. My mum was really pissed off. Everyone else was cool with it. Boxing day at my sister's place. New year is an 80s themed party at a friends house a short walk away. All in all, should be quite good.

This was to be our plan this year.

I have wanted to spend Christmas day at home, just myself and Lady T for a long, long time. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Last year we had everyone over for the whole day, it was hectic - and cooking a large meal in our little kitchen was challenging. We are going to try and set a pattern of pleasing-family one year, ourselves the next.

Ditto.

This year I have to go to Ireland for a week, so had to use annual leave.

Bah humbug.

I break up for Chirstmas on Friday at 12:55 and am not back in until the 4th! Yay me. And the good news is my gf has the same time off. Will drive up to the parents and in laws on Christmas morn'. did that last year and it was nice and easy, cf driving up on Christmas eve. Then back down to Londinium for New Year's party.

I will never work Christmas again after the time in my teens washing dishes through college. Contrary to what I'd hoped and imagined, Christmas day is the busiest day of the year in restaurants; there is absolutely no time to do anything other than work your arse off constantly for six hours, with no break, and having your work still pile up faster than you can even hope to deal with it. Then you get home to your waiting family, stinking of grease and in a foul mood. No thanks.

I'll be spending Christmas with my immediate family, as usual, before popping off to Miss Malabar's house in the evening to spend a couple of hours with hers. I expect to be full of chocolate as soon as I'm awake enough to open my mouth.

I'll be going home for a week then coming back the day after boxing day. usually just a small family thing, as all the reletives live miles away and can't really take dogs and a horse to peoples houses.

I'm pretty lucky in that I've never had to work christmas, my first job was at a company that shutdown for the christmas - new year period (at a cost of 4 or 5 days holiday), which was fine by me. I skillfully avoided working last christmas by being made redundant at the start of december and I would really, really like to finish everything I'm supposed to be doing this year by the end of this week and have at least two weeks off.
I guess I'll go back to work once I have some more work to do, which hopefully won't be too far into the new year.

We've successfully managed to have Christmas day on our own for about the last four years and haven't visited any family for quite a few more than that. Family have been over for the day before now, but I fucking HATE the contrived bonhomie and I actually quite like my family, but HC's family have always felt a little victorian for my blood. This year because HC's father passed away mid September - we have her mother here (now and has been for a week already) and her older sister coming to stay for Christmas day, boxing day. MIL is 79, missing her husband of 55 years enormously and unfortunately showing early signs of dementia (at the pleasantly potty stage at the moment, but has moments of complete forgetfulness) so has to live with someone until her house can be sold to fund the purchase of a sheltered apartment in a warden assisted community.

I suspect there will be an atmosphere between HC and her sister as they're like chalk and cheese and her sister is a monumental fusspot and so mental (has about 20 psychics in her contacts book, believes in homeopathy to the point that she nagged her dying father into going to see a homeopathic nutritionist as she was literally convinced that it would cure his liver, stomach and upper colon cancer ) that there's bound to be some tension. Ho hum

Still, Carys and I will have fun playing pew pew on the 360 probably and I'll take plenty of long walks with the dogs...

I bet you had fun putting those lovely blue lights up. I bet it was treacherous. In fact, I'm now imagining a workman plunging to his death every 30 seconds or so during this task, with a Lemmings-style 'EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee!' as he falls and splats.

As for me, I am in work until Friday, then I have my 'surprise' birthday lunch with my parents on Sunday, then going to their house on the 23rd I suppose (it's all very complicated) and then back on the 29th, for the THRILL of working late on New Year's Eve and back in for another late on New Year's Day!

I hope I get a gun for Christmas, so I can FUCKING SHOOT MYSELF AND GET IT OVER WITH.

Bik: ouch, no fun. I shared a house with an ex for 3 months after we split up (it was a shares house with three other people, but still). Longest months of my life.

Malabar: sorry to hear you still wash pots for a living. Hopefully things will pick up for you next year.

Seeing as this year is our first as a married couple, we've decided to have a quiet one on our own. No, wait; the other one. Both sets of parents and my sister. Ange is cooking!

I'll be down the pub.

We're quite busy at work this week, but then I finish next week on the 23rd, having a decent sized break, and back on the 4th Jan.

I Christmas, me.

Man I hate you

I was supposed to run out of contract days by about the end of this week, but have been authorised to work as many hours as necessary to get things done. Which is very, very nice. Especially as our works party starts at 3.30pm tomorrow. Which is going to be, in reality, about noon. Lunch is to be taken in one of the bars on-site here at HQ.

Finish up on the 23rd and fly back to Manchester and Mrs P. Then a quiet Christmas, as everyone has thought "we'll leave them alone, they need some time together". Whereas we were thinking "I hope we don't get asked anywhere, because we largely can't be bothered and want to spend some time together." Will see my parents at some point. Dunno when.

We both fly back to Dublin on January 1st. (My contract has not been officially renewed, but I'm providing cover for the first two weeks so I think the signs are good...) Mrs P flies back to the UK on the 4th, when I get back to work. Annoyingly, we were thinking of coming back on the 29th, and spending New Year in Dublin, but the flight prices weren't great. So we booked the 1st. Next day, I was asked about providing cover on the 29th and 30th, paid for of course... Bah.

My first Christmas on my own. So will be visiting friends and family. Not looking forward to it to be honest.

Just try and enjoy the time off work Kov, and spend some time with friends and family. You might feel better for it and if not, go and get yourself an Xbox xx

Mine too; I'm looking at a house this afternoon, even. We'll be fine.

Looking to put my house up for sale ASAP!!

Sweet fuck all. I'm estranged from my family, most of my mates will be with their familes, and my girlfriend is 4,000 miles away. Christmas day is going to be me and the dogs. I might have steak for lunch, just to fuck with traditions. Expect me to be on Xbox quite a lot.

Leave work 3pm Christmas Eve, go home to pick up the wife and cat, then up to my parents. Christmas Day with my them, my brother, sister, grandmother and uncle (who are all staying over Christmas Eve). Boxing Day still at parents' house, but off to see a panto in the afternoon with the wife, as she's never seen one, then going to see friends in the evening. Home the day after that, probably a post-Christmas shopping trip the day after that and then no plans until I go back to work on the fourth.

In Norn Ireland, visiting extensive family of inlaws, with no booze allowed. And no internet other than what I can scrape together on my mobile.

And then after that, we were supposed to be seeing my brother, who was scheduled to fly over from Japan for a couple of weeks for the first time in several years. Except he was booked on BA.

So yeah, thanks for ruining Christmas, BA cabin crew. If I see any of you in the street, I will have to resist a very strong urge to punch you in the face.

That's what she tells you.....