Be Excellent To Each Other

This year I used 5 or so day’s holiday so that I could stay off until the 7th, my wife did the same. She is expecting so this will be the last Christmas where we can do nothing.

After 5 years of mostly hosting for one side of our family or another, we are been catered for Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year as various family.

After Boxing Day, my wife parents are coming to stay for 2-3 days and we will be at my sister in laws New Year’s Day as it’s my nieces first birthday.

In between I’m doing nothing but chill out, PC is stocked up with games and I bought all 19 of these to read !
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Judge-Dredd-Com ... 672&sr=8-1

One last chore to do today in M&S buying bloody baby presents for all the new kids that appeared this year, then I’m done.

Listening to my own 80s playlist in lieueusueu of Chinradio. Carribean Queen at the moment. Singing like a twat.

Xmas Day we're off down South to my sister's place. Will be the three Curio siblings, our spouses and the kiddies (4 of 'em).

It'll be a big fucking mess.

We'll be spending Christmas Day alone this year, so very quiet.

Think we'll get up at a good time, make a cooked breakfast of what I now now like to think of as 'Trouser's Approved' breakfast. Shower, dress, open a few pressies. Hopefully enjoy pressies for a bit, watch TV, cook dinner, drink some of the bottles of wine that folks from work keep giving us, remember to text friends and family, eat dinner, pull crackers, more TV, maybe some Lego LOTR, game if Scrabble, pull crackers, eat Pringles, Christmas film, more TV, bed.

Then we're off until New Year's Eve. Half day that day, off New Year's Day and then back to normal.

I once spent it on my own, I enjoyed the change but wouldn’t like to do it every year. I also spent Christmas 1997 in Thailand with my best mate, again it was great to be in the sun and everything but I wouldn’t do it every year.

I meant just the two of us without family, not me alone. I've spent Christmas Day completely by myself, too. Not fun, that one. Absolutely can't wait for this one, though!

xmas eve eve:
Bake cupcakes.
Pop round sisters to drop off and collect presents.
Mrs T has a pantomime to go to in the evening.

Xmas eve:
Mrs T is working

Xmas day:
Just me and Mrs T for the day

Boxing day:
Driving up to Newcastle to stay with Mrs T's family for a few days.

28th:
Mrs T's birthday!

29th:
Driving back home, hopefully not too hungover.

31st:
New Years Eve party at my cousins gaff.

Post that, Mrs T is back at work from the 2nd, i'm back from the 7th

Going down to my Mum's tomorrow, where I'll cook for the family on Christmas day, then back home boxing day as I'm in work Thursday/Friday.

Having a snowball fight with Andrew Ridgeley.

Then round to Cliff Richards for meat.

Working Christmas Eve and then was originally planning to spend the rest of the week on my own. However, I had a text from Mum yesterday inviting me round for Christmas dinner so I said I'd go over to which she replied 'Good. I don't want you to be lonely on Xmas day', so I think she's more worried about me than anything else, but spending a few hours over there to set her mind at rest is no hardship and at least it'll be the one proper meal I have this week ;-)

Some of the extended family arriving later today and predominantly tomorrow; it'll be champers, smoked salmon, oysters, dressed crab and lobster with caviar bellinis tomorrow evening (Christmas Eve has always got to be fishy for me, for some reason).

Lady Raiden is taking care of Christmas Day breakfast and dinner (albeit I will be making my home made stuffing - no bloody Paxo in the Raiden household!), roast Cheshire turkey with all the trimmings, natch.

I'm doing my Boxing Day rib of beef with goosefat roasties and yorkshires though, all washed down with a super-fruity, super-robust, stonking Aussie Shiraz with more stomp than my Harley Davidson (I *love* these towering wines, though subtle they ain't), for 16 people

Then we're all off to my sister's house on the 27th, before Lady R and I (and the dog!) adjourn to the beautiful Highlands of Scotland for 28th onwards, right through to the 5th. (I'll be taking my huge Roman Candle with me for Hogmanay; my Scots pals will love it. )

Nothing particular planned for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day alone with the missus.

Boxing Day visiting her aunt in Birmingham.

New TV bed delivered on the 27th!

Nothing planned for the 28-30th.

Then going to Amsterdam for the 31st to the 5th, and back to work on the 7th.

I'm at the inlaws for Christmas dinner which is alright this year as I'll have BabyTheVision to keep me occupied and keep me from making small talk.

My parents are travelling up from Wales today so I'll probably go see them tonight or tomorrow.
Christmas morning we are having breakfast and exchanging gifts. Set a limit of £40 to spend on each other since we are going to New York in January so that's our Christmas present. Once we've exchanged gifts, we'll walk down to my sisters with the dog. Christmas Day will be spent there eating great food and then playing some board games with us, my sister and her family, my other sister, my parents and my brother in laws dad.
Boxing Day we drive through to Fife to spend a few days with my girlfriends family where we will eat even more great food. I always love being through there and especially at Christmas because I always spend December replying to texts from her parents about things she needs or wants and I love seeing her being so surprised and spoiled by them.
Back on the 29th for my nephews 2nd birthday then chill out before my friends Hogmany party on the 31st.
Back at work on the 4th, where I have six shifts before we go to New York!
At some point I will also meet up with my friend who lives in Australia but is home for Christmas.
Of course, I'll need to recover from this epic hangover before I can do anything.

Christmas Day is a full dinner up at the in-laws - (my mother-in-law does the most amazing Christmas dinner, everything done properly, she makes her own stuffing and gravy and apple sauce and gets a turkey from a local butcher sourced from a local farm, proper free range not the definition of 'free range' that passes as acceptable in the UK, Mrs AE is a deviant veggie so she gets a Quorn family roast thing ) - other than that not a great deal going on really.

I've been on call for the last week (Sunday to Sunday, so no beer), so my main priority will be drinking.

Midday at my Mums then 5pm at my friends house for an evening of fun and frivolity not involving my family. (lovely as they are)

All done, the shops were mental, you would have thought the Mayan predications had come true

A lot of people out today in M&S had choosen today to get all the food shopping in.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll pop round to the folks for a cuppa and see my brother and his kids before driving to Huddersfield for what's become something of a tradition of a Christmas Eve meal with a couple of friends and their wives. On Chrimbo day, I'll go home and try to prepare myself for Christmas day at my parents along with my sister's family and then mid morning on Boxing day I'll come back home for some peace and quiet and a few days of indolence on the sofa playing on the Xbox...bliss.

Working xmas eve.

Xmas day. We have "Orphans Christmas" with work, basically the travellers meet at someones house and get drunk and BBQ some stuff, working boxing day at 9am.

And probably working a fair few more days inbetween.

As I like the sound of Orphans Christmas. Have you been feeling homesick lately Nick, with it being Christmas? Were you in Sweden for Christmas last year? That's a shame that you're working on Boxing Day.

Not homesick, I had 2 christmasses in sweden, both were awesome, just getting drunk with the extended family, which was fun. So this is my 3rd christmas in a row away from home. It's just too hot to feel christmassy, Im walking around in shorts and t-shirt and there's people singing carols in the city centre, it just feels wrong!

We have all the kids Christmas Eve, so most of the family is round.
Christmas Day we have MersKovs kids till 11, then off to our friends for tea.

Bah - Humbug by (TheTrue)Dimrill, on Flickr

Two Christmasses in Sweden? I hadn't realised it was that long! Jen and I miss playing games with you!

Yeah it was 2 years there! I gave my xbox to my bro so it'll probably be a while before I get a new one! And I'll have to get a new account as the tard didn't delete mine and just deleted all my friends and changed the email on it. Annoying!

OK. NOW it's Christmas.

We got the train down to my parents' house yesterday, planning on staying until the 27th or 28th and then go back home for New Years.

My first Christmas back home in 14 years, Mrs Metal's first one away from 'home' ever!

Enjoy some Canadian christmas stuff:



And some American stuff:

Christmas Day will be at the inlaws, where no doubt a mountain of presents await the kids and I'll get some handkerchiefs and Earl Grey tea.
I'll need to make sure I pack every handheld gaming machine I have, so I can truly enjoy the festivities.
The rest of the time it'll just be me, the wife and kiddies at home. Hoping for a bit more snow and some milder temperatures, so we can get out of the house for a bit.

We're cooking dinner at Grim... Acres for thirteen people

Here is my favourite rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas:

Is Mrs Grim... doing better?

I saw that Jeremy Lion thing a few years back and have been meaning to find it ever since. Absolutely epic. Absolutely cracks me up.

Ah yes, I meant to say that Mrs Grim... is feeling better, ta.

Really glad to hear it. Hope you all have a marvellous Christmas

Excellent news!

Same as every other Christmas. Next door neighbours will arrive some time mid-morning to exchange pressies. Next door neighbours will return home.

My wife, daughter and I will open whatever pressies are available and I will make notes of what was received, and from whom.

Mrs W will prepare dinner.

I will collect my son, his wife (so they can both 'have a drink' if so desired) and daughter in the early afternoon and then collect my sis-in-law. More pressies will be exchanged.

Dinner for the seven of us.

Possibly party games.

Intoxicating drink will be consumed by all but me and my grand daughter.

Tea will be prepared and consumed.

I will wash pots intermittently.

I will take son, his wife and daughter home and also sis-in-law.

I may have an intoxicating drink before retiring.

At my parents with MrsA. We are doing the cooking. cannot fail to be relaxing.

21st December - broke up from work at lunch time, went for some drinks with some friends then home to get ready for Myp's work Christmas party. Went to that and it was carnage - tears by 6:30pm (not mine!)

22nd December - "Christmas day" at my parents house. Dad picked us up about 10am. We opened presents (from my parents I got a lovely perfume gift set, a CD, some money, a voucher for Bravissimo and chocolate), I helped mum with dinner and dad & Myp watched Airplane. We ate a lovely dinner of roast pork, Myp chipped a tooth on the crackling and we spent the afternoon watching the cricket.
In the evening we went to see a local theatre production of When Santa Claus Conquered The Martians. It was awful, but in a good way. Over acted, hammed up, camp. Amazeballs. Came home, watched QI and went to bed.

23rd December - woke up at stupid o'clock (4:30am to be precise!) at my parents house thanks to the noisy heating, a howling gale outside and Myp's snoring. Borrowed my dad's car & drove around Nottingham delivering presents to some of our bestest friends and making a fuss of their children. Then drove down to Myp's parents in Southampton. On the way I sang along to The Killers Hot Fuss in an operatic fashion, vibrato and all.
Eventually arrived after taking several wrong turns on journey I know very well. Stupid. An aunt, uncle, cousins and their partners all turned up, none of whom I've seen since our wedding. And that was the first time I'd met them. And I don't remember it. Managed to cause a little bit of sober shame on myself by saying " nice to meet you" to one of the cousins partners who I'd already met at our wedding. Fucks' sake.

24th December - we are going over to Bournemouth to see the flat which Myp's parents have bought for family & friends to use for holidays. Then we're going for lunch with his parents, popping in to see his Nan, aunt, uncle and 5 year old cousin (who is AMAZING!). Back to Southampton and then off to the pub.

25th December - relatively quiet day with Myp's parents, sister and her boyfriend. We will eat turkey, play games, watch TV and most importantly Myp & I will find out the winner of the Myp & Ange Onesie-Off.

26th December - drive back to Nottingham, see my parents for the afternoon.

27th December - I'm at work. Myp is off. Boo.

28th December - see above. Party in the evening at a friends house.

29th & 30th December - try to spend some Christmas money if there's anything left in the sales

31st December - both at work. Myp is on call so be can't leave the house. He doesn't like New Year's Eve so this suits him. I like New Year's Eve and apparently I'm not allowed to leave the house either. I don't get this logic and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

1st January - try & fail at whichever daft resolution I've made up.

2nd January - work and back to normality.

Because mine and Mrs Bobby's parents live close to each other we will have a full Christmas lunch at her parents' house at about 12 -12:30. Leave theirs about 15:30 and go to my parents' where we will then have a full Christmas dinner at about 18:00. We did this last year and it worked really well, plus I get to eat a shed load of food, which is nice.

Ah, that's great stuff.

I'm in England for xmas for the first time since 2005. I'll try to go to the gym before it closes at 3pm. Then maybe into Headingley to see some folk. Wrap a present that remains non-wrapped. Sleep.

Then tomorrow xmas with the parents and sis. And hopefully play with my toys!

I was at work today. Was expecting to get the afternoon off as people usually knock off about midday on Christmas Eve, apparently, but I only lasted an hour, one five minute task and a but if waiting for the phone to ring when they sent my sneezy self off back home, so Christmas may now begin (with me going to have a nap and vitamin C on the sofa)

Might start by watching the DVD boxset the brother and sister in law got me for a gift!



Whoop whoop!

At work, killing time till we're sent home at about lunchtime. Then I'll be spending the afternoon making up a metric fuckton of sausage rolls (to be cooked on the day they're needed), half a metric fuckton of parmesan biscuits, two-thirds of a banoffee pie and a bunch of meringue nests for mini pavlovas.

Elaine's mum is staying with us over Christmas so we've got her and our two sons for Christmas Day, my mum and dad and my daughter will be with us on Boxing Day. On Friday assorted chums are bowling up for a general get-together and board-games day.

I have a large box full of way too much party food and I'm not afraid to use it.

Right. WRAPPING MACHINE GO.

You're making two thirds of a banoffee pie?

Isn't that just a banoffee pie, or will you be making it in an actual 'two thirds of a circle' shape?

He's leaving out the pie bit of the banana, toffeea and pie triumvirate.

Not many of us here at the office and we've been told we can go at 12:30. Nice easy morning's 'work' and perhaps a pub lunch to follow. This is why I'm not one for using a day's holiday for Christmas Eve as it's always a doddle.

I am currently "working from home" today.