So what would you do differently next Xmas?

Paulie'sGirl

Hi all

Glad most of us had a good day, with few major disasters!

We had a close call with the beef, the oven is so fierce the stock I'd added to the casserole had reduced to a glaze (handy for gravy though!). Fortunately the joint was meltingly tender, and OH is converted. The pigs in blankets faired less well, as I'd cranked the heat up. I went to turn them and found them seconds from charred.

The yorkshires responded well to the furnace. And roasties were done in two thirds of the time. Unfortunately the extra attention I had to devote to the oven meant I overcooked the vichy carrots and the sprouts.

You live and learn I guess! Anyone else with the Prestige multi-function oven?

Merry Christmas all!

kazwookie

Tulip09 ~~ You seem so calm about it all, I would have been on the phone to the 1st family asking what the fck they thought they were playing at, you house, your invite and they cancell everyone, I would also be sending out food bill to them!!! glad your son and friend and making good use of the ice cream!!!!

JulieGeorgiana

I will have lower expectations of people and not get upset that when my Mum tells me she wants a 'Real Gift' for her birthday (as opposed to the HM Gifts I slave over)! Or when my sister gives us a card and no gifts (My HM gifts are obviously not good enough for her either)!

I'm off to my MIL now... lets see how they like their HM Gifts (you would think after 2 and a half years they would be used to this by now)!

costaerer

Good luck- well done for staying so calm!! Xx

stitching_witch

After a morning of DH "helping" in the kitchen and ruining every part of the meal, next year I would rather slave over a hot stove on my own. Either that or I'll leave him here on his own and spend the day being pampered by DD whilst she cooks the dinner! :j

alec_eiffel

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I will have lower expectations of people and not get upset that when my Mum tells me she wants a 'Real Gift' for her birthday (as opposed to the HM Gifts I slave over)! Or when my sister gives us a card and no gifts (My HM gifts are obviously not good enough for her either)!

I'm off to my MIL now... lets see how they like their HM Gifts (you would think after 2 and a half years they would be used to this by now)!

Poor you, I feel your pain. We bought charity gifts for everyone a couple of years ago and they went down like a lead balloon. It was the year of the tsunami though so everyone felt really guilty afterwards. We've come full circle though as now people are upset I don't make cards anymore and my mother asked for a homemade gift. I can't keep up with what these people want!

My strategy is to also give up trying to please people, for some people no matter what you do is never good enough (mentioning no names as we don't require a rant at the moment). We've just done what we believe to be reasonable and if people don't like it them tough - life's too short to be miserable, if they choose to be it's up to them.

greenbee

Tulip - hope you can freeze a lot of the stuff. Don't forget that parsnips etc should keep OK for a while if you can store them somewhere cool (not a problem for most of us right now!). And do you have friends and neighbours you can invite over for an impromptu party over the holiday to eat the stuff that won't last?

sexymouse

Soup is a good way to use up vegetables Tulip - hope things work out ok for you. Hugs heading your way.

Tulip09

kazwookie wrote: »

Tulip09 ~~ You seem so calm about it all, I would have been on the phone to the 1st family asking what the fck they thought they were playing at, you house, your invite and they cancell everyone, I would also be sending out food bill to them!!! glad your son and friend and making good use of the ice cream!!!!

hahaa i wasnt calm in the morning and i ranted in my house not at the relatives though. I realised that its not worth it and i really cant rely on any of them. I really am not impressed though and will say something about it after Christmas in person as on the phone might make me lose it a bit more. I have bipolar so if i complain or disagree etc they usually just ignore it and say im blowing things up out of proportion etc. My whole family can really be quite thoughless though

My sons friends have polished off 'some of the fun stuff' the old man next door who was on his own for Christmas now has 8 cans of beer & 4 boxes of mince pies and a plated dinner as he was out walking his dog so my son invited him round. (one way to meet the new neighbour)

Today will be spent making up things to freeze/store for future use and working out a new food budget for the next few months.

mrs-stressed

What will I do differently next year - 1) remember to write things down after third glass of wine (my son told me that we were going off to see my daughter at eleven on Xmas morning - and I swore blind that he had never mentioned it), 2) not to expect too much 3) never ever to drink Asti Spu again 4) get enough loo roll in 5) to clear Sky tape thingy to record all the nonsense crap that my son wants to watch whilst he blithely deletes all the crap that I have wanted to watch all year 6) to try and be a bit more cheerful 7) to be genuinely pleased with pressies 8) to stop being so honest 9) to keep decorations up for another two days at least and 10) stop tidying up and make out that walking round my sons suitcase dumped in hall is OK and to tell my kids I love them more often even under extreme stress...........

mrs s