The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

WannabeFree

We do advent without Chocolate (Dairy free ones are stupid expensive!) Although this year we have done an activity a day - Simple things from movie days/crafty things/donating to the foodbank etc. The smalls have loved having something 'different' to do everyday and most we would do anyway just not one a day like making Xmas cards etc.

Hope you all have a wonderful Xmas x

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

rtandon - you realise I was being a *little* tongue in cheek with my comment :rotfl::rotfl: Funnily enough, for someone so *interested* in food, I'm not much bothered about what we actually eat on *the day*. I guess it'll be different when we're all more or less eating the same thing. But at the moment, it's not a priority for me. I've actually enjoyed the other aspects of the festivities far more - perhaps food will have its turn. Especially if we move somewhere where we can have adequate freezerage etc. And I wholeheartedly agree with *reverse* advents and grottos. Advent is about anticipation, waiting, longing, hope, joy, peace and love. And the greatest of these is love. Show it to your fellow woman/man :kisses3: The BBC link was very pertinent. We've donated for this year, but the point about Woman's Aid/refuges has prompted me to be reminded to ask a chum about something. Thanks :A

starnac wrote: »

Make your own. There are plenty of options - sewn panel with pockets, boxes, little drawers etc.

'Tis in the pipeline, lovely Head full of ideas......................... :T

Cheery - I saw an advent *book* in a chazzer the other day - it wasn't the one that you linked too - which looks spiffing by the way, and very much the sort of thing we would want for BG (only for £1.50, mind....... ) At the moment, I'm going to head down the homemade, homespun route for 2018, making it as much about the 'activity' as it is about the treat. The only saving grace about cheap and cheerful 89p advent calendars is that the choccy piece is v v small.......................... And don't sell your advent book, I'll lob you a tin of chickpeas, a box of passata and a kilo of rice, rather than have you sell the book...... :kisses3:

WannabeFree - see, you are achieving activities around school, and appointments and *real* life - so I should be able to do it too! I certainly look forward to BG understanding more about Christmas, and being able to do things *before* they enter into the school system. I know it is more of an american thing, but i actually like the *sleep under the tree* as an advent activity. Given how enamoured with the tree BG is this year, I think this has the potential to be a *winner* activity in future :T

Today we had a wonderful visit with a friend. There was lots of space for BG to explore, and explore they did. Our friend spoilt us all rotten It was nice to see the progress that they are making with their projects that will bring them security in the now and in the future. They have taken a very different path in life to us, and are very different people. But we have found common ground and delight in each other's company.

Tea was scampi, oven chips and mushy peas. The freezer and a can to the rescue! After a day out, I welcomed the preparation simplicity and as I took on the washing up too, the lesser amount of dishes to be washed up!

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

simple pleasures

thoughtful gifts

good conversation

Thank you for popping by and reading, popping in and commenting and for all your support to me and this thread throughout 2017. It is, very, very much appreciated. Don't ever think that I take y'all for granted. Because I don't. Not never.

Greying X

maggiem

And if you want a laugh - my now adult children still get an advent calendar each year, always one with chocolate in but really not very big bits of chocolate. This year I found the one for my son and could not find the one for my daughter, looked all over! Last night we had friends for dinner and went to get something out of the sideboard - yep, there was the advent calendar! So daughter went to the cinema carrying a chocolate advent calendar to eat whilst there! Oh dear, must try harder.

Upsidedown_Bear

Smilie :santa2: and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and may 2018 bring you love,
peace and happiness :rudolf:

Greying_Pilgrim

maggiem - Advent is the period of waiting........ :rotfl::rotfl:And your DD gets to legitimately eat all the choccy in one go! :T BG has totally grasped the concept of 'choc-O' this advent, not too sure if they've caught onto the notion of delayed gratification though...... Sharing was done quite well, giving..... the thought was there, but they were frightened by Santa So we've got some work to do in the intervening years, before they get to eat the chocolate and do good stuff

Upsidedown Bear & Smilie - Backatcha :hello: Hope all well with you - not *seen* you in a while. Hope you're all settled in you new home. X

Well, we're officially home for the holidays now. We've done with the visiting of friends and family. No more wear on the tyres for the foreseeable

I've finished my craft project. I dislike it, but it'll do for this year, the recipient won't notice and it'll carry out the function for which it was intended. But I've already ditched the instructions off my hard-drive. I realise I'm no crafting genius, but I can follow clear instructions, so either the instructions were so fudged, it was impossible to get right, or there were glitches. The accompanying picture didn't appear to match the instructions anyway, so something was off with it.

I'm away to assemble our lasagne. Then I intend to sit in front of the log burner, with my feet up, listening to the 9 lessons & carols from Kings.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Merry Christmas to you and yours lovely Greying i hope you have a special and peaceful day tomorrow xxx

I think I am on the same wavelength as BG - I too was scared of Father Christmas as a child, and am still enthralled by our tree now - I will happily spend hours by myself on the sofa just staring at the patterns on the ceiling made by the lights shining through the branches

Eager_Elephant

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

..... the thought was there, but they were frightened by Santa So we've got some work to do in the intervening years,

Don't hold out much hope that BG will change any time soon - My DD was frightened of anything dressed up until she was about 6 years old - we used to go to Haven for our holidays and she had been going since she was a baby so not sure why she didn't like them - she would hide under the table when they did their show!!
And as for visiting Santa, that was a big no-no.

Not sure where I went wrong with getting her to understand they were just people dressed up, DS was treated the same (he is 6 years older) and had been going to Haven since he was 3 and he was fine with people dressed up.

Although to be fair DS was scared of fireworks until he was 6, he had been taken to displays when he was a baby but was petrified so we stayed away while the fireworks went off and went down afterwards to see the bonfire and eat hotdogs. Whereas DD has never been scared of fireworks.

KIds eh? I don't think we will fully understand them:rotfl:

Hope you had a good day yesterday and today is another relaxing day.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Thanks Cheery and Thanks Eager_Elephant we did have a spiffing time yesterday We're still at that stage that BG doesn't fully understand what is going on, so could breakfast etc, without being knee-deep in wrapping paper. Friends and family were very kind to BG and there were lovely, thoughtful gifts to open. Relatives gave money too, which they are happy to know is going into BG's LT savings, and one relative gave us something which they thought of as an 'heirloom' but is in fact a secondhand toy*, covered in mould.........................

I'm happy to learn that being scared of Santa is a 'thing'. Funnily enough, we walked past the grotto in a shopping centre, one day last week, and it was doing a brisk trade because the children were off school. BG didn't bat an eyelid at Santa (who could be seen), because they were too busy pointing out the mechanical fluffy reindeers to mumma, with some glee and gusto......... :rotfl: I'm glad that we hadn't booked/paid to see santa - I would have been disappointed, but now I know BG can be upset, I can play it by ear and see what happens in the future. They were upset when we visited a friend recently, who they've not seen in over a year, and my friend is very tall and this seemed to spook BG. However, by the end of our visit, they were 'best buds' :T so it is about familiarity I suppose.

We had a nice time opening pressies under the tree with BG - who knows how to unwrap things :eek::rotfl:

We had a 'brunch' rather than full breakfast or lunch, so it was the usual veggie based 'breakfast' meal - which we rarely have nowadays, so actually, was something of a treat for DH & me! By far the best bit (for me) was the potato wedges that were left over from Friday, halved and re-fried, with mixed herbs. Delish.

We then went out for a walk - just round the boundary of Greying Town (well, sorta). BG got to have a run around in a safe spot and was snoozing in the pushchair by the time we got back!

Tea was a curry plate. The lentil dhal was out of the freezer, I cooked some basmati rice and used the last of the sprouts to make Indian sprout and carrot curry (with a little left over for bubble & squeak :j) and some kodavan mushroom curry. There wasn't much mushroom curry, as I'd only got one 350g punnet of mushrooms, but with the other bits, it was entirely sufficient.

I like curry for tea on Christmas Day. I think it may be our tradition I also like an informal lunch - buffet or sandwiches or beans on toast. I think that might be a 'keeper' for the forseeable too.

We've had a very slow start this morning. BG was awake in the wee small hours and would only settle down 'next to mumma'. Did I mention that my baby is a right wriggle bum? Mumma had to return to bed for more shut-eye when papa took over

Hopefully we'll get out for another walk today. Last day of the holiday, back to 'normality' tomorrow. I won't however, be going near any shops. I can see both points of view, for shops staying closed and to be open, but I don't need to be buying 'stuff', especially not on boxing day.

Ta for popping in and for your good wishes. Greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Greying X

* I'm not adverse to second-hand toys, nor clothing. BG has plenty of both. But I would never give a child a toy that is mouldy. Had I done the same to their child, they, and their spouse would have hit the roof.....

UncannyScot

Aww lovely to hear that BG had a great day and is still at that early stage where they know it's something nice that's happening and just go with it but not at the "it's 3am Christmas morning, EVERYBODY up!" stage
... and a pox on stupid rellies and their mouldy 2nd hand toys :mad:

Greying_Pilgrim

UncannyScot wrote: »

... and a pox on stupid rellies and their mouldy 2nd hand toys :mad:

Thanks UncannyScot - you have just made me laugh out loud Much needed, as I'm afraid DH and I have all taken it a bit to heart Which I know is stoopid. But I can't help it. It's such a smack in the gob.

Greying X