* Rocking around the Christmas Tree * - It's the 2018 Christmas Chatter Thread

nic2075

Seen chocolate oranges mentioned. Did anyone try one recently? I got one to have as a treat. Where has the core gone? That was my favourite bit! I used to love leaving it til the end :rotfl: but the one I had this week didn't have any core. I assume they have been removed to save a little extra money for Terry's?
I can't remember the last time I had one. I had the pack of the mixed wrapped ones last year. I was so disapointed.

EDIT- looks like the last to know about this. I had a quick search (saddo lol) and there are Facebook groups talking about it!

04624181

nic2075 wrote: »

Thank for posting this. My DS would love that build your own video game one. Can I ask what coding book you got? I'm trying to keep him away from Fortnite etc as long as possible. He has asked about coding and building apps etc. These might hold his attention :j

Hi Nic2075- That is exactly what I thought. If it encourages my dd to learn about making her own games then I am all for it lol. I am still looking into the coding books so will let you know as soon as I decide on one. DS said he will have a look at the couple of books I have got in my amazon basket and see which he thinks is more suitable as he is currently doing computer science and has a better idea what is relevant.

nic2075

Morning.

I was in the Range yesterday. So many lovely things! A lot is the same as last year. But I've seen a couple of nice wooden hanging signs I like.

I was looking at board games with the kids. We always play a board game with the family on Christmas Day. Usually it's a quiz style game. I'm a bit stuck this year on what to get. Once of our favourites has been the Trivial pursuit family edition. Great having the 2 different levels of questions. But we have played it so much, we have used up all the questions more than once. Was going to see if you can buy more questions seperatly.
But the games aimed at kids are so disgusting! All to do with bodily functions. I refuse to buy any that involve snot, poop or pimples!
:rotfl:
What's everyone's favourite board game? We have Trivial pursuit, monopoly, articulate, pictionary, cranium, pointless and a few other versions of these or ones we weren't too keen on.

kerri_gt

nic2075 when we were kids I used to spend christmas at my cousins with my mum and we'd always play a game on Christmas
Day. Dingbats was a particular favourite.
Whatever was played would always end up with someone storming off in a huff though - that was like a tradition in itself :rotfl:

Personally I love Monopoly - but seem to be in the minority.

What about something like Pass the Bomb? One that no one can cheat at. Or nothing beats a good game of Uno.

nic2075

kerri_gt wrote: »

nic2075 when we were kids I used to spend christmas at my cousins with my mum and we'd always play a game on Christmas
Day. Dingbats was a particular favourite.
Whatever was played would always end up with someone storming off in a huff though - that was like a tradition in itself :rotfl:

Personally I love Monopoly - but seem to be in the minority.

What about something like Pass the Bomb? One that no one can cheat at. Or nothing beats a good game of Uno.

Dingbats isn't one ive ever played, I'll have a look :j

We love Uno, but that tends to be our caravan game.

We usually have my brother in law demanding to see the rules and saying everyone is doing it wrong :rotfl:

princesskitty29

freespirit wow what a Christmas in 2011! That must have been pretty awful at the time, but I’m so glad you and your children can laugh about it now. I mean there’s no good time to find something like that out but flippin Christmas Eve?! :eek:

nic I didn’t know the middles have been removed from chocolate oranges?! :eek: I loved that bit too! What is happening in the world?? We have two old favourite board games in the house – the original Guess Who and Frustration.

It’s making me laugh hearing about everyone’s disputes when playing games! I personally like Monopoly too but my DH has such a short attention span and has admitted that he always cheats at it by stealing from the bank!! So we tend to avoid that one here.

My brother has gone home now, because he was here my routine has gone a bit awry so I’m having a quiet day at home catching up with things. Well, as many as Squeak will let me catch up on!

Peppapig

NIC I’ve seen a Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit if you’re into HP.

There are too many of us for board games on Christmas Day but we usually play something. One year we had the musical whistles where you all play the individual notes and make up a given song (was much funnier than it sounds); various big Christmas quizes which is great because you can add in questions suitable for everyone (and share any hopeless cases between the teams); Pie Face when it was popular; Don’t Show Keith Your Teeth, also funnier than it sounds; and that game where you hold a potato between your knees and have to waddle across the room and drop it into a bucket. No idea what we’ll do this year though.

K80_Black

kerri gt - My first Christmas away from my family with just my partner was memorable. In true money saving style, we didn't have ANY heating on until Christmas eve. Then we chucked the heaters on in the living room full whack and closed the doors, so we could wake up to a nice toasty living room on Christmas morning. The door must have swelled somehow because of the heat, as in the morning, we couldn't get the living room door open. The living room and kitchen were open plan so I was sitting there stressed that we wouldn't be able to have dinner, went to have a cigarette and... they were in the living room too! This made me even more stressed. After seeing me looking out the window to see if anyone was walking past smoking I could bribe, the OH took the manly approach and kicked the door down. I look back and laugh now - especially me sitting in my house wearing a hat, scarf and gloves for most of November/December, just to save a few quid!

wort

Describes, most things can be pre prepared. Veg I usually buy fresh a few days beforehand , they keep longer than you think.
Roast potatoes and mash can both be prepared and frozen to make the day easier, as can pigs in blankets.
On the day if you place the veg in serving dishes in case you have people with dislikes, they can just serve themselves what they like. My problem is just getting everything to the table whilst it is hot!!
Good luck.

kerri_gt

Describes I've done both 'cook everything from scratch' and bought everything 'pre prepared' plus a mix in between. Last year I was trying to wait til late on Xmas Eve to get and RTC turkey, then thought to myself as I stood in M&S 'hang on, why am I stood here, I'll be in the kitchen tomorrow cooking as it is, and right now everyone else is off out enjoying themselves or at home with their feet up' So I ended up with a non-RTC M&S one and then a few bargain bits in Sainsburys.

I was also ill the week before xmas so dragged myself out with all the other hordes getting the meal when the shops were rammed.

This year I'm going to try and get most of my stuff from Cook!
(https://www.cookfood.net) who do lovely 'home made' frozen food. That way it's in my freezer and done. I don't want the stress / thinking I still need to do x,y,z the weekend before Xmas. I work hard, and yes, it's prob not the cheapest way of buying everything but just once a year I'm allowed not to be :money:. Plus I end up cooking enough for days so it prob is more thrifty than I realise.

wort I too struggle with the getting it all to the table while hot thing - I tend to try and ensure I warm bowls with warm water beforehand (no room in oven at the time) and cover with lids or foil and cloths. I'm also going to try and cut down on the number of different dishes we have, we do not need two types of cabbage, two types of potato, parsnips, carrots, sprouts, other 'green' veg, plus pigs in blankets and additional stuffing AND turkey :eek: