NST December 2025 A Different December

dustydigger

Took ages to unpack and store my Tesc* delivery. Freezer jam packed,I probably have meat fr several weeks,and probably enough fish  for 4 meals,which should be OK ,both because we are having DS1 bringing our Xmas dinner and are having a buffet later Xmas Day at DS2,and I have managed to squeeze in a delivery on the28th,days before and after all fully booked so thats great.. I do have only a couple of trays of salmon,but also some smoked fish,which I get mostly for me but Mr D will eat it in a pinch
Shin of beef is defrosted now will slow cook it,it will make 2 lunches plus a good amount to make a tray bake pie to freeze for another day' Tomorrow I'll do chicken and then we are well sorted for our protein meals over the holidays..

grandmanerd

Tuesday 16th December 2025

So what if Christmas (religous/ secular holiday of your choice) isn't terrible but you're not feeling it. Something's 'off' or not quite right and you just can't get with the programme.

This is a precis about 'How Christmas Can Suck' (But look on the bright side) from a blog called Naturally Stellar. I've precised it because it's quite long and from 10 years ago, so many apologies if I've distorted her words

Year One 
Moved house in the fall. Ceebrated Thanksgiving with husband's friends but no home of our own. Christmas was a bit meh.

Year Two
Thanksgiving with friends again. Only contributed a couple of dishes but missed doing the big meal and inviting folk over

Year Three
Moved into new apartment and it' s terrible. Husband is working and I'm not cooking because I hate the apartmeent so much I can't bear having people round.The apartment is too small, especially with a new baby and it's not family friendly so my elder son can't play outside,
My older brother is visiting my parents a few hours away but I can't go and will miss my brother's birthday as well as other celebrations.

Tackling the problem. Make the best out of a bad situaion. Cook a couple of dishes and head for the friends' house. Kids will have a good time, will eat as much as I want to and may fall asleep on their couch. Plan for Year Four - new place to live, preferably a house with a kitchen.

Travel safely over the holidays and reconnect with your loved ones, in person or by phone, skype or face time. And save a plate for those who have to work.

Mothernerd's Take on it.
Sometimes we are stuck in a situation that's far from ideal. Both myself and two eldest sons have frequently worked over the holidays, even on Christmas Day. I even semi-volunteered one year to deliver Christmas Day newspapers so that our newsagents could go to Birmingham for their son's 21st (he was at university there and most of their families lived there or found it easy to get to)

So No 1
A big thank you to all those who will be working farmers tending their animals, doctors and nurses and all the essential staff including the utility workers staffing HQ in case there's a fire or gas explosion and someone is needed to produce maps/ cut off the gas for the firemen and emergency workers. 
1a
I'm so glad not to be working Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Twixmas (went in to help staff the bar for the pensioners party despite having spent the day lying down, trying not to be sick), cleaning a pub because the landlord did a meal for some of the regulars (Who needs to go to a pub on Christmas Day, said my fellow cleaner. All the ones who've so alienated everyone they know that no one will have them, said I) I'm also immensly glad not to be working this Friday (Black Friday when everyone who gets a whole week or fortnight off, finishes for the holidays - including tinsel wrapped teenagers) or cleaning up the resultant mess on Saturday morning (6" of broken glass, spilled drinks pouring into the cellar and the gent's overflowing because there are a dozen spirits bottles jammed in the cistern (you don't want to know what happend to kebabs or the attempts at sex).

No 2
Difficult Situations
I've had some weird Christmases. For many years I was a refuge for various son's friends (parents with cancer, one parent doing it to protect the child from a parent with MH issues having a melt-down, those with no place to go, even my brother one year). The year when I was 10 we moved house on December 22nd and the sellers had removed all the lightbulbs - ever tried heating milk for your cereal over a coal fire. The year my mum became ill and died on January 3rd. All the years when money was tight, the year that DS3 and I were involved in a serious road traffic accident, the years waiting for house sale (paying 2 lots of bills) to go through or thinking (hoping) that DS3 and Beloved would finally get their heads together and get their own place.
2a
I'd like to thank everyone who said I should buy the quilt I'd been looking at. I'm still operating with a scarcity mindset. I know there's enough to buy food without having to check but I haven't got round to booking a holiday or buying myself nice things. I'm told that the sale of grandma's house will go through on Friday (first sale fell through after 7 months) so I need to set a budget and get exactly what I want. After my dad died it was beads (one set each of jet, crystal and coloured glass to replace the ones my children had broken over the years) and 4 organic cotton bath sheets. When my brother died it was finally getting to buy embroidery fabric and threads and proper cards to wind the threads onto (no more cutting my own out of strong card). So I'll buy a replacement quilt (or 2?) maybe even matching/toning pillows or cushion covers (I have large cushions in a drawer) and draw up a list of things I need (may even book a holiday)

No 3
This Year - Changing Plans?
When I let DS1 know not to pick me up today (funeral) I tentatively raised the subject of going to his house for Christmas if I don't improve or get worse (he ranted about me spoiling Christmas when I cried off due to ill-health a few years ago - maybe because he was counting on me to share the burden or his father). DS1 has long COVID and his lungs are a mess (anyone who doesn't believe in passive smoking should have seen him during his bar work years, coughing blood during the winter before the smoking ban was introduced) and I don't want to put him at risk. Thankfully he agreed but we will make the decision in a few days.
3a
This is a big change. I was looking forward to it but I am also relieved due to worrying about couch and bed heights (and him acting as though I'm totally gaga for going on about it). Yesterday I took a few things out of the freezer - 2 pasta ready meals, one portion of the chicken stew I made and 2 'block' meals I bought to try out. I have a variety of meals to hand which is very relaxing and not pushing myself to attend the funeral (plus days needed to recover afterwards) is also a great help. I have enough food to coast through the next 2 weeks if necessary (Community shop, indeed all physical shopping is off the table) but I will order some if I feel like it (fresh fruit, juice and yoghurt are low and I don't have anything particulary festive). I have started on a round of grooming (snipped troublesome bits of hair as hairdresser's is also off the table) and hope to add a few extra bits each day particularly if they make me happier and more comfortable. So I either go to DS1's and have lovely time - lots of good food, lots of lying around reading, doing puzzles maybe watching a film or series. Or I stay home, just take things gently and conserve my energy. I may even get all those annoying scraps of paper written into my address and notebooks. If DS1 brings me a food parcel so much the better.

No 4 
DS3 and Beloved
I called them down for talk (I had to tell them I wasn't cross - Beloved is the only person in the world who is afraid of me). I told them the couch need to go out tomorrow (bulk waste collection on Thursday) after the bins have been collected and brought back. I acknowledged that they aren't properly fit but neither am I. I suggested that we do it in daylight and maybe passers-by will take pity on our collective uselessness and help us. I mentioned them getting a house and needing to be proactive (hah).
I asked about Beloved's refugee friends (if they had money, food and sorted Christmas for the little ones). She says they are okay. She is going there for the weekend again and then both of them are going for Christmas Day (ubering if there are no buses - little innocents). So if I'm home I don't need to worry about anyone else. I've gaid they aren't getting Christmas presents but will get things when they move (the WM and DW are their's but I'll buy them replacements as I don't want my kitchen disturbing)


Thankful for a no pressure run up to Christmas, enough food, house sale going through (fingers crossed).

If you are struggling, can you identify the problem. Have you been running round trying to make things perfect for everyone else?  Not drinking enough water?  Not eating properly? Not sleeping? Awkward relatives?  Not happy with where you are in life?  Can you do anything? (Not yet, maybe gven time and effort, difficult but not immediately fixable - must just be enjured). If you can't do anything just now or for some time, you need to adjust your attitude (I'm not saying it's easy). A few years ago I decided I wasn't going to have 'problems', just 'challenges'. This coming year I will be having adventures. These may not be exciting, some may be like the long saga of how I didn't get to my appointment but I'm going to take a deep breath and enjoy things anyway.
  

DawnW

@grandmanerd I hope that DS3 and Beloved manage to sort their living situation in 2026, or alternatively you can find somewhere ideal for you and leave them to it, paying you rent of course.

Still got the rotten cold. Two of them in 3 weeks is a bit much I feel! Went to bed for a couple of hours this afternoon, as OH was expecting a visitor, and a) I don't feel up to visitors I don't know, and b) I am sure they don't want my germs just before Christmas!

Did go grocery shopping this morning. I still need to sort the fridge and put the rest of it away (veg, not things that will go off). I can't believe it is Christmas next week. Where has the time gone? I guess I will buy a few extra bits when I next go, but certainly won't be going overboard. It is only one day.

Still haven't wrapped the Christmas presents. I must do it tomorrow. I am working Thursday and Friday, hope I feel up to it, as others are off with various bugs.

Also haven't done anything about getting the Christmas tree in, or the decorations out of the loft.

Haven't collected my prescription either. Must do this as I don't want to run out between Christmas and New Year (just asthma meds, but mustn't be without them).

Naughty dog had widdled on the kitchen mat overnight, so I had that to wash. I thought he might, as he wouldn't go down the garden last evening as it was raining. I did put him out but he just scratched the door and barked to come in. He is very small, and excellent at looking pathetic and hard done by when he feels the need arises. OK, it was just a small mark on the mat, but I couldn't leave it!

Then had to clean the washing machine after the grotty old mat had been in it. To be honest it needed a clean anyway (actually both the mat and the washing machine did!).

Meals were easy as I had made soup and curry yesterday and there was enough for today as well.

Hoping for a more action packed day tomorrow!

f0xh0les

All Hail 2026, the year of Grandmanerd's many Aventures (So say we All).
I am so glad the house-fiasco is finally going to be sorted.  Is this the last financial tie in to your brother? You will be so much better off when you can go back to being siblings, not co-owners.   Then you can set your budgets and start looking at brochures.
 Make plans grandmanerd, fresh air, beaches and forests, and your youngest family members. Make memories. 
I am totally not feeling Xmas this year. DH has had a medical scare this month, I have 2 unemployed sons, 1 at college who will be 18 in 7 weeks, and Mr Small will be 16 next week. I will be lucky to get anything from any of them.  They all think Xmas is silly. DH agrees. So it's all scaled back this year. Christmas will be 48 hours.  They will get money 💰 .
 I will make a roast meal, I will steam a pudding, I will bake a cake, I  will set the table and crackers will be pulled.  
I found out today Job1 expenses will be paid on 23rd, job 2 expenses will be paid 24th, and my wages will be paid on 31st.
So I am going to be penny-pinching until Xmas Eve,  and my car has its mot on Thursday.
No wonder I am not feeling it at the moment.  It's not exactly Dizney.
I am warm, I am safe, I have a roof over my head.  I just have to get to payday.  Then I am laughing. 

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for another really good night's sleep, for an eye appointment tomorrow that is much nearer than I'd expected, for a call from big sis, for Pip braving the shops and finding some trainers that actually fit him, for dh staying around all day and looking after us, for fairy lights.

dizzyblnd

Nsd#8 today. Nearly got tempted by b00ts £10 Tuesday but resisted. Weather here has been dry and unseasonably warm. I broke a sweat going for a run tonight. Very strange. I’m not complaining though as it’s been dry so all good. 

dustydigger

Hello all!. I got an amazing 6 hours in a row sleep,first time in months. Probably because I was absolutely exhausted with  3 consecutive  bad nights due to water infection cramps and Mr Dusty's shenanigans. Last night he went o bed early got up again at 10pm and took an hour to coax back to bed. Twice I caught him on the landing intending to go downstairs,and finally got him to bed for good and fell deep asleep by 1am. But I have felt weak and tired all day so it wasnt much help,but encouraging.Still plodding through that list I posted as one day's work days ago.Got the meat done will package and freeze it tomorrow. Had no gumption for my way over the top decorating style,have done the bare minimum,and bare is the appropriate word thats how it seems to me compared to the usual. sparkle and colour EVERYWHERE.Trying to get up strength for tomorrow to put up the 4 ft tree on its usual raised position3 ft above the floor,so that I can reach all parts easily. Must do that tomorrow morning,DD2 is coming through for her last visit of the year. I will see her of course  at DS2s xmas bash,but there's no quietness or serenity with 20 people involved
So tomorrow the tree ,and hoover sitting room.Make meat pie.Mop bathroom floor and put down newly washed bath mats . At least I clean bath and toilet daily not much to do there but have got to wash and change the mats  very often as Mr D isnt always controlled in his habits now sadly.
Then a nice little gossip with my daughter and granddaughter. Mr D cant talk to them or grasp much of what they say but he sits and smiles in delight all the time. He loves visitors in small numbers and reasonable times. Actually I am not looking forward to the big bash. He is so much frailer than last year,and it will be quite a job getting to and from the vehicle especially in the dark.,as my sons garden path is precipitously steep downhill with no guardrails,it terrifies me every visit. Oh well this year some strapping young men will have to shepherd us along.Sufficient unto the day.......
Gratitude
=finally finished that list of tasks even if it took 3 days
=I actually SAW THE SUN today for a little while..Incredible amount of rain lately  and I am glad we live on top of a high hill! lol.
=Finished my sixth book of the month,with 2 more left to read in the month. Reading is improved now I have the blessing of glasses,but now its the lack of time. Shouldnt complain,but after a lifetime of 15 books minimum read per month I get grumpy only doing 8 - 10.Those damn phones and the internet!

DawnW

Went to bed after lunch again, but I have wrapped 2 presents.

Washed my yucky hair first thing, usual kitchen tidy, and I did a load of washing. No point in pegging it outside as it has rained almost all day, so it is now on the airer.

Made a frittata and salad for dinner. Sorted through the fridge and chopped and froze some fruit.

Trying to drum up the enthusiasm to wrap more presents. I did get as fat as pulling the decorations out of the loft, plus a small table to put the Christmas tree on. It is a potted one from last year, but not big enough to stand on the floor. Maybe I will get it in tomorrow - after work    Or maybe not till the weekend, as it is happier outside.

NSD # 7 for me today 

Aiming for an early night again.

dizzyblnd

Well today has ended up being a nsd. I’m constantly expecting to need to buy something but days at work are so long that I just don’t get time to do anything else. So nsd#9 today. 

@f0xh0les I have the opposite issue to you in a way, I am being paid this month on the 19th which makes December and Christmas nice and comfy but January is going to feel like 3 months long. Have to make a plan and squirrel the money away so it lasts till end of January. 

beanielou

Wrapped some presents.  So tired at the moment.