Christmas - it's not what you spend but who you spend it with (My Perfect Christmas)

Member Name: Mioliere

Product:	My Perfect Christmas
Date:	24/11/08 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The feel-good factor

Disadvantages: None

My perfect Christmas would be like most people's - spent with loved ones. I would like to go back to when I was a child and my father was still alive, but he was so ill throughout his 38 year life with terminal illness that, if it were possible to go back for even just one day, I could only do so if he was in good health. I have many wonderful memories for which I think myself lucky.

Christmas these days is as perfect as can be because it is spent with family. Last year, for the first Christmas ever, I was ill with something awful that was doing the rounds and, if it wasn't for my Mum, who was staying with us for Christmas, and my husband, it may well have been cancelled. Usually, though, I am fighting fit which is what I intend to be this year, having just had my 'flu and pneumonia jabs!

Christmas morning nowadays, since the children left home, is just for me and my husband, and my Mum if she is staying. I'm one of four so she is shared out between us all!

My husband will do a cooked breakfast, nothing too filling - bacon, eggs and fried bread, while I get the dinner prepared. I do save time by preparing as much as I can in advance so I usually already have the vegetables, stuffing and bacon-wrapped sausages ready for the off on 'the' day.

We only open a couple of presents in the morning ( my Mum always has a stocking when she stays) and save the rest until the afternoon.

I lay the table for dinner; I try and make a new table centre decoration with candles every year and we always have Buck's Fizz with our dinner. We pull loads of crackers and then have to wear the hats for the rest of the afternoon. I will make a trifle for dessert because we never have room left for the traditional Christmas pudding.

After dinner, we clear up and then the rest of the family join us; our eldest son, his wife and the grandchildren - aged eight and five - and our other son and his wife. My husband has the role of taking the presents from under the tree, then takes his time reading the tags (just to wind everyone up) and hands them to the grandchildren to hand out. I place a bin bag ready for all the wrapping paper but none of it goes in because it has become a tradition to roll the paper up into little balls and throw them at everyone else. With so many of us, this means lots of mess and loads of fun. The present-opening can last a good few hours and it's wonderful to be able to share it with the grandchildren; they make Christmas even more special.

When everyone gets hungry again, they can just help themselves to cold meat (Turkey, of course, and some ham), pickles and other nibbly things and then the chocolates are opened. By the time everyone is ready to leave, we are all tired but very happy and the only problem is finding enough boxes for everyone to take their presents home in. The rest of the evening is spent chilling out with some wine, more chocolates and basking in the warm glow of the lights on the tree thinking back on a wonderful day.

I know people say Christmas has become commercialised but it's what you make it that counts and who you spend it with. I don't spend a fortune on gifts and don't want a fortune spent on me, either. I am more than contented just to spend it with my family, with enough food to eat and a warm home to relax in. I think this year, in particular, under the shadow of the recession, more and more people will realise that Christmas isn't all about spending money but it IS about spending time with loved ones.

I hope all Dooyooers have a brilliant Christmas!

Summary: A great way to break up the winter!