Alternative Christmas day ..what would you like to do different

Merrilynn I think that can be called an elegant solution. Lovely that it made your son happy.

One of our local pubs throw their doors open on Christmas Day to anyone who would otherwise be on their own, and serve a full Christmas dinner, booking not required, just roll up. It's now become an annual meet up for some people, and some have become friends. The Sunday Times magazine carried an article about it last week.

This year we had our big Xmas family meal on Christmas Eve one of our DDs was working Xmas day.It was lovely to just have smoked salmon and scrambled egg brunch and walk the dogs to the pub and eat leftovers.But still hard work hostingjust brought everything forward by a day.Weve had a house full for 6 days.DD and her boyfriend and dogs go home tomorrow but then another relative arrives Saturday for 3 nights.
So I've informed the family I want a sabbatical from 'doing' Xmas .The day at the coast coming home to lasagne sounds perfect.And if we have a big family meal on another day a big turkey and ham pie made in advance.

I've always had all the family here for Christmas lunch. (One time, as many as 13 extra people to cater for.) However, this year I found it quite hard, with only 7 of us to feed. Not just all the cooking, but the clearing up, once everyone had left.
We have decided (reluctantly!) that next year we will go out to a restaurant for Christmas lunch, and come back to the house for a few tipples and just relax. Ahh, sounds good to me.

As soon as I return to England from living abroad (??) I will spend Christmas Day volunteering at Crisis or another
homeless charity. Much more satisfying than a big Christmas lunch !!

Definitely do without the traditional Christmas meal. No need for all of that food. Would like to go away somewhere quiet, in the countryside or the seaside where it would be less commercial with little or no tinsel and lights on display. Considering how many churches are having to be sold off through lack of support, the lengths we go to at this time of year is just hypocrisy. No problem at all with Santa, but again shouldn't it be for children, after all us adults know the story.

We had our first Xmas living in Spain and it was a big non event, as I was still getting over a cold I had had for nearly three weeks, hubby was starting with a cold and even our poor dog has been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis!

We had no tree, no decorations, but we got up, opened our pressies, got showered, had a glass of awful champagne, hubby cooked lunch, then we just watched tv, read or went on iPads then an early night again!

Hope we will be better organised next year!

Late to this but I'm just home from my fifth Solo Group holiday abroad, third one in Italy. My son spent the holidays with his girlfriends extended family so every year for the past 5 years, since my marriage broke down, I've planned holidays away. I spent the first Christmas in Tuscany, the second in Venice, the third in a ski resort in Bulgaria. Last year was Zagreb, Croatia. Yesterday I flew back after a few days on the Amalfi coast. Lots of companies now offering solo traveller holidays. It's a super way to escape the food and telly boredom as a single person.

I like to spend Christmas with my DH and children who are in their late twenties and unlikely to want to keep this up forever. I will miss it when it is gone. This year it was the perfect day.

We did a special meal at an indian restaurant last year as we were just 2, and I would definitely repeat. I am not a lover of Christmas food

If l could afford it l would go away for Christmas every year. The best Christmas l have had for many years was in Scotland with 3 lady friends. We had a fabulous time.

I've had so many changed Christmases that it's hard to say what normal is.
I grew up in Bradford (some of you may have guessed ) so coming to NZ was the first time I'd experienced a hot Christmas. It took years to get used to that.

How I missed the pre-Christmas anticipation and looking round gaily decorated shops for the ideal gifts. Carol singing, well wrapped up, street to street, or door to door. That just doesn't happen here.

It's also far too hot, usually, to go shopping in crowded malls and stores, so I do most online.

My son and I used to spend every Christmas Day together and it was just lovely, we'd laugh and discuss things and pick at delicious foods.

But I decided to change that. When he moved in with his partner and her son, I suggested, after 2 Christmas Day gathering at my house, that it was best they have their own family day on 25th and come to me on 26th or whenever...this year it was 24th and we had a wonderful time.

My reasons may seem a little bizarre, even morbid to some but that's not the way I see it at all.
If we'd continued meeting at my home, when I drop off the twig, it'd spoil that day for them.

I wouldn't want that, so to start a new tradition of their having Christmas Day as 'just them' seemed sensible.

I'd love to go on one of the 4-day cruises they have here for Christmas but that's only a dream.