Spare time now activities closed for two weeks?

Hopefully catch up on the "to do" list. Various things have been put to one side to deal with health problems - so something had to give and it was the "to do" list.

Had to learn that one way back in the university city I come from - as things went dead in August. I don't suppose conventional social life did - but the sort of things I did ratcheted down a lot.

I look around for the “One offs”.

There’s a “just turn up” walk in the Park on Boxing Day and the cafe usually opens for drinks after. And some other walks that I’m not fit enough for now.

The Cinema or theatre or local concerts.

Young farmers put on a Tractor run or a wheelbarrow race to go and cheer on.

A couple of projects at home

A nice free ride through the countryside on a bus😬

Just stuff really

All my 11 groups are on hold until the first week of January but I relish the break. Added to the groups I collect GC 3 sometimes more times a week from their schools. It gives me some time to do as little or as much as I want. Recharges the ageing batteries.

Invite neighbours for tea. Or drinks.

Sarnia 11 groups blimey that’s a lot I don’t go to any, not seen any happening near enough for me to easily get to perhaps I m not a group person I ve been to one or two in the past but they are usually limited to 6 weeks or something like that and pretty expensive
I live in an area where I don’t physically know any neighbours apart from nodding hello so don’t have in and out neighbours either
How on earth do I manage I ve no idea but I do manage I go for walks work three days a week go shopping go to the beach otherwise just keep myself occupied at home
It works for me

I take Christmas decorations down because I love outdoor lights so I have lots and I packed them up really well so it’s easy to set up next Christmas and I always have time with my two year-old bumblebee granddaughter who is the light of my life other than that, I’m pretty much a loner. I’ll go for coffee and this or that watch some TV and I do watch USA college football I love college football and Alabama is my team!

I’m looking forward to a few days when I don’t have anything that has to be done. A time to recharge the batteries.

Im lucky that my grandaughters are coming to stay for a few days, which will involve shopping trips. There is also a festive walk on the 27th organised locally and the prospect of a possible coffee/walk meet up with some of the ladies from classes. Ive also bought myself a new 1000 piece jigsaw from the charity shop and have stocked up on library books to read. However, I shall still miss my exercise classes.

Slob around on the settee. Being bone idle just eating chocolates, drinking and farting

I go to church on the days that are church festivals and on one of the weekdays just before the New Year, I go through my expenses for the year that is finishing and make out next year's budget and decide whether I need to transfer more money per month into the account the direct debits are paid from.

Then I put receipted bills and tax papers away, and destroy the envelope containing those that are now told old for the tax authorities to demand an audit.

I am having a vistor to stay for the New Year, so I shall get ready for her visit, as well as cleaning the house for the New Year.

WithKnobsOnIt

Having a few days in my happy place, Northumberland and relishing not dashing to get to groups, classes volunteering etc
Enjoy your self please yourself !!

Go for a walk, not far thanks to disablement but will go out! Then read a book or 3 & drink endless mugs of tea! Then moan about my back aching as I have sat down too long! Thats no different to my every day life!

This my first year on my own after 3 yrs of husband and his carers. It’s very quiet.
I’ve spent 2 and a half months avoiding the empty house so am missing groups but off to visit friends in a day. Kids have decided to make their own plans and maybe that means I have no pressure but met up with them yesterday
I always miss them at Xmas and hope if they have their own they’ll understand

Love it...but family will be visiting and vice versa. I am never bored always find something to do. I do't do activities or groups....had a lifetime of that..Enjoy being with family and friends and walking dog

I love doing very little in mid-winter when home is my happiest place to be.
Maybe I’m a Sloth …

I apologise for making you all envious but I''m busy packing for a World Cruise that starts on Jan 5th. 100 days in warmer climes, and with friend we met on earlier cruises. We won't be seeing many of the sights as DH is quite disabled now but there will be lots to do on board.

That said, I have a million jobs to do (other than packing) before then as I am handing over my Treasurer roles to others to handle for me and lots of other admin stuff.

We will be with our DD and SIL and two young teen GCs on The Day (if it doesn't snow) that will be lovely (taking my signature trifle, supposedly for tea but really for my DD!) and missing my younger DD who is 3 months pregnant with her first baby at age 42 after four rounds of IVF. They are going to his parents for a change. A good end to a dreadful two years health-wise for us.

However you spend it, enjoy!

For the past few years (since being widowed and moved to a new area), I’ve had this situation at Christmas. I’ve now learned to plan for my Midwinter Break! I try to catch up on TV series and films I’ve missed through the past year. I sort through my wardrobe and list unwanted stuff on Vinted. Read the books Santa brings, organise the freezer, do a couple of jigsaws and make a load of soup!

I'm with you Cabbie 21. I hate that groups and classes close down over the holidays. I'm not in nearly as many as you though.

Some even stop over summer too tho we did keep our knitting group open this year.

It's the company I miss really. I have any amount of house stuff and hobbies I can do indoors, plus the garden if the weather is any good.

I e-mail friends I don't see so often, but I don't have close neighbours and always seem to be the sister that visits the others. They are local thankfully.

Do you do the GN puzzles? I started doing those fairly recently and enjoy them. You can lose an hour or so easily there.

I'm not good at walking on my own for walking sake but if I need an errand that's ok. I sometimes take one glass jar to our recyling point just to get myself out of the house.

Am hoping in January to get into some different groups and maybe meet local ladies to strike up new friendships.

I hope your Christmas break doesn't drag too much for you. I have Christmas day with my daughter but after that I'm back home.

I am going to start stripping wallpaper so the tree and decorations might be put away early. But as I am currently seeing a physio for arm/neck/shoulder issues this might be quite a long job........

Well whatever I plan has to be "depending", as whatever I would like to do will be somewhat controlled by how my back is and whether I can walk about much. Yesterday I had a very long day meeting up with my son and family, which was very good, but I certainly know about it today, so it has been a very quiet day today and have been happy to do very little, and relish that this is the shortest day so we will begin to get a bit more light from now on. I am going to a friends for christmas day and on new years day I will be going up to swaledale to reeth to see the new year day fireworks and meet up with old friends and do some singing etc. But other than that I have no actual plans for anything. So I have a variety of possibilities that I might get round to doing. If there is a wet and miserable day I intend to make the effort to go through my wardrobe, checking what still fits , and what I might use, and hopefully trying to be strong and give away good things that I have not worn but they have just sat in the wardrobe. Anything I can prise away from myself to be washed and ironed and ready to g ive away. Then I hope for a day that I dont feel too bad and intend to tackle the cupboards in the kitchen, taking stuff out, cleaning the shelves and putting stuff back with the oldest tins at the front etc. If I can get that all done by new years day I will feel that I am starting off in a better way. As for exercise, I am allowing myself to slob about until boxing day and then I will get back to attempting to do a bit of a walk every day, hopefully a little more each day. I did quite well last year until about March when it began to tail off. I had a big garden and now very little garden but I still like gardens so I can walk around and look at other peoples gardens. I also make a bit of an effort to walk down some paths and roads that I havent visited before and discover some new places. Plan to meet up with some of my very old friends, so we shall find a day to be able to meet up in York for coffee or a lunch.

I shall make myself a winter picnic and stick coats and macs etc in the car and then have a day out up the dales and also to the coast, where I can just set off and have no timetable just be free to wander wherever. Then I will be looking into what might be something new to try in the new year. Have already volunteered to do Talking Newspaper, as did it years ago when I lived elsewhere. Then we used to meet up in the library and do it, but this is done on Zoom . I havent done anything with Zoom so I need to learn more about that before it begins and also I am going on a short course for safety cyber things. So I think it can be useful to think what you want to go back to and see if you can do some sorting out and checking things whilst you are free. Then also enjoy being able to read or paint or trying out something new, with no time limits, and you could find out a bit more about something that you havent tried yet, so that if there is a class in the new year you are ready to join in.

I've asked three different sets of friends and neighbours round for drinks on different days. That will help add 3 extra activities alongside the Christmas day and New Years days events. Preparing for them including tidying and extra shopping and food prep will help to occupy me between bouts of TV binges and reading.

Yes all my groups shut down over the festive season. Its always a shock to the system and I greatly miss the company. My answer is to go to the gym which is open on all days except the bank holidays. There are regulars who go the same days and times as me and I find even a ten minute chat with people who are acquaintances makes all the difference. We joke that its the equivalent of our day care centre. Oldies like me mainly go in the mornings and there are at least half a dozen people who enjoy a natter.