UKC

So who else is spending Christmas alone ?

It's going to be so great. If only the gym was open or the climbing wall.
I might go for a walk but failing that I might not get out of bed.

What have you got planned ?

Soon to be an Ex Shallot (not in any bad way)

In reply to That Shallot:

I had last Christmas alone and it was bliss. Tiled my bathroom, ate junk and watched rubbish TV. To top it off a couple of friends came over in the evening and bestowed me with a roast dinner and beer.

This year I am not so lucky.

In reply to That Shallot:

I have had a few Christmas Days alone in the past and they can be quite liberating - do what you like and don't feel any pressure to go along with everyone else. I seem to remember cooking pasta one time and just watching loads of rubbish telly. Not sure I ever bobbed out for a quick climb though...

Now with very young children it's not only impossible, but it's not something I would want to do either.

In reply to Rampikino:

Me too. a few years ago I opted out of a few. Christmas Day on the hill, cooking my dinner on my stove. Back home in the evening to a home cooked curry. Spent a few days watching back to back River Cottage.

One year I went into the office on Christmas day and moved furniture.

It is a bit harder to get back into Christmas once you've opted out as wandering around and seeing how frantic everyone gets - for no reason.

In reply to Bellie:

It's very different with small children, and that is something that's tricky to get used to when you have been a latercomer to fatherhood (I'm 45 - my kids are 1 and 3).

We avoid too much frantic running around and stay away from retail parks and city centre at this time of year as much as possible. A lot of our Christmas is home-made or has our own touch. I'm very proud of my wreath this year - bought the frame from Hobbycraft and then went and foraged for Holly, Ivy and other greenery around the village. Added a few pine cones and stuck it up - very nice!

We do plenty of planning ahead to ensure that the frantic part is reduced and time can be better focused on time with the kids, time with family and time eating!

In reply to Chive Talkin\':


Me. It's just another day off work like any other as far as I'm concerned.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I spent Christmas day alone last year. Went for a 10k run in the morning and chilled out the rest of the day eating good food and watching the De Laurentis Waterloo film followed by Zulu.
This year I am having the pleasure of my children ( they do fortnight about with me and their mum) for Christmas as well as my Dad and his partner coming over from Baltimore for a week.
I will be looking forward to a solitary Christmas again in 12 months.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Me!

have plans surrounding the period but xmas day is most likely to be alone. Might nip to the pub to see someone during the 2 hours they're open but it's a bit of a drive so may not bother.

I'm planning a mountain of cheese, booze, and probably sitting on the couch gaming. May go for a run if it's nice (before the mountain of cheese), possibly depending on whether I find xmas eve plans or not.

I've had a mix of full on family Christmas' and flying solo depending on whether I've been in a relationship or not. Some have been very hard due to proximity of breakups or generally feeling alone but I'm in a good place right now and really quite looking forward to the excuse to be a slob and avoid the 'organised fun' that goes with a family xmas.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Won't be alone but myself and the wife will do our customary 48 hour lock down with no contact with the outside world.
My work phone will still be on for emergency calls but it's the one time of the year that can 99.9% guarantee no callouts because most of my customers are shut.
It's only a couple of utilities I deal with that will be open as normal but they have never called on the 25th or 26th.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':
I'm alone this year, Mrs J is in Australia visiting her son. Usually it's just the two of us and we cook a curry, get under the duvet and watch a film or two.

One of the best Christmasses I had was in 2000, alone in a bothy on top of the Black Mountains, by a reservoir. I got there on Christmas Eve, emptied my rucksack and went to collect fire wood from a wooded area at the other end of the reservoir. One the way way back from the first journey it started to snow and by the time I had made four journeys I was walking through an inch of snow. It carried on snowing all evening. I woke up on Christams morning to about 6 inches of snow. I went for a walk and the only life I saw were sheep and wild ponies, it was so beautiful. The only downside was that on Christams night the skies cleared and the temperature plummeted. I was really cold trying to sleep that night, I had a 3 season bag and all my clothes on and i was still so cold it was painful. On boxing day I went for a walk again, this time in brilliant sunshine and met loads of people walking off their excesses of the previous day. I spent another couple of nights there but eventually all the wood I had collected ran out and it was time to go home anyway. It was a few days I'll never forget.

In reply to Hugh J:

Sounds magical

In reply to Chive Talkin\':
It was.

Another great Christmas I spent was the following one. I spent the day with a friend climbing at Wintour's Leap, we were the only people there, which we kind of expected.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I've been on my own on Christmas day a few times due to being on call. First day I did an early morning session at Curbar then after a call out headed to the Plantation with a picnic (booze not allowed sadly). I had the whole place to myself until dark and in perfect conditions added a few new ticks. Sitting watching the sunset with a pork pie and stilton on the top of NTBTA boulder was a joy and probably something I'd never have done otherwise.

Second time I was quite busy on call but made an effort to cook some great food (whilst making various stocks for use over the following few weeks). As others have said it is surprisingly satisfying to get some work done (DIY etc) as it feels like banking the time time to use at a later date.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Pure Gym in the morning - open 24/7 365 days a year. often quiet a few in there on xmas day

Afternoon walk on Kinder. Again lots of people up there, especially if it's dry

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Mrs Glyno is working on Xmas day so I'll likely do what I did a couple of years ago and walk up Snowdon. Great, friendly atmosphere and mince pies on the summit.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Not this year, but did one year, actually kind of enjoyed it.

In reply to Rampikino:




Blimey, I bet that made your eyes water!!!

JW

In reply to Chive Talkin\':
Definitely not. Off to Lapland to see the bearded guy with the wife and kids.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:


I would have thought he'd be knackered out after the previous night!

In reply to Hugh J:
We catch him before he heads off, obviously he'll be resting on the 25th.

In reply to Glyno:

This is the first year my Wife has been working in a profession where she may have had to work Christmas Day. She is, leaving at about 0700 and returning about 0900. We have two kids (7 & 9), so I won't be alone, but it will be quite different, and I'm slightly apprehensive about it to be honest. I'm hoping for a relaxed day. The kids may be up in time for Mum to see them open one or two presents, but largely she'll miss all that.
Our menu for the day will be what the kids want:
- Bacon or fishfinger sandwiches
- Barbeque outside for lunch - as long as it isn't raining or too windy
- Whatever we fancy later in the day...

WE have got a couple of new board games to play...

Any other ideas/tips from old hands of Christmas working to make the day special and fun for the kids

In reply to Dave B:

Mine are younger, 3 and 4, but their absolute favourite thing is party games. So after a parkrun and quick visit to grandparents (who didn't want to come here for dinner, and we aren't invited there) we are playing party games.
Cotton wool game, hunt the thimble, that sort of thing.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I am. Will go for a walk in the country in the morning, unless it's pissing with rain, then just chill out for the day. Going to roast a turkey crown and veg, and chill out reading a book and watching telly.

In reply to Dave B:

The kids may be up in time [7am] for Mum to see them open one or two presents, but largely she'll miss all that.

Wow! Are you drugging them or something?

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Me.

My plans are to go to parkrun first thing and then metaphorically dive into a mountain of food and Christmas TV.

I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect joint of lamb for Christmas dinner. Stopping off at the supermarket later as I can't be bothered to queue at the butcher to a) order b) collect.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I'm very lucky with all my family very close at hand over christmas -3 daughters (in-laws- , two grandchildren, surviving parent (not forgetting my wife).

However, by day 3 I know I will be looking to escape the lot of them, to do anything outdoors.

In reply to Ava Adore:



Is Parkrun not on a Saturday - Christmas Eve this year?

In reply to Pids:

there are Xmas Day parkruns in the Leeds area at least.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

nothing wrong with alone. .
watch a few films, have a drink, pat yourself on the back for no reason.

In reply to Indy:

Not usually....

In reply to Dave B:
I was generally up at about 5am in the morning on Christmas day. I think Indy may be alluding to that kind of thing.

I have to admit I'm vaguely scratching my head at the thought of a 7 and 9 year old not being up by 7am on Christmas day. Lucky parents I guess.

In reply to Pids: our parkrun is both Xmas eve and Xmas day