Wednesday's question is:
How involved is my family in the Christmas preparation?
In our family, I am the main organizer and planner, especially before the middle of October. So things like booking Santa Train tickets before they are booked out, organizing accommodation if we are travelling (so little available near our families), and getting the bones of the calendar and gift ideas on paper are all done by me (some of these start in January). And I am the 1 who writes the lists for travelling, makes sure we all have clothes that fit and are clean, does the packing, wrapping, writes the cards etc.
But DH does like to help plan and he started getting DD on board with the "big" Santa present over the summer the past 2 years, and then he organized the logistics of their ordering and delivery with the man in red over the following couple of months. We usually take a trip to a toyshop together, just the 2 of us, sometime in October to see what else might be wanted, and he will often go back later to do the purchasing (our trip is research only, followed by a lovely cup of coffee in peace together!). And we will do some shopping together, or he will do some himself, so I don't have to organize all of that (there are ONLY 48 people on my list this year!!) - but I tend to pick up things across the year anyway, and as I work near a major shopping street, I pick up 1/2 presents at a time during the build up so don't have to do a MAJOR SHOPPING DAY.
DD is not the best at thinking ahead, or helping out much at home. But she is getting better on the helping front and always has things she wants to do coming up to Christmas to help. And she will help me in going through her wardrobe and toy chest to cull things that no longer fit, she's grown too old for or are broken. She makes the paper chains for decorating the hall, and often will do a lot of other crafts. And she makes cookies in the run up to Christmas too - she is getting good enough to mostly do that by herself now, just needs help with weighing and I still do everything at the oven.
DH is pretty hands on at home anyway - we share the housework, he does all the ironing, we split lists of things to do etc. I end up taking on the lion's share to make sure it gets done, but I am learning more to relax about some things and share them out more. And we work together to make the Christmas meal always (I may do a lot of peeling and prep on Christmas Eve, but he makes the stuffing then too, and we work around each other on Christmas Day when we are at home).
How involved is my family in the Christmas preparation?
In our family, I am the main organizer and planner, especially before the middle of October. So things like booking Santa Train tickets before they are booked out, organizing accommodation if we are travelling (so little available near our families), and getting the bones of the calendar and gift ideas on paper are all done by me (some of these start in January). And I am the 1 who writes the lists for travelling, makes sure we all have clothes that fit and are clean, does the packing, wrapping, writes the cards etc.
But DH does like to help plan and he started getting DD on board with the "big" Santa present over the summer the past 2 years, and then he organized the logistics of their ordering and delivery with the man in red over the following couple of months. We usually take a trip to a toyshop together, just the 2 of us, sometime in October to see what else might be wanted, and he will often go back later to do the purchasing (our trip is research only, followed by a lovely cup of coffee in peace together!). And we will do some shopping together, or he will do some himself, so I don't have to organize all of that (there are ONLY 48 people on my list this year!!) - but I tend to pick up things across the year anyway, and as I work near a major shopping street, I pick up 1/2 presents at a time during the build up so don't have to do a MAJOR SHOPPING DAY.
DD is not the best at thinking ahead, or helping out much at home. But she is getting better on the helping front and always has things she wants to do coming up to Christmas to help. And she will help me in going through her wardrobe and toy chest to cull things that no longer fit, she's grown too old for or are broken. She makes the paper chains for decorating the hall, and often will do a lot of other crafts. And she makes cookies in the run up to Christmas too - she is getting good enough to mostly do that by herself now, just needs help with weighing and I still do everything at the oven.
DH is pretty hands on at home anyway - we share the housework, he does all the ironing, we split lists of things to do etc. I end up taking on the lion's share to make sure it gets done, but I am learning more to relax about some things and share them out more. And we work together to make the Christmas meal always (I may do a lot of peeling and prep on Christmas Eve, but he makes the stuffing then too, and we work around each other on Christmas Day when we are at home).
