Open the selection box- Christmas Forum Chat Thread

Whispered

Have a baby due on 4th Dec. Will be a mad Christmas this year, I'll have to be either super organised or super lazy.

Glitzgirl

Congrats whispered! My last lil lad was due 8th december last year, born on 3rd, organised is the only way to go! I put my tree up super early in case I went in early and wouldn't trust my OH to do it the way I like it (then again may I have control issues !) best of luck xx

Another "sign" for us! - you can now register for the S*yths Toys Winter Catalogue

freshpopcorn

Just saw that Christmas FM are starting to run training courses.

http://www.christmasfm.com/index.php/training-course

Fat Christy

This thread is currently trending, it's fcuking July.

freshpopcorn

Fat Christy wrote: »

This thread is currently trending, it's fcuking July.

It's the Christmas forum. What do you expect?

Fat Christy

freshpopcorn wrote: »

It's the Christmas forum. What do you expect?

I expect it not to be trending on boards just yet.

Posy

You can come back in the winter when you've familiarised yourself with the Christmas forum charter, Fat Christy.

Posy.

Mindfulness

I asked my daughter what story she wanted me to read to her at bedtime last Saturday and she chose...

The night before Christmas.

Then on Sunday lunchtime she was playing with my iPad and loaded up her Christmas story apps.

Finally tonight, at dinner she randomly asked us whether we thought Santa would bring her a wooden Wendy house for the garden!

I can't wait for Christmas again, roll on November 1st when the build up can really begin.

leahyl

Listening to Christmas songs on Spotify

Dolbert

Like Whispered, I'm also due my first baby around Christmas! Due date is the 17th, but as going overdue is common we could well have a 25th December baby on our hands

Posy

Congratulations, Dolbert!

leahyl

A Christmas song for all the Christmas mad boardsies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcbQyFtCqg

Posy

Stressful day!!

Is it Christmas yet?

gidget

Is it Christmas yet?

It'll be here before you know it Give it another month & we'll be seeing the Christmas adverts & Christmas window displays going up!!

Toto Wolfcastle

We were looking at booking a holiday for September and when we were deciding where to go I was thinking that it will only be a few months until Christmas when we get back.

WittyNameForMe

Apologies for the long post in advance, but as I am a new user I am unable to post URLs or attachments. So I have copied the article. Just thought some on here would be interested in this, just another little sign it is edging ever closer.

M&S launches Christmas food range 2014.

Liquid Brussels sprouts, an edible cheese board and a 'Christmas dinner in a pie' are all set to adorn the festive table this year.
Marks & Spencer is banking on an appetite for Brussels sprouts with the launch of not just a juice but also a coleslaw made from the vegetable as part of its festive food range, announced six months ahead of Christmas Day.
The retailer claims the coleslaw makes the "perfect accompaniment to turkey sandwiches and Boxing Day buffets", while the juice means the Brussels sprout has "gone gourmet".

It has also turned Christmas cake into a liqueur, which it describes as "literally the taste of the festive season in a glass", and Bucks Fizz has been given an upgrade with the addition of cranberry, pomegranate and Clementine.

Even the humble prawn will receive a festive makeover with a dousing of the classic cocktail Whisky Mac.

And following the fish and chip pie, the retailer has developed a Christmas dinner in a pie complete with turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets and cranberry sauce, while a cheese board is made from crackers to be broken off as you eat.

The 'gold G&Tea' is gin infused with tea and speckled with gold flakes, a Christmas cake comes trimmed with LED lights and a chocolate cake has been decorated with five gold rings to create "a decadent pudding".

M&S said a team of 40 product developers began working on the range in September last year, visiting locations such as New York, Barcelona and Paris for inspiration.

M&S head of product development Sandra Ziles said: "At Christmas we all want to wow our family and friends with delicious food and surprise them with interesting new discoveries.

"What could be a better taste of Christmas than Christmas cake liqueur? And for those willing to be a bit more adventurous you can't beat our Brussels sprout juice - we hope it will convert a few non-sprout eaters to the green side."
The range will be in stores from early October.

Meanwhile, Waitrose unveiled a 'turkey cracker', a £30 alternative to the customary joke and hat.
The cracker-shaped turkey meal, which feeds four to six people, comes rolled and wrapped in a butter muslin with a rich fruit stuffing.
Waitrose executive chef Jonathan Moore said: "This year's festive meat range is all about traditional flavours.
"We've taken inspiration from times gone by, adding an Elizabethan twist to many of our turkeys with stuffings featuring ingredients such as gingerbread, gooseberry, pear and figgy pudding.

"Our turkey cracker comes wrapped in butter muslin, a traditional method of keeping the meat deliciously moist, finished off in fun cracker-shaped packaging. It's certainly a Christmas cracker with a difference."

The supermarket will also sell a £30 Christmas cake made up of three individual 'baubles' - a traditional rich fruit cake, a chocolate sponge and a Madeira cake - all coated with icing and featuring a snowflake design.

And chef Heston Blumenthal, whose previous Christmas puddings for Waitrose have ended up on eBay after customers stripped them from shop shelves, has created a multi-tiered chocolate bar with layers of chocolate caramel mousse, chocolate biscuit, salted caramel and nougat mousse.

Blumenthal said: "Chocolate is the ultimate feel-good treat, so this Christmas I wanted to pay homage to all the popular treats that I, and I'm sure most of us, enjoyed as a child.
"There's nothing more nostalgic than thinking about all the crinkly, brightly-coloured chocolate wrappers in the festive treat bowl, and my Ultimate Chocolate Bar Dessert incorporates the best of our classic chocolate bars."

leahyl

Nice post WittyNameForMe :-)

WittyNameForMe

Thanks Leahyl, I have been an avid follower of the Christmas Thread for a long time, but never posted before. I saw this article and thought only the Boards Christmas Forum would be as excited about this as me :-)

leahyl

WittyNameForMe wrote: »

Thanks Leahyl, I have been an avid follower of the Christmas Thread for a long time, but never posted before. I saw this article and thought only the Boards Christmas Forum would be as excited about this as me :-)

Indeed, I love looking at the M&S Christmas food booklet every year - even though I actually rarely buy anything from there (have to restrain myself cos I'd just get too carried away!) I just love to drool over it haha

WittyNameForMe

Oh tell me about it, I could seriously loose the run of myself in there at Christmas. I would spend a small fortune on their Christmas themed food. The crazy thing is I would buy buy buy just because it’s so ‘Christmassy’ not because I like the actual food. I have been known to buy certain foods that I don’t even like or anyone else in the family like because it was just too ‘Christmasy Cute’ not to buy. I have learned to reign myself in slightly and just buy some of the more unique items they sell. The wrapping paper I’m afraid is a completely other story. I may need wrapping paper rehab. No matter how hard I try I just can not resist the wrapping paper and embellishments.

leahyl

WittyNameForMe wrote: »

Oh tell me about it, I could seriously loose the run of myself in there at Christmas. I would spend a small fortune on their Christmas themed food. The crazy thing is I would buy buy buy just because it’s so ‘Christmassy’ not because I like the actual food. I have been known to buy certain foods that I don’t even like or anyone else in the family like because it was just too ‘Christmasy Cute’ not to buy. I have learned to reign myself in slightly and just buy some of the more unique items they sell. The wrapping paper I’m afraid is a completely other story. I may need wrapping paper rehab. No matter how hard I try I just can not resist the wrapping paper and embellishments.

OMG you've described exactly how I feel!! :-O :-P

WittyNameForMe

Haha I’m glad to hear there is someone else who is like minded. I firmly believe you either get it or you don’t. I have absolutely no problem spending twice the cost of the present on the wrapping paper it is wrapped in. It sits under your tree for nearly a month (if you’re organised like me :-) ) . It is an extension of your decorations. The same with all the pretty Christmas themed food. It just all adds to the occasion.

Alicat

The Force is strong with this one...

:P

Bobblehead Panda

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

We were looking at booking a holiday for September and when we were deciding where to go I was thinking that it will only be a few months until Christmas when we get back.

We go in October, It's impossible to get the holiday blues when you return home to lovely dark evenings (roll on) and John Lewis ads on TV

Posy

I bought a coat this week- feeling really wintery now.

Can't wait to go scarf and glove shopping when they hit the shops!

leahyl

Omg what are we like! You know what I don't understand though, is how anyone who looks forward to Christmas and talks about it is looked upon with scorn, but if someone is talking about looking forward to the Summer in Winter, there is no problem with that! What's that about!!

freshpopcorn

The good news is. This is the last month when there's no Christmas stuff out in the shops.

freshpopcorn

This isn't the happiest post I've posted here.
Our family is related to a lovely lady in her seventies and this woman loves Christmas she used always have the newest decorations/a couple of trees/ sent her cards out early/baked loads of Christmas cakes.
Every Christmas we used call to see her and exchange presents with them. Every Christmas I can remember she used always have some new decoration to show us. She used always bake our family a massive Christmas cake and she was brilliant at sugar craft so the cake used always look amazing. Last Christmas when we called to see her she was nearly the best I've every seen her. She was busy trying to get things done/looking forward to the big day. Its the kind of house you'd always feel welcome and comfortable in.
We never thought it would have been her last Christmas. In the last few weeks she's being diagnosed with terminal cancer and she hasn't long left. It's just so strange to think that Christmas 2013 was her last.

washiskin

I'm so sorry for you & your lovely friend, FreshPC. What lovely memories you both have for the times ahead.....