Pass the mince pies- Christmas Chat Thread Part Deux

DvB · 23-05-2020 5:59pm

Noticed a few Christmas specials on tv this weekend, including Only fools' Jolly boys outing, which I must admit I watched again myself whilst doing my ironing this afternoon.

gidget · 23-05-2020 7:07pm

ITV had Gremlins on last night.

New Home · 23-05-2020 7:21pm

Here's something else to keep you going.

https://www.sporcle.com/games/bhenderson79/16-little-xmas-pictograms

Caranica · 23-05-2020 7:41pm

New Home wrote: »

Here's something else to keep you going.

https://www.sporcle.com/games/bhenderson79/16-little-xmas-pictograms

Only got 14/16. The other two made sense when I saw the answers

Loughc · 24-05-2020 2:13pm

DvB · 24-05-2020 4:42pm

Loughc wrote: »

Please christ dont let this last until the most wonderful time of the year... reckon I'd lose the plot completely if that was the case.

TRS30 · 25-05-2020 12:06pm

DvB wrote: »

Please christ dont let this last until the most wonderful time of the year... reckon I'd lose the plot completely if that was the case.

I hear you. Have been handling it Ok so far and trying to keep as positive as I can however need to know that there is some light at the end of the tunnel as such.

Have the last two weeks in August booked off and hoping to get away for a few days, even to just my sisters house in Wicklow. Hopefully get Elf one ready for school and Elf 2 for last year of Montessori. Back to some normality!

freshpopcorn · 25-05-2020 3:22pm

DvB wrote: »

Please christ dont let this last until the most wonderful time of the year... reckon I'd lose the plot completely if that was the case.

I'm sort of unsure about everything to be honest for the coming months.

DvB · 25-05-2020 3:32pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'm sort of unsure about everything to be honest for the coming months.

I think thats a reasonable enough feeling FP & I suspect the majority would share that feeling. Its hard to be sure of anything at the moment, but, just speaking for myself as someone who's having good days & bad days on a seemingly revolving status, I'm doing my best to try & not worry too much about what is completely outside my control & am generally speaking, trying to take 1 day at a time.

It isnt easy though (& Ryanair arent helping my mood either!!) but try not to get too down about a situation that could swing hugely in all directions between now & Christmas.

freshpopcorn · 25-05-2020 3:47pm

DvB wrote: »

I think thats a reasonable enough feeling FP & I suspect the majority would share that feeling. Its hard to be sure of anything at the moment, but, just speaking for myself as someone who's having good days & bad days on a seemingly revolving status, I'm doing my best to try & not worry too much about what is completely outside my control & am generally speaking, trying to take 1 day at a time.

It isnt easy though (& Ryanair arent helping my mood either!!) but try not to get too down about a situation that could swing hugely in all directions between now & Christmas.

I’m actually not to bad about things to be honest.
I’m trying to realistic about how things might be so I won’t be disappointed.

Postgrad10 · 25-05-2020 11:17pm

I kind of lost it a bit this evening. I’ve been cocooning since the lockdown ( actually a few days before that), now that the teaching stuff is finishing up, I’m a bit lost as to what happens next. Not certain I’ll be returning to teaching at all. No exam work coming up. I’ve so much to be grateful for but I admit it’s been a tough day.

TRS30 · 26-05-2020 12:03pm

Postgrad10 wrote: »

I kind of lost it a bit this evening. I’ve been cocooning since the lockdown ( actually a few days before that), now that the teaching stuff is finishing up, I’m a bit lost as to what happens next. Not certain I’ll be returning to teaching at all. No exam work coming up. I’ve so much to be grateful for but I admit it’s been a tough day.

Hope you feeling a bit better today PG. Uncertainly can be tough and can lead to the mind racing and thinking too many things. I know its an old adage however one day at a time.......

Postgrad10 · 26-05-2020 1:18pm

Thanks TRS30. Better day today. Have a plan to get painting this week so rounding up bits and pieces for that. Can’t go get the paint myself though. Miss just going in and getting things myself.

TRS30 · 26-05-2020 2:33pm

Good to hear

Just on the paint, we order some recently for the kids from Baker Ross, so might be worth looking at.

PS. Just reread your post and you didn't specify what kind of painting, so could be any kind, D'oh! I assume you guessed my suggestion related to art paint!

Postgrad10 · 26-05-2020 2:38pm

Yes it’s house paint ! I love Baker Ross , I just sent off a kit of stuff from them off to my little cousins to keep them busy.

freshpopcorn · 28-05-2020 1:02am

At around midnight when I'm looking for my picture for the Christmas Countdown before they may have been a car, bus number, product,etc. Now I nearly always get a picture of a man in a suit and saying the amount of Covid-19 cases they are.

TRS30 · 28-05-2020 8:49am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

At around midnight when I'm looking for my picture for the Christmas Countdown before they may have been a car, bus number, product,etc. Now I nearly always get a picture of a man in a suit and saying the amount of Covid-19 cases they are.

Unfortunately the world we live in these days

Ps, lovely the variety of the countdown pictures

is that Nicholas Cage film any good??

Posy · 28-05-2020 9:06pm

Yeah, I love the variety!

Only a week and a half and we will be into the hundreds!

Beechwoodspark · 28-05-2020 9:13pm

Guys bear with me but I have a weird sense that the whole summer this year is going to be a bit of a write off due to the C19 restrictions. It’s almost like we are all waiting to kick off normality again

I’m almost pining for September time to come and then October and really get into the festive spirit!

Posy · 28-05-2020 9:18pm

It's not just your weird sense- of course the whole summer will be a write off!

We just have to focus on Christmas now. Which is nothing new here, to be fair.

TRS30 · 29-05-2020 7:06am

As has been said before 2020 will be remembered as.......Christmas 2019, two months of post Christmas blues, lockdown, Christmas 2020 build up

freshpopcorn · 30-05-2020 1:23am

We're into the 200's!

freshpopcorn · 30-05-2020 10:39am

I was on Facebook last night and a pop up ad come up for Smyth's saying you could register to receive there big Catalogue!

DvB · 30-05-2020 11:29am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I was on Facebook last night and a pop up ad come up for Smyth's saying you could register to receive there big Catalogue!

Vaguely remember getting an email each year when the kids were ickle about the big Christmas catalogue, was always around exam time IIRC so that makes sense.

freshpopcorn · 01-06-2020 1:42am

TRS30 · 02-06-2020 12:21pm

Hope everyone had a good long weekend and managed to enjoy the amazing weather. Seems like I spent most of mine running around with sun cream in my hand trying to make sure no one got burnt!

Getting very close the one hundreds in the countdown, always a big milestone for us Christmas nerds :cool:

Jude13 · 02-06-2020 12:31pm

P20 is your only man for sun protection.

DvB · 02-06-2020 12:58pm

TRS30 wrote: »

Getting very close the one hundreds in the countdown, always a big milestone for us Christmas nerds :cool:

This day week is day 199!!!

As I've said a few times now, once we reach that date the countdown really seems to accelerate, then when we get into the double digits we're half way through September and starting to see stuff appearing in shops etc.

I'm so looking forward to the build up this year, I just hope & pray we avoid a covid backlash that would mean further restrictions or lockdowns as I'll put my hands up & admit that I'm not sure I'd have the mental/emotional strength to go through all this again.

Littlehorny · 02-06-2020 1:46pm

I think Christmas will be effected a bit by Covid. A few companies who have to prepare or order for Christmas in the months between March and July have been greatly affected or simply not been staffed.

Hopefully it's just a few things that we feel a knock on from this, I saw a show once and a Christmas pudding factory make theirs in March so they can mature.

The Christmas spirit is in us here so it's the people we spend Christmas with not the stuff that comes with it

DvB · 02-06-2020 4:50pm

Littlehorny wrote: »

I think Christmas will be effected a bit by Covid. A few companies who have to prepare or order for Christmas in the months between March and July have been greatly affected or simply not been staffed.

I was only reading recently that a lot of the press launches for christmas in the UK start around June, and that this year they were expected to be very low key & possibly virtual affairs (normally they're big things with the media in attendance and quite secretive) so theres already an impact.

I had a post on here recently as well about a client of ours already feeling the an impact on their christmas preparations... mad to think how far out so many things start unbeknownst to most of us.

PaulT21 · 02-06-2020 6:42pm

Littlehorny wrote: »

I think Christmas will be effected a bit by Covid. A few companies who have to prepare or order for Christmas in the months between March and July have been greatly affected or simply not been staffed.

Hopefully it's just a few things that we feel a knock on from this, I saw a show once and a Christmas pudding factory make theirs in March so they can mature.

The Christmas spirit is in us here so it's the people we spend Christmas with not the stuff that comes with it

Just panicked a bit there when you mentioned there might be no Christmas Puddings this year:mad:

Thankfully I still have one in the kitchen dated to Feb 21:D

I was going to eat it but might hoard it now!!

You are right though, Christmas Spirit and our families will see us through this year please God, and for many more to come.

Posy · 02-06-2020 8:36pm

PaulT21 wrote: »

Thankfully I still have one in the kitchen dated to Feb 21:D

Me too.

DvB · 02-06-2020 9:18pm

Posy wrote: »

Me too.

Me three.

freshpopcorn · 02-06-2020 10:48pm

I also think the ads are going to be cringy basically reminding us of the year!

Posy · 02-06-2020 11:28pm

Oh nooo- I already want to forget about this year, and we're not even half way through it!

Littlehorny · 03-06-2020 7:32am

Don't a lot of Christmas TV and specials get filmed this time of year in preparation?

I think I remember pictures got leaked last year around June of the Gavin and Stacy one off and they had fake snow floating down over Barry Island.

TRS30 · 03-06-2020 12:24pm

Littlehorny wrote: »

Don't a lot of Christmas TV and specials get filmed this time of year in preparation?

I think I remember pictures got leaked last year around June of the Gavin and Stacy one off and they had fake snow floating down over Barry Island.

Yea, a lot of Christmas things start happening around now in certain industries so will obviously be some impact this Christmas. DvB has touched on some personal experience he has with the food industry.

Hopefully those that do have to start this early are able to find ways to get what they need done or are impacted as little as possible.

I think most of us need the second half of 2020 to be a million times better than the first half!

otnomart · 03-06-2020 7:56pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I also think the ads are going to be cringy basically reminding us of the year!

I am hoping the majority of ads will stay clear of the cringy route!
However, as Christmas for many is about family and loved ones, some ad scripts could well be about recognising health workers and remembering those who are not longer with us.
Some weeks ago, I had thought about the nurse in the Boots ad, which I first watched in our "classic ads" thread. There might be a few ads similar to that.
We'll see, anyway !

freshpopcorn · 04-06-2020 1:42am

I do think they'll work something out for food stuff at Christmas. They'd certainly be local bakeries, etc who'd be doing stuff and it's generally nicer than the shops.
The supermarkets will also probably pull it out as well. The stock might be a bit later and the special offers mightn't be as plentiful.

Also,
149 days until Halloween!

DvB · 04-06-2020 7:49am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Also,
149 days until Halloween!

That's only 150 to the adverts starting on TV... yay!

TRS30 · 04-06-2020 9:50am

DvB wrote: »

That's only 150 to the adverts starting on TV... yay!

That will fly by, I love the summer however can't wait for autumn/winter this year.

DvB · 04-06-2020 9:54am

TRS30 wrote: »

That will fly by, I love the summer however can't wait for autumn/winter this year.

I love the summer months (its the gaps between Christmas & summer that are the least fun

) but with no holidays or anything else of note to focus on or look forward to for the remainder of the summer i'm already looking forward to September & Autumn & hopefully a closer to normal situation than we currently have.

TRS30 · 04-06-2020 10:11am

DvB wrote: »

I love the summer months (its the gaps between Christmas & summer that are the least fun ) but with no holidays or anything else of note to focus on or look forward to for the remainder of the summer i'm already looking forward to September & Autumn & hopefully a closer to normal situation than we currently have.

This.

At the start of the year I had a few summer jobs planned for the garden however finding it hard to find the motivation at the minute. Especially if the weather stays like the last couple of days

DvB · 04-06-2020 10:39am

TRS30 wrote: »

This.

At the start of the year I had a few summer jobs planned for the garden however finding it hard to find the motivation at the minute. Especially if the weather stays like the last couple of days

Know the feeling.
Am sat up here at my desk in the attic and after all last week needing all the rooflights open & the shades down to try & stay cool its a bit of a shock trying to get used to the 10 odd degree temperature drop. Not looking great on the forecast for the next few days either

04-06-2020 11:47am

A bit of an odd suggestion but maybe it'll help someone during the next hot spell, pet cooling pads are great for keeping your back cool while working from home. Today is a lot cooler but I know Tuesday was unbearably hot for himself in the office, I gave him one of our fur babies cooling pads and it helped a lot

We had plans to get the outside of the house started in March/April: level off the garden, do a proper driveway, paths, maybe even start the patio... we thought by now we'd be planting the garden and setting up an area for a vegetable patch

freshpopcorn · 04-06-2020 1:53pm

I’ve started taking vitamins again. Mainly to countdown the days to Christmas. Terrible I know!

DvB · 05-06-2020 8:23am

Into the 20's on the weekly countdown folks... 3 short weeks to halfway!

TRS30 · 05-06-2020 9:17am

DvB wrote: »

Into the 20's on the weekly countdown folks... 3 short weeks to halfway!

This is the positivity I love about this place

freshpopcorn · 05-06-2020 11:05am

DvB wrote: »

Into the 20's on the weekly countdown folks... 3 short weeks to halfway!

I actually find this year has gone fast so far.

DvB · 05-06-2020 11:16am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I actually find this year has gone fast so far.

To be fair I think they all do once we get beyond January & February.

Some years, depending on the way the days fall (& payday for those of us paid monthly) January can really seem to drag ( & i mean draaaaag!) but once we get into March & St. Patricks day the year definitely seems to pick up, usually because so much starts to happen around then with Mid terms, Paddys day, easter, summer holidays to look forward to, longer days with clocks going forward etc.

I'm actually amazed the last 12 weeks i've had WFH have gone by as quickly as they have though, I know I've been extremely busy with work but I've had the odd lull day in between (spending longer online in here & looking at other christmas related stuff) and never would have expected it to have gone by at the pace it has.

I have a strong feeling that if we get back to something akin to normal the rest of the year will go in the blink of an eye, which will suit me fine, 2020 will not be one of the better ones thats a given already!

Pass the mince pies- Christmas Chat Thread Part Deux

Comments

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens