One of my favourite threads of the year, we've had some crackers in the past, and many people will start setting off for family gatherings from tomorrow. Lets have your tales of family bust ups, highest thermostat settings, crap presents, miserable/smug loners getting away from it all, annoying in-laws, ungrateful nephews who don't appreciate power-kites/poppies, and returning home before you even get through the door due to your mother-in-law's reaction to your dog peeing on the front garden.
Worst I'm likely to face is my parents house being far too hot, and being force fed constantly, so over to you guys......
Inlaws arrived today. They're here for 6 days and FiL has dementia. Going to be interesting 😯
dazh - Member
Inlaws arrived today. They're here for 6 days and FiL has dementia. Going to be interesting
See how many mince pies you can make him eat. "No, you've not had one"
Dazh I’m riding Saturday....
I will just do the same as I do every year, crack open the cheap blended whiskey on christmas eve, roll up a ball in the corner of my cold lonely apartment, then drink and cry until new years day.
We’re going to the MIL for lunch which means I won’t have control of cooking the beef, a lovey sirloin. It’s be cooked through and then some. 🙁
21st. Bit early, innit?
After last year's juggling game trying to keep my family and my partner's family happy - this year we are hosting. 10 folk round for Xmas day. What's the worst that can happen?!
I was actually quite looking forward to a 10 day break from work but with one day to go (coming off a 12 day stint without a day off in which time I've spent just short of 170 hrs at work dealing with some emotionally draining stuff) I'm coming down with a rotten cold.
Arsebiscuits
Dazh I’m riding Saturday....
Yeah I know (grapevine is working well 🙂 )
Gonna try and make it. Will get back to you.
I'm coming down with a rotten cold.
Join the club. I've just posted a solution on facebook 🙂
Mother in law arrives tomorrow. At 6.20am!
Join the club. I've just posted a solution on facebook
I've seen it but sadly I'm missing the prescription element 😀
Jamie - Member21st. Bit early, innit?
For the majority, probably yes. But we have some angst already, so it's worth it.
I've seen it but sadly I'm missing the prescription element
Would it be career threatening if I popped some in the post? 😆
Saturday - long run
Sunday - long ride then xmas eve stuff at my parents
Monday - couple of hours of riding then cooking/slowly getting hammered on my favourite Malbec
Tuesday - ride
Weds - ride
Thursday - ride then get drunk with my bro
Friday - very long ride
Sat - bit of a ride
Sunday - NYE party
Best time of year
Mother in law is here now, train was in late at 06:30am. She has already told us what we've done wrong with the Christmas tree and that the plant we have on the kitchen table is poisonous, so we shouldn't rub it in our eyes or eat it. 😀
^^rub it in her eyes whilst she sleeps 😈
We’ll be spending it with Mrs Funks parents. Her Dad has been acting like w petulant child recently, so it should be an interesting few days.
This is the first year that Funk Jr really understands Christmas, so for that fact alone I’m really looking forward to it
Each year the Christmas/In-Laws thread makes me very grateful mine are thoroughly decent.
My in-laws are great. They’ll be spending Christmas Day with us which is cool. So long as they don’t attempt to pack my dishwasher, or worse, empty it.
My sister’s in-laws are just odd. They clear off to Madeira rather than spend it with their son, my sister and their two children. We might see them in the new year.
MIL due up on Sunday but she has already started being awkward. We have paid for a hotel for her to stay in but she is refusing to stay in it and insists she is going to do the 10hr driving round trip and spend the day with us. We have a list of foods that she is intolerant of as diagnosed by the cult that she is a member of and not anyone medically trained. Off to FIL on Saturday who has only just recently announced that he has being having an affair with a colleague and is moving out leaving his partner of 23 years only for 2 months later (just last week) to come crawling back. Its going to be pretty awkward xmas lunch at his house judging by what certain family members have been saying about his behaviour. Merry xmas everyone.
Saturday - long run
Sunday - long ride then xmas eve stuff at my parents
Monday - couple of hours of riding then cooking/slowly getting hammered on my favourite Malbec
Tuesday - ride
Weds - ride
Thursday - ride then get drunk with my bro
Friday - very long ride
Sat - bit of a ride
Sunday - NYE partyBest time of year
That's a lot of riding, you don't belong here 😆
No inlaws until 27 dec & my mother is away so it should be stress free. Hopefully.
We've been invited to friend's house - A family combination of Trinidadian & Palestinian with food to match. Hurrah.
I reckon a web cam at blader's house could be interesting.
It's going to be an interesting one for us as my dad and step mum who's American recently moved to Rhode island so we're off to stay with them for 10 days on Christmas Eve with a few days in NY city in a friend of theirs apartment in Greenwich village. Very excited about visiting those places with a local rather than as a tourist staying in hotels but the Step mum can be very trying/neurotic at times and we've not spent more than 2 nights staying with them before so the bars local to their house have already been checked out on Google!
Sat - work 12hrs on standby at the ROC. (It's like the TET from oblivion but with less soul)
Sun - work 12hrs on standby at the ROC.
Xmas day - ride to pub with dogs, drink cider, ride home. EAT , drink gluten free stout, fall asleep opening presents.
Boxing Day - Turkey curry , more gluten free stout. Walk dogs. Kill Nazi's in an alternate time line.
For the first time in years the Outlaws won't be round, they're going to see Strange Uncle Ken in France. High light last year was BiL's GF calling me a Pikey and using the *unt word in every sentence. Oh and MiL drinking herself senseless and FiL being his usual socially dyslexic self.
I'll have the annual excruciating phone conversation with my dad in which will remind me exactly why it's only once a year. We'll drive to kent to see my Mum on the 28th who moved to a retirement village my very close to my brother and his family. So he's being a dutiful son and looking after her over the previous few days.
And that's it. It's incredibly selfish but neither me or my wife (or our kids/young adults) want to spend time with our parents their /grandparents. We'd rather spend the time together.
Oh and I'll be riding a bit and hopefully running a bit more as the gloucester half marathon has been pulled forward to the 14th Jan. And I'm nowhere near ready!
MIL due up on Sunday but she has already started being awkward. We have paid for a hotel for her to stay in but she is refusing to stay in it and insists she is going to do the 10hr driving round trip and spend the day with us. We have a list of foods that she is intolerant of as diagnosed by the cult that she is a member of and not anyone medically trained. Off to FIL on Saturday who has only just recently announced that he has being having an affair with a colleague and is moving out leaving his partner of 23 years only for 2 months later (just last week) to come crawling back. Its going to be pretty awkward xmas lunch at his house judging by what certain family members have been saying about his behaviour. Merry xmas everyone.
This is what this thread is all about!
Biggest challenge for me this morning is pressing a key every 19 minutes on my work laptop so it looks like I am active. No ones cares, but it feels like the right thing to do.
We have FIL and MIL for Christmas day. FIL was told on wedsnesday this week that he has 6 months tops left (C). Its going to be a strange day knowing it will be his last ever Christmas with us. 😥
Big ride tomorrow, Sunday with the kids doing Christmassy things then Christmas eve sneaking presents down from the loft before over indulging on cheese and Port.
Christmas day is at the Inlaws where after 6 weeks of doing almost everything while my wife recovered from ACL surgery, I’m promised a whole day of lying around drinking beer whilst a 3 meat Christmas dinner is prepared my MIL.
Its been a very busy year in all respects, im looking forward to a few indulgent days doing relatively sod all.
Shit, sorry to hear that trailwagger. hopefully you all make it one to remember.
it's looking like an easy going one for me this year. flying visit down to Exeter to see the fam tomorrow and back up to Bristol for Christmas day. i'm in charge of cooking so i'll be holed up in the kitchen all day with a glass or two.
the mrs is stressing about her daughter being a pain over food again (which she is with each and every meal) but it's Christmas so it's the one day she can eat or leave what she wants as far as i'm concerned. then i'm set to relax and do whatever takes my/our fancy until the new years.
just need to get through the next few hours at work so please keep the threads active!
I will just do the same as I do every year, crack open the cheap blended whiskey on christmas eve, roll up a ball in the corner of my cold lonely apartment, then drink and cry until new years day.
Sounds awesome, can I join you?
I have Christmas with my girlfriend this evening. Fillet steak, red wine, slasher movies and adult activities.
Then off to the East Neuk for family Christmas in a nice rented house. Taking my road bike to get some miles in.
Should be good!
To be fair , the Mother in law is decent. She is a right laugh. B But we all have our foibles. One of hers is seeing the danger in everything. Lethal poisonous plants , all food, everything is.someyhing to worry about. It's amazing !
I don't have any in-laws this year which is good, kids are with me for Christmas so going to my parents for dinner but then they are spending boxing Day with their mum so I won't have anything to do all day...
Depending on what my grandparents are doing I might go visit them as my grandad probably won't see another Christmas (has a heart condition and while they were doing scans for that recently discovered 4 different types of cancer 😯 😥 )
been on a business trip to Kazakhstan since sunday 17th, so ive completely bypassed this final week of chaos!! fly home tomorrow and bang straight into christmas eve!! lovely - its usually beginning to do my head in about now...
Today - work followed by evening 3 of 5 out boozing
Saturday - Ride at Woodbury as it is the only place I can think of that won't be entirely made of liquid soil - only some of it. Followed by day 4 of 5 boozing
Sunday - Zwift in the morning, Day 5 of 5 boozing from lunchtime then home early evening when it starts to get silly
Monday - Xmas Day at the outlaws
Tuesday - Ride somewhere - Forest of Dean perhaps?
Weds, Thurs and Fri - back at work although Thursday night is "Loud For Lemmy" Prostate Cancer benefit rock night
Saturday - Ride somewhere
Sunday - NYE - No idea what I'm doing yet but it's either "Indie Night" at the Cavern in Exeter, Party in the Cosmos at Exeter Phoenix, Ye Olde Cider Bar or staying at home
Monday - Ride
Tuesday - back to work but only a couple of months of my notice period to serve left so probably job hunting as well!
The Cavern in Exeter! Amazing. Very fond but hazey memories of 1998-2001
the Mother in law is decent.
Careful now, dont drink too much...
curto80
The Cavern in Exeter! Amazing. Very fond but hazey memories of 1998-2001
Such a great venue for alternative bands. I've not managed to get over since it re-opened after the fire but I can't imagine it has changed much 
Working night shift up till the 28th so Christmas day will be spent sleeping with hopefully a ride somewhere local.Off for New year so van packed and getting away somewhere for a few days.
Lucky no family stuff this year and girlfriend is away to her family so I'm a free man.
Yeah. Sore point with me this Christmas. We moved from Hampshire to Sheffiled. MiL got a proper sulk on about that, wouldn’t talk about it, said she’d never visit us. Really childish, but not so much to me, only to Mrs PP.
My brother invited us to his for Boxing Day. My sister has a new baby and they’re in Huddersfield and Otley, so close enough to spend some time with them over Christmas. I was really looking forward to it.
Then MiL breaks her arm.
So now Mrs PP is taking a train from Sheffield after work tonight to Portsmouth to drive her back up here.
In the 18 years we’ve been together I think I’ve spent 5 Christmases with my family. She won’t visit us but apparently it’s OK for us to wait on her hand and foot. Thankfully I’ve begged my brother to come to us for Boxing Day and he’s going to save my ass. But apart from that I can see some time on the bike or tinkering in the garage beckoning.
Last Xmas day ended up with my girlfriend's father and brother-in-law in a fistfight at 5am. 😯
The missus was told I wouldn't be enduring the same fiasco again so its just me and her on Xmas day 8)
Up early. Champagne breakfast. Presents. Pop to local pub for a couple of drinks in the afternoon then home for dinner which is being supplied by a friend who's a chef. All prepped, just needs cooked. Zero stress or hassle. Zero people we have to pander to.
Neighbours annoying me slightly as their Xmas visitors don't park particularly considerately.
The missus was told I wouldn't be enduring the same fiasco again so its just me and her on Xmas dayUp early. Champagne breakfast. Presents. Pop to local pub for a couple of drinks in the afternoon then home for dinner which is being supplied by a friend who's a chef. All prepped, just needs cooked. Zero stress or hassle. Zero people we have to pander to.
You know what? That sounds bloody perfect.
Ahhh part of the STW tradition this thread. It’s [i]almost[/i] like [i]we’re[/i] a family innit.
Well I broke up yesterday, finally laid some contractors off now on thier return to native lands. Sadly, nowt for them to come back too... it’s been great having such a mix of diverse characters, competency and vibrant environment. I’ll miss most of them.
This year we’re alone at home, it’s been 6 years with the family and I couldn’t be happier just us two. We’ve done more shopping than a small country, spend very little doing so too.. Presents are passé, it’s the time together we’ll both enjoy.
My schedule will be this, in no order:
Pub, beer, crisps
Home, films and TV catchup, mountains of food and heating set on “melt the skirting boards hot”
Trail runs, plotting and interrogation of Saxon Churches in Hampshire (I started this in the summer, time to revisit in the winter and visit the remaining few yet to be logged)
I might burp, I might fart.
I will go surfing.
I will wash the car.
