Are you getting home for Christmas? When?

Faith

My flight's at 12.

TBH, I'm in a bad mood! I've barely slept all week due to exams and then I only got a few hours last night because I'd to get up so early today! And then I've agreed to work 9 - 5 tomorrow! It's a hard knock life.

My mum rang me yesterday and broke the news that my cat died 10 days ago. She didn't want to tell me before my exams, and now I've to go back to a petless house .

r3nu4l

Faith wrote:

My mum rang me yesterday and broke the news that my cat died 10 days ago. She didn't want to tell me before my exams, and now I've to go back to a petless house .

Hmm, maybe the fact that you have agreed to do some work at home will help you keep your mind off it for a little while. Time for a Scottish kitten maybe?

Looking forward to getting home, I keep checking the maps for Stanstead Airport parking. I'm fine doing the whole A11 and M11 thing, even the exit into Stanstead but think I'm going to have difficulty finding my assigned parking spot It's all an adventure

Movershaker

Flying out from JFK on Thursday night and will arrive in Dublin on Friday morning. Can't wait to go home, even though I've not even been here two months yet. Not cos I'm homesick, just looking forward to xmas! Coming back to New York for New Year's. I could have stayed in Dublin but it's totally **** on NYE so I decided against it.

Pepe LeFrits

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

See the sig - going to a NEW home for Christmas!! Or at least making a taster visit. Looking forward to it hugely.

The older you get, and the less often you go 'home', the more you'll be struck by how small your parents are every time you see them after a long absence.

Speak for yourself! I don't think I'll ever see my 6 foot 3 and a half inch father as small. My ma, perhaps, but then it's been that way for 5 years...

Home on the 20th for two weeks. Really looking forward to it; tis also a taster visit for me, moving back in Jan.

Lump

I'm looking more and more forward to going home, probably because I am working 7 days straight until Saturday night then fly early on Sunday! I'm looking forward to the rest

John

Guess_Who

First Christmas away from home.

I'm sure it will be a bit wierd having Christmas with friends instead of family but it's too sunny here to really feel like Christmas so I don't really get a sense that I'm missing out on anything. (except my Mammy's cooking and the tin of Chocolate Kimberleys )

Rabies

Guess_Who wrote:

First Christmas away from home.

I'm sure it will be a bit wierd having Christmas with friends instead of family but it's too sunny here to really feel like Christmas so I don't really get a sense that I'm missing out on anything. (except my Mammy's cooking and the tin of Chocolate Kimberleys )

Me too.
But I got a christmas package from my mother a few days ago. Few small gifts from the family.

She packed some Scotch Clan, Minitures chocolates and two packs of Tayto Chesse and Onion. She did the same when I was working in America

Guess_Who

I want your Mammy's christmas parcel. I got a load of knickers from Pennys cos someone told her underwear was expensive here.

I'm holding out more hope for the present from my sister but it's all wrapped up til Christmas morning.

Rabies

There is some clothes in the parcel as well. Won't open anything until the weekend. Fly to Perth then, woohoo
For now, the chocolate is keeping me happy.

Lump

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IRISH-Tayto-Cheese-Onion-6-pack_W0QQitemZ260057932295QQihZ016QQcategoryZ38249QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

vorbis

going home this Friday! Looking forward to it. Flying out at 7pm, landing at 6AM. At least I'll get away from all the talk about how Tom Brady's breakup will affect the season.

eiretamicha

Sorry about your kitty, Faith. It's so hard losing a pet.

Ruu_Old

Guess_Who wrote:

First Christmas away from home.

I'm sure it will be a bit wierd having Christmas with friends instead of family but it's too sunny here to really feel like Christmas so I don't really get a sense that I'm missing out on anything. (except my Mammy's cooking and the tin of Chocolate Kimberleys )

It aint easy, this is my second one away from home. I will probably make an attempt to fly home next year. Am waiting for the mothers parcel as well and some money for my birfday in January *rubs hands*. Enjoy it anyway and safe travelling those making the trip back to the auld country.

Hagar

It's well for you guys, I won't be going back to Ireland this year either but to add insult to injury my mother-in-law arrives today for a two weeks stay. Bah humbug.

iguana

r3nu4l wrote:

Well, living in England means I have no excuse for not getting home I suppose, although I've just bought a house and am getting married next year so I'd love to have a Christmas with Mrs. r3nu4l, just the two of us.

I'm getting that this year and tbh, I'm dreading it. I've spent the last 4 Christmas days with my boyfriend's family in Dublin and then it's down to Limerick on Stephen's day to be with mine.

But this year we've chosen our puppies over our families and will be staying in London, just the two of us. As the costs of buying our house, getting married and taking on the dogs (one puppy got sick on the day his puppy insurance ran out and cost us £600 to make him better) have made it unrealistic to buy a car this month and drive home and we didn't want to kennel them.

Then again I've found that most of the things I miss about Christmas aren't re-capturable when your just home on a visit. We used to throw a party on the 23rd when we lived in Dublin, which I really missed, but we can hardly do that in the in-laws house. We used to spend the night of Christmas eve alone together and exchange a small gift at mid-night, which isn't so intimate and fun when your m-i-l refuses to let you out of her sight for 10 minutes.

We used to have champagne (actually cheap cava;) ) and fresh croissants from the muslim staffed Spar in Ranelagh for breakfast and exchange the rest of our gifts together, before his family would call over after they'd been to mass for a glass of mulled wine and take us to their house for dinner. But last year we all had to get up together and exchange our gifts in front of all his family and try and go un-noticed in the who's going to mass debate. Then we had a fried breakfast which we never normally have as we're saving room for xmas dinner.

On Christmas night we would head back home for an hour before calling to a friends house and having a few chilled out hours of winding down from the family Christmas. But last year getting from Stillorgan to to Rathmines while slightly drunk was out of the question so we had to sit with the rest of the family while everyone got more and more bored and went to bed by 11.

And my OH got pretty frustrated with our visit to my parents as three chilled days of walking the family dog by the river was frustrating to him when it was time he could have been going out with all his friends in Dublin that he doesn't get to see when we're in London.

I guess our first 3 years together were the perfect mix of family, friends and privacy whereas last year had a bit too much family and not enough friends or privacy. And this year will be all about privacy (and dog walking) and no family or friends, as the majority of our friends here are heading home or having family over so we won't even see them. But at least I can take comfort in the fact that we will get to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special uninterrupted this year.

r3nu4l

Yep, the Christmas break for me is only one week this year, so I spend three days with my fols, three days with soon-to-be Mrs. r3nu4ls folks then a quick drive from Tipp to Dublin, stop at my folks again for lunch before going to the airport for our flight.

Not all relaxation either as we have a ton of wedding plans to make and people and locations to visit. All getting very stressful right now...

Anyway, I'm going to love seeing a few people again, even if I don't get to see many of my friends. I'm going to enjoy a pack of Tayto Cheese and Onion too

EDIT: Just noticed that a lot of flights from Heathrow are eing cancelled due to fog...hope they don't start cancelling Stanstead flights...the fog is expected to continue until the end of the week....I'm going home on Saturday :eek:

Lump

It's looking hit and miss on getting flights this weekend. Bloody fog. Thank god ryanair don't do safety

r3nu4l

Lump wrote:

It's looking hit and miss on getting flights this weekend. Bloody fog. Thank god ryanair don't do safety

Hee hee, that really did make me laugh out loud, too true sir, too true

EDIT: ah sh*t, now Ryanair are gonna sue boards.ie too!

Lump

Pfff, the wink makes it all legal

iguana

I'm actually impressed by Ryanair's approach to the cancelled flights. They're allowing people who had flights booked between the 22nd and 24th to switch to earlier flights free of charge if they are concerned about the weather. It seems a bit better than some of the airlines are offering. Quite a few people with BA flights to other parts of the UK are stranded in London.

Lump

Most of Ryanair's flights are leaving, some with a delay. The benefits of flying from a quieter airport. The reason flights in heathrow are being cancelled because 6 miles instead of 3 has to between planes on the ground/taking off..... Ever hear of ground radar BIATCHS!?!??!

John