It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Off Topic Chat

SarahLil

Other half back to work this morning I set the alarm for 7.30 in the hope it would get me moving but the dark mornings are awful. Just me and the little one at home, feel like I have a sinus infection ears at me too just sipping on a lemsip with the Christmas tree lights on

I just thought to myself it was Wednesday 🤦‍♀️ actually most of yesterday I was convinced it was Tuesday

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121558959#Comment_121558959

For the first time ever I’m set to have a quick January. I’m only due to work 4 days between now and Jan 29th thanks to paternity leave and annual leave.

I have no doubt that time will fly by though. But my thoughts are with all people returning to work this morning. I’ve been that soldier every other year. But I also know by now it’ll feel like you were never off. Ye have all got this!

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560315#Comment_121560315

I walked elf number one to crèche this morning at 8am and it genuinely felt like it was 3am.

Little guy was delighted to be back. I was more upset dropping him off that he was. We had such a lovely Christmas with him and having the time to actually spend time with him. I’m so sick of the 9-5 rat race but sadly it’s needed to live.

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121559108#Comment_121559108

I’ve been doubling down on lotto lately to no avail I haven’t had any luck. Last winning ticket was Dec 6th for a whopping €2 😂😂

As above I’m so sick of the rush of the 9-5 working life. I don’t want to win the lotto to buy expensive things I just want the time to spend with my family and to do things at our own pace.

BK5

Back in work this morning like a lot of you, but we are the Christmas thread so we are the most positive bunch of eejits going ha ha.

Positives - I work outside about 50% of the day so it's not raining and it's not that cold. I am going home in about 2 hours and not back in till Thursday, my brother and his family are calling up later on today for a take away and a chat.

And best of all, I'm healthy and able to get up for a day's work so I've little to be complaining about and plenty to be thankful for.

DvB

Dreading getting up in the morning for the drive to work, with no Christmas FM to cheer me up and a very tough financial ahead the early part of 2024 could be as miserable as it gets however as pointed out above your health is your wealth and fingers crossed this year is better than last on that score.

Need to get back to a healthier lifestyle though as I can sustain last year's habits or I'll be obese by the summer.

Best of luck to all back at work, I'll be joining you from c.7am tomorrow and will be in dire need of coffee and cheering up!

pigtail33

Back to work for me this morning too. I did work one day over Christmas, but this feels like my first day back since Dec 18th. It really doesn't feel like I had two weeks off though.

Looking pretty grey out there today, typical January weather. I think it's due to turn colder from Thursday. I'm really feeling the cold in my home office this morning. I got a heated mouse as a Christmas present last year, so at least that's keeping one hand warm!

Time for a coffee now and a root to see what bits of Christmas treats are left to cheer me up.

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560409#Comment_121560409

When our two were younger the Christmas seasons were the best i ever had as a grown up and I think looking back they were the years I got the post Christmas blues the worst,, its such a magical special time in life that its hard to let it go. The one good thing was the speed at which the season came around again once they started school... Trust me you think its fast now, well it gets faster and faster!

Last word of advice, enjoy it as much as you can and take nothing for granted as they slip by so so quickly, and whilst you'll still celebrate all things Christmas as we do, it definitely changes.

Right, off for brekkie...

dubstepper

Happy new year to all. I had the last of my Christmas drinks last night. Boo! 'Tis a grey wet morning which accurately reflects my mood. On the other hand, once you are back a few days you get over the blues. I just hope my boss is not looking to start the year full tilt (he often is)

Wishing all those that had a hard 2023 a better 2024 (and a wee welcome to @Loughc's new addition).

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560376#Comment_121560376

Aw enjoy @Loughc! The best thing about a new baby at the end of December is snuggling in bed in January while the world outside goes by. Our elf is 9 now and every January, I still think of how lovely it was giving her the morning feed and then snuggling back down with her in the bed.

CheerLouth

Annual Leave for Christmas 2024 in the diary, plus the birthday booked off. Top tip - life is too short to work on your birthday, get it in the diary now folks!

antimatterx

Not back until Thursday thankfully, after foolishly not taking much leave in 2023, I took a month off for Christmas. I could feel burnout and it was a slog getting to my holidays now I feel great and I'm excited about work again.

I won't make the same mistake next year I have a few gigs and a holiday planned and I'm putting my leave in now.

BK5

My brother just texted me to say him and the family will not be calling up, he has tested positive for Covid. Is it on a comeback?

With typical brother sympathy I replied "Jaysus you'll do anything to avoid going back to work!".

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560830#Comment_121560830

Heard of loads getting it in the build up.

Andrew93

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560830#Comment_121560830

We got hit with it mid December. Plenty of extended family and friends had cases over the festive period too.

miamee

I've heard of two different people in the last week, one of them is a friend of mine who is high risk and is in hospital (she had other ailments but covid on top not helping things). It's unfortunately still lurking out there folks.

pigtail33

Two of my friends had Covid before Christmas, one of them works in a primary school and said it was rampant in the school.

I think I had the flu over New Year, so that seems to be on the go too. It definitely wasn't a cold and two Covid tests were negative. I was completely floored for 48 hours.

SarahLil

This time last week we were just leaving my cousins house heading home for St.Stephens Day dinner 😭

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560958#Comment_121560958

I hope you are feeling better now @pigtail33

Luckycharms_74

Happy New Year to everyone 😀.

I had my last blowout last night after 8+ days of eating junk food. I must remind myself not to overbuy tins of biscuits/ sweets etc. I think there are about 6+ tins unopened and some are wrapped as gifts for people who didn't call or I saw due to them having COVID.

Only another 357 days until Christmas Day 2024 😁

But until then I'm back to the reality of work and the gym later 😐️

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121561774#Comment_121561774

Went to the gym myself at lunchtime...he decided to spring strength testing on us which was all grand until we got to the cardio portion: 500m ski, 750m row, 1500m bike 🤢🤢🤢 I'm still not over it nearly three hours later

pigtail33

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121561675#Comment_121561675

Thanks @miamee I'm definitely a lot better, but still not 100%. Getting a flu vaccine will be added to my pre-winter list of things to do from now on.

Posy

Definitely do it! I started getting the flu vaccine after an awful dose one year- was over a month before I felt 100% again. You can get the covid and flu vaccine together now too, great to have that boost coming into the winter months.

antimatterx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121561774#Comment_121561774

Fortunately I could go the gym at 11 this morning when it was quiet and I'll do the same tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to the new year after work gym crowd, the amount of people at the start of the year makes it hell.

I bought some dumbells and a bench for my house. I've noticed that the start of the week is always the busiest and it gets quieter as the week goes on (people lose interest in guessing) so that will help me avoid the crowds.

DvB

Brought the kids to see 'Wonka' in the cinema, and we all really enjoyed it. Well worth a watch, Hugh Grant playing an ompa lumpa was particularly good!

Traffic there and back was horrific though, an hour both ways for what's normally 10-15 minutes for us. reminds me of whats ahead for my drive home from work now from tomorrow.

L1011

Had today off work to drive back home; back WFH tomorrow and maybe Thursday but the office has to come on Friday. House is at least still decorated so not too depressing yet.

BK5

The amount of people/houses that have taken their decorations down 🤬

pigtail33

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563396#Comment_121563396

I hadn't been outside in three days and I was shocked (really shouldn't be) to see the small number of houses that still have their Christmas lights on.

I have to admit, I don't always leave mine up until the 6th, but the way it falls this year, everything will still be up and fully lit until then.

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563396#Comment_121563396

I really noticed the social media trend of everyone saying goodbye to their tree etc on Jan 1st. So annoying these trends.

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563424#Comment_121563424

We're the same, depending on how the days fall we've taken them down on NYD or the 2nd, before we head back to work, but the last couple of years we've left up until 6th and will do so again this year. Our estate usually reduces by about a half by now though, some years it's nearly all gone by the 2nd.

SCOOP 64

Not back to work till the 8th monday ,sitting here still admiring my christmas tree it will stay up with the outside lights until the 6th, but feeling as if i missed Christmas as it came and went so fast again but it will come around as fast again.

Loughc

Once again I just want to thank everyone for posting here, during the busy Christmas season it's easy to find the Christmas spirit most years, but it's the other 10/11 months of the year is when we need it the most and that is where this forum really delivers keeping us all going throughout the year.

Only 34 days to go to our next Bank Holiday of 2024!

ClaudeVercetti

Hope the first day back wasn't too bad for those that were in. I was quiet on here as was spending time up in Dublin with the family.

It was a brilliant Christmas and not gonna lie nearly felt like crying going back! But we go again next year, a great one ahead!

Also to mention the darts given it's part of the build up - that Littler lad is a joy to watch can't wait to see the final tomorrow!

Loughc

Littler is so good. How he is playing so calmly is beyond me. Wiser than his age appears to be.

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563921#Comment_121563921

Have to be honest, not taking to him at all, real whiff of arrogance off him. Hope Humphries wins it as he's been the best player in the world for the last year.

buzzerxx

In the Omni sc Santry today. Nice to see all the Christmas lights still on. Was very busy too, felt like Christmas week.

SCOOP 64

Thought TV would be back to normal being most people back at work but how often would you see BBC1 and ITV showing films on a Tuesday night at same time.

Tippman24

I saw some advertisement on the television today for some crowd encouraging people to join their Christmas 2024 Savings Club. We had one lady in the Office who ran a Savings Club something similar for a few years.It was very hard to get around the thought in January of putting money away for something a full 12 months away, but it was great getting a few hundred into your paw coming the payout day in early December. The positive feeling lasted all the way home until she who must be obeyed was met. Anyway Happy New Year to all. Just think that there is somebody going into work somewhere this week whose job will be to start making stuff for Xmas 2024.

Heroditas

Not back into work today but I still had to spend about 4hrs on the laptop doing work. Grrrrr

However, regarding lights and decorations, our estate has quite a few older people in it so although the decorations go up a good bit later, they keep them up until the 6th.

gidget

I've to do a graveyard run to the family graves sometime this week. I got these little mini Christmas Trees that I decorated with mini baubles & also artificial wreaths that I decorated the graves with at the start of December for the Christmas season. My intention is to save a bit of money & re-use them each year, instead of real ones. Here's hoping the recent wild weather hasn't sent them all in various directions around the cemeteries 🤞.

Princess Calla

Just doing the Lego "Santa visit" set.

The set is 18+ however I was building with the elves.

On one of the instruction pages it states , something to the effect of "presents are hidden around the house as a nod to parents who had to go the extra mile to hide them from curious children "

I suppose it is innocent enough and could be easily explained away but it was a shock to see it there.

So anyone else sitting down with elves to do it, be warned!

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564249#Comment_121564249

The set is 18+.

I think most people get it.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564297#Comment_121564297

Yeah I acknowledged the fact it was 18+ .....it's Lego I would see that as a technical ability, not that there's "adult content"

However building Lego is a nice way to spend time with your kids.

We've already built the Christmas tree, wreath, gingerbread decorations, polar bears and Santa's sleigh.

I wasn't expecting that sentence in the instructions.

I posted in good faith to give a heads up to any other parents who may have the set to build.

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564310#Comment_121564310

Fair enough point thanks🙂

Smell the glove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564158#Comment_121564158

My whole family do a savings club for Christmas. Each member give various amounts to my mother who puts it's weekly into the credit union and takes it out two weeks before Christmas then. I put 20 a wk in. It's great being handed €1000 in the run up.

DvB

Well, back at my desk. The drive in wasn't bad (very little traffic, hope its the same this evening) but not having Christmas FM on was a tiny bit of a downer, must remind myself of that next November when its back, its for such a short run it needs to be savoured.

Anyway, was greeted by all the office Christmas decorations still in place, they'll probably come down next Monday after little Christmas but cheered me up nonetheless. Will be interesting to see if there many decorations in houses still up when driving home, I certainly hope so anyway.

Only 40 odd emails to review so that's not too bad as I doubt a quarter will require any action.

Hoping to be not too busy today (office should be quiet) so will look to catch up in here & another few bits.

CheerLouth

Day 2 - still could not get out of bed. Littlest elf asked me when she came pottering down the hall after 8am "Mam, why we up in the middle of the night". Still I'm off tomorrow so not too bad. Although we will start the slow de-Christmas of the house 😭 We will take the sitting room tree down as the man is coming to collect it on Saturday at some stage. We've a wedding on Sat too so don't want to be killing myself & going wrecked to it. I Think I will leave my garland on the mantlepiece up until the Bank Holiday though. I did that last year & it gave a nice cheer to the room in the dark Jan evenings.

DvB

Speaking of 'de-christmas-ing' the house, my Mrs started to take down a few peripheral bits yesterday, and will carry on doing that until the weekend so in theory all we'll have to take down are the trees on Sunday. I'll take down the external stuff on Saturday as the forecast is currently for it to be dry.

I suspect it'll take most of the weekend to get everything down & packed away carefully.

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564627#Comment_121564627

We've started little bits like that - Mr. CL is currently stripping the Christmas bedding off the beds & I've all the Christmas jumpers in the wash. I'll start lining up the Christmas delph later on to box away tomorrow. Like that, it will take us a few days to do it & then the house will need another deep clean.

Loughc

I’m starting taking bits down today as well. Mrs Loughc was complaining about lack of space with all the newborn and toddler stuff around.

While I protested initially I just said look Christmas 2024 we won’t need the Moses basket or sleeping pods etc so we can leave everything up uninterrupted for the 2024 season and every year after that.