Do you take on too much

at this time of year? We all have our ideas of what a "good" Christmas is supposed to be about, so do you think we take on too much in order to provide that ideal for whoever it may be?

I'm hosting Christmas lunch for 17 people (at last count) this year - there will be a feast of food, and the drinks will flow freely, and presents will be exchanged, but will it be worth it the next day?

For us, this year is our first Christmas Day together as a family - last year, DD1 spent Christmas with her dad, so our Christmas was on December 30th... I was seven months pregnant, and insisted on doing everything myself. This year, in order to enjoy it more, I'm being lazy - ordered chicken from Red Rooster, buying cooked and peeled prawns, cooking the turkey the day before, and ham is always best cold. There will be salads, a potato bake (the only thing cooked on the day, but prepared the day before), and dessert will be pavlova with lashings of cream, banana, passionfruit and strawberries, a trifle and christmas pud for those traditionalists.

I had originally planned to do bon-bons, and all sorts of scrappy projects, but the days just keep disappearing! I've got a few small projects to do with the kids next week (and a trip to our LSS for a kids canvas session on Tuesday), and I'll get stuck into all my annual Christmas baking now that we've found the Kenwood buried under the mountains of crud downstairs... but I don't think I can even get motivated to do anything else ATM!

Will it be worth it the next day? I'd like to think so! The kids will remember going outside to let the dogs out and discovering a new swing set (put up by dad in the late hours of dark the night before), Nana will remember Christmas with her grandkids (although it's a shame it won't be all of them!), Nanny is staying for two weeks, so she's just gonna have a ball, and be glad to get home when she goes... and mum and dad are going to stress that everyone is getting along, what crazy things is Nana saying now, will the family friends be okay with the crazy family members, has everyone eaten enough, will the cat be okay, are the dogs going to be a nuisance all day... and the list goes on and on... don't mums and dads usually find things to worry about??!!

So, I'd like to say Merry Christmas to everyone, and best wishes for the new year. It sounds insane now, but it will be worth it on the day... shame it takes so much money and time to get to the end!!