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This will be our first Christmas hosting and we have been debating whether to open or not without deviating from how we celebrate ourselves. In essence, we do the usual shindig of a huge lunch with a few regular friends, my husband cooks, we get roaring pissed and fall into bed about 3 am, clearing up in the morning. We used to spend Christmas at our house in France, and catered easily for 20. The French celebrate on Christmas Eve, so loved having a traditional British day. Since moving back, we have adopted a new tradition of having a Port and Cheese Party on Christmas night as well as lunch, with neighbours and friends from the village and further afield. Itās surprising how many people want to get out of the house in the evening, including the Landlady of the pub next door! Pubs shut after lunch on Christmas Day and our first year living here she bemoaned the fact that her husband fell asleep after their lunch, in front of the TV, her sons went to their rooms with new gadgetry, her newly widowed mum went home and she was left thinking āis this it?ā. So now the kids come too and have board games, including roulette, in another room but we all join in eventually. Absolutely no electronics allowed, unless to make up for a rule book missing. I usually have to scrub wine out of the wheel next day, and chastise my husband for robbing the bank. Then Iāll find the burnt offerings in the ovenā¦
So itās all great fun, very messy but not for the faint hearted! Weād happily share this with like-minded folk (at a priceā¦) who would appreciate it, but canāt get our heads around how to market it selectively/attractively. Any ideas anyone?
Oh, and we go on a clay pigeon shoot on Boxing Day. Again, not for the faint hearted, and finishing in the pub.
I decorate a small (4ā) tree and put it on a table in the corner of the living room so we donāt have to move furniture around, but still appears to be taller than it is. Garlands, boughs, wreaths, centerpieces, lots of other decorations, including a 5ā stocking.
I leave a basket with extra goodies like chocolates and other small food items to share and a small gift for each person. Christmas movies and cdās are left for them.
We have return Christmas guests this year - it might have something to do with their previous experience in our home??
We are Christians, but have a few Christian friends who believe all of the decorations and such are distracting from the true meaning of Christmas. I think theyāre pretty and it lifts my spirits. ;o)
Family time, i have closed 3 weeks off. My husband and children would kill me if i allowed guests to stay over christmas. We will have several pj days with the hoover put away, crumbs on the floor, towels for 2 days and soap marks on the shower doors.
Happened to me last year, there is nothing anywhere near me that is open, well the Senior Center 10 miles away does something. You have to go to another County.
I had not blocked it, did not expect anybody to book. And somebody did, stayed 2 nights in the room as far as I could tell, I had an invite for lunch, horribly cold and wind howling why they came up I never will know.
You wouldnāt quite be giving the traditional Christmas up though. I spend hours decorating the dining room, with (now permanent) barn hooks on the beams for foraged greenery, annoying Himself to put the lights up outside, a tree in the sitting room. I used to hate Christmas when younger, and found it bleak, so I always worked, to ensure staff and patients had a good day instead. I love it now and start planning and cooking from, well, about now I suppose! I had to buy a new copy of Deliaās Christmas last year, after my old one fell apart from overuse.
Oh gawd, Iām making myself sound like a bloody awful domestic goddess, which Iām def not!
I think Moravian Chx pot pie is Moravian chicken stew with thicker sauce. No vegetables, pie crust instead of dumplings or noodles. We are basically gifting the same item. Iām starting to think the stew sounds better. Chicken stew on a cold dayā¦YUM.
@CanadianHost
I love the outdoor lighted Christmas Decorations. Like you, I think they are pretty. However I recognize that I love TACKY over the top lights for Christmas. It is for such a short time, why not over do it!!!
I respect people like your friends who want to focus on the meaning of Christmas but I really enjoy the lights too.
That sounds like fun but would be hard to out into your regular Airbnb listing. It sounds more like something for Airbnb Experiences although thatās only in very limited spots right now.
@cassid Yes!! We do exactly the same. Two weeks of mayhem and basically trashing the place just because we can. Itās like reclaiming your territory, I suppose. And then itās suddenly āoh no, guests are due tomorrow ā and we have to do a major clean up after The Worst Guests Ever aka us.
We live nearly next to an NFL stadium, so this time of year is so much fun for us hosting opposing fan bases. Last year, I put up a little tree with an ornament from every NFL team. It was a huge hit, and every guest quickly checked to ensure that I had fairly and equitably represented their team. The tree was a great icebreaker, and Iāve been looking forward to breaking it out all year. It was a wonderful crutch, lol. We have a big divisional game on Christmas Eve, so weāll be hosting on Christmas and have priced accordingly. Iām a big cookie baker, so I get a big kick out of making nameplate cookies for our guests in Nov-Dec. I keep saying Iām going to do it for other times of the year, but I just donāt have the energy.
What a lot of work, and such a lovely touch. I am sure the fee you can charge means you are singing āweāre in the moneyā as you cut and decorate cookies.
What fun! Iād love to do something like that. You can get a set of miniature NFL pennant sets for $10-15 online or at your local fan shop. Those would be cute for pre-holiday time of year.
I just had a huge, I mean huge, Panthers fan here last Thursday/Friday. Panthers tattoos, game day jersey, blue hair dye. Getting that out wasnāt fun and I didnāt get it out of the towel but she said sheās coming back during winter break so Iām saving the towel for her. LOL.
LOL, from your lipsā¦ Iāve made cookies for years for hubbyās work, so I just tack the guest cookies on to those batches. I freeze the dough, and sometimes I freeze the cookies. It just depends where I am in the cycle! I seal each cookie in plastic with a sealer, so they stay fresh for many days.
I love the idea of the pennantsāpeople would eat that up! Iāll have to look into thatāthank you! I apologize profusely for my fellow Panther fanās bad hair dye/towel behavior. I hope she was a good guest otherwise! Was she watching the Eagles game somewhere while she was visiting you? Youāre lucky she didnāt cry a river of tears on your shoulder before she leftā¦
She was a great guest and she left a fantastic, long, detailed review. Iāve had other guests with this kind of hair color. I just blanked it out. Luckily she only used one towel and it was the old one so no biggie. She went to a local sports bar to watch the game.
Oh! Heaven forbid!
ā and we have to do a major clean up after The Worst Guests Ever aka us.
Iāve made cookies for years for hubbyās work, so I just tack the guest cookies on to those batches. I freeze the dough, and sometimes I freeze the cookies. It just depends where I am in the cycle! I seal each cookie in plastic with a sealer, so they stay fresh for many days.