I had port for the first time yesterday! What have I been missing out on?! It's lovely stuff. Make no wonder they all used to drink it years ago. (and get gout!)

I've got three things to wrap, then I'm done. Three days to work and one on call duty, and that's me done until Saturday 3rd Jan

I tend to see my lad from about 7 in the morning til 11. Then I set off to my mum n dads and we have dinner for one. After dinner we go and "walk it off" around new miller dam. Then it's back there for left overs.


I tend to travel back home the same day, as my lad wants to stay with me Christmas day night, and play with his stuff.

I just cant get into it this year, must be the lack of sleep at the moment! I havent got half the presents I am supposed to but thankfully my office is close to John Lewis so a mad dash round there should do!

It will be my son's third Christmas and this time he is really excited about it, I even had to clarify what present it was he wanted from Father Christmas....just so there are no misunderstandings!!!! Its my daughter's first Christmas so she obviously wont have a clue but Ive told her if she could sleep through the night there is no other present I need!!!!

As a single man I used to take Christmas Eve off and go into Manchester for about 9am and then leave at lunch time having got everything sorted. Then it would be a beer whilst wrapping presents and watching Its a Wonderful Life then off to my folks.

This year its Christmas Eve at my mums, Christmas Day at my dad's, Boxing Day at my inlaws, 28th at my dads for the match and 29th at a panto with my mum and sisters kids!!!! I will need a break after that!!! Divorce is cruel on kids in many ways and the ball ache of going to different places is just one of them!!! haha

I will still watch Its a Wonderful Life Christmas Eve and then no doubt look after the little miss (hoping she sleeps) whilst her indoors gets some sleep and I hopefully get to have a go on my new PS4!!!!

At what point can you buy presents for your kids that are really for yourself?!! I want scalectrix so bad but not sure my son will care about it! I am in the process of smartening up the garage, making it fully dust free and a bit of a man cave so would be awesome to get a massive track around the walls that me and the boy can escape to!!!

Hydy...why do you have a dinner for one at your mum and dads ? I'm concerned you haven't enough to feed three ? I can send some mince pies over if that helps...

Newmiilerdam is nice tho'

MBWB...I bought my lad a scalectrix when he was about 5...I let him play with it when he was 8

Divorce makes Xmas complicated doesn't it..my son and daughter take it turns to rotate with me and their mum. Then my son also rotates with his partners parents and she also has to rotate it with her parents. My daughter rotates her kids with her ex (which is painful) and with her mum and then me ... it doesn't always work out...I just await 'instructions' where to be and at what time

I read that back and thought some smartarse might make a comment about the meal for one bit

And I didn't know newmillerdam was all one word either!

I've got my lad a new scalextric. Bugatti one

As for mince pies/Christmas cake /Christmas pud. I don't like any of them!

I'm confused as hell @ your schedule jacko

Smartarses on here?!? Never!

The last two years we had Christmas at my house and I cooked which I enjoyed. This year we thought it would be too much hard work so hence going to my dads. I must admit I wish I was doing it though as I like the challenge of it all and then have everything exactly the way I want!!! (Control freak??!! nah!).

It's ok Hydy...I never understand it anyway...allI know is where to go and at what time, it all seems to work out by some miracle...

Am on the Baileys now...is it really only 5pm

Am well impressed MBWB...cooking a Xmas dinner always makes me shudder, all those pans going, the oven on,the grill on, the microwave whirring away...jeezuz..

Any ideas how to wrap up a bmx?

just chuck a blanket over it...

Think I'm just gonna put a big bow on it.

I usually take my daughter to the town match on boxing day which is my day to have her...but we have sold out along with rotherham...will be attending sat and next sun though so all is not lost

My daughter is having a sewing machine off me for xmas...a right little arty sod she is

Xmas day with the missus and the 2 stepdayghters...al day talking about themselves....i usually down a couple of bottles of rose and get peised

Not like you waltz

I'm drinking port, what is a decent measure? I've had two full glasses, and I feel shitfaced!

Just realised, I had some paracetamol about two hours ago too

Adds to the buzz hydy

Cant say iv ever tried port..just avin a few bottles of stella outa my xmas prezzie our lasses sister has bought me...noeone will notice if i tape it up again

Apparently noeone knows what to buy me...lots of obvious packs of beer under the tree
Unless its some ied some parki has left while iv been to work lol

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=casio+eqb+500+red+bull&oq=casio+eqb+500+red+bull+&aqs=chrome..69i57.5096j1j4&client=ms-android-h3g-gb&sourceid=chrome-mobile&espv=1&ie=UTF-8#q=casio+eqb+500+red+bull&tbm=isch&sboxchip=Images&facrc=_&imgrc=osK3gjvffVhSxM%253A%3BpLQ-j9_IeGk8mM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.clockshop.ru%252Fobj%252Fimg%252Freviews%252FCASIO_EQB-500%252FEQB-500RBK-1AER.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.clockshop.ru%252Freadnews.php%253Fnid%253D148%3B730%3B612


I treated myself to this! It's connects to your phone via Bluetooth and an app. Tells you if you've got emails etc and it keeps perfect time through your phone. Its solar powered too.

Hydy..... Remember your remote control car.... And the canal!

I must admit I am a fairly decent cook, all the blokes in my family are, my gran made sure of that! Last year I went a bit too far though, after coming back from a skiing trip with friends about 4 days before Christmas I did homemade chocolates, biscuits, bread, cakes, breadsticks and that was before Christmas! For Christmas dinner I made a proper turkey dinner with all the trimmings and homemade stuffing using bread I baked. I also had to do stuff for my inlaws who are all veggies and then I went all Heston on the desert and made an edible potted tree which was a shortbread flowerpot filled with chocolate mouse and topped with chocolate cake to look like soil. I made cinamon breadsticks and then mellon balled fruit cake (shop bought as I ran out of time) covered in green marzipan I made. Then there were a trio of mini cakes!

I loved the challenge of it but I was up till 1am most nights before working flat out so in future I will scale back what I do.

The kitchen is my favourite room, we have a new build house and I specced it as far as I could for that very reason! I am starting to teach my lad how to cook but at the moment it normally means he eats raisins and stirs the occaisional bowl than does much more.

At work they keep telling me to do Bake Off but I am not sure about that, think I would come across as a total tool!!!

The other year I had to wrap a trike for my son, I did it on Christmas Eve and it was a nightmare. I did manage to cover it but it took a full roll of paper and trying to grow an extra pair of hands!

Nice watch I keep thinking of getting one but I have a CWC which is normally only given to squaddies and its pretty much indestructable and outlasted 2 other "fashion" watches I have bought.

I know a lad that went for auditions for the bake off, and he didn't get through. He's an accomplished cook with his own blog site and a published cook book. So it must be hard.