Today I finally feel vaguley human after a Christmas do on Sunday night - it was at the local Pub and the publican put everything on. If you wanted to drink it you could. It was a recipie for a hangover from the beginning .. and quite likely cost him a small fortune in the bargain. There's two more on this weekend although we will miss one as we have to travel to visit a sick rellie which is almost a relief!

How's your Christmas social life going?

I am going out for an annual Christmas Lunch at the Penninsula Hotel The Penn (One of the poshest in the world, click the link) with the old ladies and gents from the Old Age home I visit. We go for lunch once a month, but this one is the best. It is sponsored by the Hotel Management, so a lovely meal for all.Then the next night is the party at the same home, with another meal and a visit from the sponsor, Lady Kadoorie. Entertainment and YES! Bingo laid on! I can't wait!
I am spending Christmas at Disco Bay (Discovery Bay) on Lantau Island at a friend's place, lots of fun promised as she is a scream . I am making the mincepies and the brandy butter for the pud. All very exciting.

Nil, nix and won't improve. Friend who normally invites me for Boxing day is in America skiing, on my own with an ailing cat, could end up totally alone if cat gets much worse.

Next year year I will invite myself to spend Christmas in Sheffield with my first grandchild.

I've had it up to my eyeballs with christmas parties. I work in a pub and its one function after another this time of year. And people drink themselves stupid, that's apparently the way to celebrate/ commiserate/ acknowledge or anything else in this town. The lack of imagination is mindboggling.
To that end I intend spending my christmas day all alone, watch a movie or two, play on Funtrivia and just relax. Really looking forward to it.

Sorry to hear you'll be alone Sue, though I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, and at least should be relaxing.
We're having 'open house' on Sunday 23rd, where any friends can pop in and stay as long as they wish. We've done this for years and always successful with most people staying several hours. There tends to be an 'afternoon shift' when those with children come, followed by the 'evening shift' when the more serious party goers arrive. It all commences at 2.00 pm and will probably go on till after midnight, then the great clear-up on Monday 24th
We'll be at my daughter's house on Christmas Day along with grandchildren and other family members, about 15 all told. My son-in-law has all the latest gizmos and games, including of course nintendo wii and wide screen Karaoke, etc, etc, so should be quite a party. My wife won a 20 lb turkey in a raffle, a Norfolk Bronze which I'm informed is about the best you can buy, so that'll be our main contribution to Christmas dinner.
We've already had several Christmas dinners and events, including mountaineering club, scout association, grandchildrens' school events, and are spending New Year in north Wales, then visiting my wife's family and friends in Merseyside area. To be truthful, I think I'll be quite happy when it's all over for another year

Mine and Mum's "Christmas Parties" are more or less exactly the same as Sue's - and it doesn't bother us in the least At the most, we might go for a Christmas meal with Mum's family. Christmas Day is relatively easy - go out of one door and through the next door We'll be having Christmas dinner with my sister, her husband and my two nieces. I am really looking forward to it.
Christmas parties, I beleive, can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth

We finally finished our last party (the 5th one) this past Saturday, and turns out it was the funnest one, so we ended on a high note. Christmas day will be just me, my husband, and my 2 girls, then on the 27th my step-children and mother-in-law arrive to stay through the New Year. Always a bit of a melancholy time in a way, because we are living so far away from family and where we grew up. Because we move so often being in the military (7 times in 14 years), I feel a little homesick at Christmas, but not sure which home I'm sick for!

Our one Christmas party with friends has been cancelled until after Christmas so that will be something to look forward to. Other than that it will be family gatherings and a quiet Christmas Day with my children and my mother-in-law for a nice dinner. She's 77 yr and we're giving her a digital camera for Christmas. She's very tecnophopic, but it's a very simple camera we're hoping for the best.

Had my work Christmas party about a week and a half ago. It was very fun.

Might have another with friends when everyone starts coming home from their respective schools across the country

My main pre-Christmas event will be a get-together with a few old friends in London on Saturday 22nd –a few drinks in a simple old-fashioned pub, a non-Christmassy meal and a few more drinks.

I’ll be spending Christmas Day on my own, and judging by past experience I’ll enjoy it very much.

I went to my mom's Girl Scout's Christmas party. It was pretty good. I didn't go to the one at work because I have to work with them, I don't have to drink with them. That's about it for social life. I'll spend Christmas day at mom and dad's with my aunt and my sister and some guest puppies are coming so at least there will be someone to talk to. Sorry to hear about your cat Sue. My horse, who's 33, is at a boarding stable because she cut her leg and it had to be sutured. I'm going to see her tomorrow. Even though it's indoors and heated, I think she's had enough pampering and want's to come home.

No Christmas parties here. But, we do get to go to my father-in-laws house for Christmas, then on to my parents house a few days later.

Very mild partying this year, just dinner with everyone from work last Friday. Coffee and cake at the church tomorrow afternoon (feeling a bit roped into this one!)

Two Christmas concerts this year, last Monday and last Thursday. Disaster on Thursday - more practicing done this year than ever before, real confidence of a great performance, and then an instrument breakage at the last moment. Only the F key, and it was only one of four flutes, so I told her no one could hear, but it was disaster nonetheless.

Thursday night is awards night at the school, where all the scholarships and awards are handed out, from last year. Coffee and cake again ... I expect to bask in glory this year, as the boy graduated last June and has been reaping awards left and right, and the girl graduated from junior high, so has several coming herself.

Christmas itself I expect to be just the three of us. In other years, we would get a visit from nieces whose other grandma lives down the road - they would come over to our place for a break when she got just too much - but she's off in the psych ward in the city this year (I wasn't kidding when I said she'd get to be too much) and so they will probably stay home.

I live too far from family for people to come out just for dinner, especially in winter - four hours driving in the snow is a bit much, even for Christmas dinner. My house is too small to have too many people over for a few days, so I never get to host the big holiday dinner, which I would love to do. It would be so nice to cook for a big crowd, have a big festive party, and then have them all go away again!

Speaking of Christmas parties, does anyone know any fun and different Christmas games to play with a group of mixed ages? I always have to plan the games for our church get-together, and I have trouble finding new ones!

cinnam0n, do you have space to run about. If so, a great ice breaker is Stations. Let me know and I will explain (minimum work for you)

We do have some space (to RUN, I don't know!) But I'd love to know about the game!