General Chat

Evelyn stick around and pop in and post, it´s always good to have people around.

What a lovely thought Evelyn. As Rose says, if you do have time to post on Christmas Day, it's bound to be appreciated.

On a practical level, if you have room to lay an extra place at the table a neighbour, or someone suggested by a voluntary organisation, might welcome the opportunity to join you.

Evelyn, I think there will be plenty of people who look in here at Christmas, perhaps they don't or can't post, but even if they are not alone may still be lonely, missing loved ones or the Christmases they used to have, so if you want to help just pop a post on the board and I am sure someone will appreciate it. :-)

Have found the thread at last I am not on my own at Christmas just wondered if I could help some one who is and felt a bit miserable about it, apparently not . every one is so organised and happy. That's good

Hello Evelyn

I won't be entirely alone as son will be here, but at some point I will also pop in on the board, as usual :-)

If you are by yourself on the day and will miss the traditional food, perhaps you can go somewhere for a Christmas dinner during the month? I was very tempted by the menu that the local senior citizens group sent round, the thought of someone else doing the cooking and a bit of a party atmosphere was appealing but I'm still a bit too young!. My friend does that though most years, and someone collects her, is there anything like that where you are?

On Christmas day if you are alone and not wanting to do a Christmas dinner, just choose something nice you like to eat, pick out the best of the tv, or read, phone a friend who might be in a similar position perhaps?

Come on here for a chat, about anything really, there will be someone who is also alone ... or making an 'escape' from relatives who are arguing over the tv remote :-)

Like a day out with your friends AnnC. :-D :-D

I always come on here on Christmas Day :-D

If anybody is going to be alone this year come on here, there will always somebody to talk to.
Evelyn do post again you don´t have to be alone

I have booked us into a hotel in another town for 4 days over Christmas, and will reserve a table for their Christmas Buffet Lunch today or tomorrow.

Hopefully a friend will join us in staying at the hotel and for lunch ...... she just has to make up her mind what she wants to do!

Another friend lives in that same town, will be volunteering as a Greeter at the local airport, but will join us for dinner and drinks at least once over the 4 days.

Think she may have read the thread now. Don't be shy, just post on the thread again by typing in the Add your reply box at the end. We won't bite ;-)

Nudge for Evelyn - she is unable to find the thread

Kim ...........

we did that for years, and for the same reason!! We were on our own in "foreign" countries.

Our first Christmas in the US, we had 12 people round the table in our small apartment ............. 4 Brits (including us), 2 couples from Australia, 1 South African couple, 1 Swede, I Swiss :-D

We continued the tradition after we moved up here ...............

....... in addition to the friends (between 4 and 8) who regularly came on Christmas Day, OH would check the grad students in his department close to Christmas, and any who had no other arrangements and so be alone would be invited to come. Daughter did the same among her friends when she was an undergrad.

We've had as many as 15-16 people round the dining tables, with nationalities as far ranging as Swiss, Scandinavian, French, as well as Canadian and American ..........

........ we would move the easy chairs from the living room into the dining room. Then move the dining table into the living room, extend it as much as we could to seat 8-10, and add another table to the end if necessary.

We would eat around 2 or 3 pm, take things easy. Then replace the furniture to its rightful places, and set about doing a jigsaw on the table in the dining room, play with toys (kids), read books, watch the flames in the fireplace, etc in the living room.

Then have the Christmas cake and cold turkey early in the evening.

The living and dining rooms are separated by a wide arch, which made the furniture moving easy!


We would also do the same at Canadian Thanksgiving


We had some great times, both with old friends, and new ones who we might see only once.

The mother of one of our friends would come up from the US to spend Christmas with her daughter and son-i-l after they married (at the age of 50!) ............. she was in her early 80s, Jewish but ate the bacon we put on the turkey, and had memorised the widest collection of slightly naughty and very naughty limericks that you could imagine.

She loved coming .......... and was most upset when her son-i-l was recruited to a position down in the US and she could no longer have our version of Christmas, which was largely English but with a dash of southern US and Canadian.


But those days are past now!! We're both in our mid-70s, and prefer to have others cook for us (ie hotel), or take the train to the other side of Canada and help our daughter cook in her house.

U r so right Shirley.... The washing up was a bit dodgy after a few glasses but hey thats what boxing day is for..... :-D

Kim .that sounds really nice and you have folks with you who don't have close folks to hand so you celebrate in style with friends around you

Sounds great x

As someone who has no family in the UK I cook lunch turkey veges the whole lot and whoever else doesnt have family in the UK comes to eat... Bring a bottle have a laugh and a giggle and a great time is had by all....
Last year there was me an Aussie... a South African,,,, a Egyptian and two Irish ...

it was great fun..... :-S

we're not sure this year

.............. it might just be the two of us on Christmas, or we may go to a hotel from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.

If we stay home, OH will cook a nice lunch, he's already planning on making a Christmas Pud "just in case", we'll have a couple of phone calls from our daughter and friends, and we'll just enjoy ourselves.

We have done that before, and enjoyed it.

too right - not everyone has someone to come home

I once again will be alone this Christmas day because OH as usual will have to work.Thankfully he will be home sometime after 6pm Not everybody has that

Well we would have been going to our daughter for Xmas if OH hadn't been taken ill

We thought then it would be a stay at home this year with them visiting us on Boxing Day but it's not to be.

Have been "told" by daughter you are coming to us on Xmas Eve and staying over for the Holliday . Even if the weather is bad SIL will pick you up and take you home

Can't stay too long as I have the cat now and he will have to stay at home because SIL is severely allergic to cat dander .

I will leave the cat with lots of food down and granddaughter will pop in on Boxing Day to make sure he is ok and has food and fresh water

It really depends on the reason you are alone. For some it might be the first Christmas since a bereavement, and that would be different from my reason, which is simply that this year both my children are going to OH's parents.

Whatever the reason be kind to yourself - if you are happy to be alone then indulge yourself a little. Some planned television viewing, something nice for lunch, a few treats, a good book and a determination to enjoy the day.

If you don't wish to be alone Detective has made some good suggestions, and some areas put on a Christmas Lunch for people alone. You can either go for lunch or help out!

If the day is a difficult one, take comfort in the fact it really is just one day.