h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've done it again. Had absolutely no time over the past couple of weeks to do anything. One son has already arrived for Christmas - I wasn't expecting him till today, but he came last night, bless him.

I think I'm less prepared for Christmas than I was last year when I spent half the week beforehand sick in bed.

What with homework and piano practice and lessons and Christmas parties and meetings with friends and just being so whacked and people off work and having to stay on longer to get it all done and now with the office closed for three days next week, and the weather being warm, wet and un-Christmassy, I have painted myself into a corner. I have this one day - Sunday - left to clean the whole house and get the Christmas decorations up.

Son No 2 with girlfriend will arrive late this evening - and I don't want to have to be doing any more cleaning or preparation once they are here. Fortunately his girlfriend is extremely competent in the kitchen and she will have to be in charge of lunch and dinner tomorrow. The men will all be out getting in wood from the patch the forester has allotted us, and I have to go to work, followed by a rehearsal for a Boxing Day concert. My son will also be there - he is playing the violin in the concert. He hopes he'll be able to steady his hands after wielding the chain saw all day.

Work is the big one - there are two of us doing the work of 8. The same on Friday - and, as many countries don't close over Christmas eve, and some even on Christmas and Boxing day, there will be a helluva lot of orders and e-mails to process on Friday. Plus all the stuff that has to be set up for the change into the new calendar year.

So I'd better get on with clearing a little space for my guests to sleep and us to sit and be Christmassy together, and the kitchen for the young lady to work in.

Have a lovely day, everyone, whatever you're doing.

I'd adopt a "do minimum" approach to the cleaning, and make putting the decorations up a family joint effort!

Happy Christmas x

I'm aiming for that, Bea. Have a great Christmas yourself!

If you've already got the one Son there; can't you rope him into the putting up decorations?!

housework, before* putting decorations up?; Just position the decorations strategically over the bits that are the least clean in the house; hey presto sorted!

Similar to 2legs, wipe all the dust bunnies under the tree and pile the lovely wrapped gifts all over them. Leave the used wrapping paper under there until New Year

If only it was just dust bunnies. My main problem is that my husband doesn't understand that a living room is for living in.

It's used as a dump for the chain saw and all the lumberjacking accoutrements, shoes are taken off and left all over the place. Now he's brought all the house plants in and they ooze their yucky stuff all over the wooden floor. Instead of a cosy hearth, ugly gloves and tools and bits of wood are distributed all over in the vicinity of the fireplace.

The cleaning and tidying took me to 11.30 last night, but it's all done now to my satisfaction - including a load of washing.

Son No 2 arrived at 10.30 pm, so I hadn't quite finished when they got in, but we had a chat and a glass of and I gave his girlfriend endless instructions about what to do today. I am at work, and have a choir rehearsal this evening, all the men - three sons and their dad - will be in the woods all day bringing home the firewood (it's oak this time - yay!) and she will have to feed the lumberjacks at lunch time, or whenever they pop in. I also left her a long shopping list (and yes - I did give her the money, too) and asked her to cook dinner for us tonight. She's by far a better housewife than me, and a jolly good cook, too.

Tomorrow I can take over again. Still have the bathroom to clean and vacuuming upstairs. Then we can all have fun putting up the decorations and the tree tomorrow. Bangers and mash for lunch tomorrow!

your husband is off now - give him a list and tell him when inspection time is

Or better still, stop caring.

I just misread my own post up there.

Instead of Bangers and mash I thought it said and mash. I knew my handwriting was awful, but I didn't think my typing was illegible, too. Maybe I need new glasses