Just like Mariah Carey, you don’t want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing you need: for the farm duties to go smoothly – and with no surprises – so you can enjoy the festivities with your nearest and dearest. And it all begins by getting up while Santa is still out rooftop-hopping.

Up before Santa is back in Lapland

The cattle are lowing, the farmer awakes. Yes, as a dairy farmer, you are used to the pre-dawn starts. And while Good King Wenceslas had the Feast of Stephen, a quick cup of tea will have to do for you. You have your own feast to lay on. After all, a hungry herd is a hungry herd – Christmas Day or not. Looks like the first thing you’ll be opening today is a bale of silage. Then it’s on to milking, scraping out and bedding up.

Maybe your kids will help? There’s nothing more motivating than the promise of presents.

Into the warm for Christmas Dinner

It doesn’t matter that you can’t feel your hands. Or that your nose is redder than Rudolph’s. It’s almost time for Christmas Dinner – and you have enough food to nourish a small army. Fantastic. Just don’t get too comfortable. Because before you know it…

It’s back to work for you!

While your nearest and dearest – and in-laws – recite their cracker jokes and slide gently into a food coma, it’s back out to work for you. Afternoon milking can be tough going with a tummy full of turkey and trimmings. But it’s a great way to work off the dinner and stoke up a fresh appetite for more food later. Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But since when has that held you back? Wellies on. Time to trek your bovine disciples back to the parlour for another round of merry milking.

Time for presents

After a final check of your herd, once they’re back in their winter housing, it’s finally time for you to switch off. And for some reason, the flood of complementary calendars and wall planners that you have received from your suppliers hasn’t quite sated your appetite for presents. Just as well. Because there’s a small mountain of gifts that are begging to be unwrapped. Remember when receiving socks and a woolly jumper was something that you dreaded?

Eat, drink and be merry

With your daily duties complete, it’s time to switch off and enjoy the festivities with your family. There are games to be played, terrible television proggies to watch and an awful lot of food left to eat. And that single malt isn’t going to drink itself, is it?  

What about you?

Dairy farmers have time management skills that put even Santa to shame. So how’s your Christmas Day shaping up? Do leave a comment and share your thoughts with us and your fellow farmers. And however you spend it, we hope you have a fantastic Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Now, where’s that Mariah track?