What's the best bit of Xmas for you...

[daisydee43]

I love the planning and anticipation and getting all the finishing touches but when I was a kid I loved boxing day because my grandad made a grotto with a lever you pulled and a present fell out ...

OvO - yeh we like to play games with dh family but unfortunately they don't have the same dry humour as my lot and every year I make a fool of myself as am very competitive, have made decision not to do it this yr

I check out which seasonal fragrences Yankee Candles will have and the range of 'Holiday' colours OPI are bringing out.

(Last year was Muppets to go with the Muppets Movie- I bought the Rainbow glitter. Very nice on my nails on New Years Eve. Spent most of the 2nd January trying to remove it)

Christmas Eve for all the reasons above. I had pneumonia in 2010 and was 39 weeks pg in 2011 which means I'm due a bloody good Christmas this year!

I love going to the panto. Last few years we've been on Christmas eve. Last year about 14 of us went for dinner after it was good fun.
Panto was booked in jan for this year .
My dc's are 17 & 10 so no believing in Santa here.
I've already started shopping i'm so excited!!

I love the decorations, and the lights. When we were children we used to drive to see my Granddad each Sunday and we would count how many Christmas trees we could see in peoples windows, getting more excited each week in advent as the numbers grew.

I like taking DS to the grotto and window-shopping around the Christmas World at the garden centre.

I like taking my DC to Church for the carol services in the lead up. The candles and the carols are lovely. Even better if we get a nativity .

I like getting the radio times two weeks before and planning the viewing.

I like mince pies and Christmas chocs and stollen (though find we eat too much of it in run up, so am sick of it by Christmas).

I love the shopping as I love spoiling my kids. We've had a tough couple of years as DD has cancer, so Christmas serves as another reminder how lucky I am to have them both here and safe with me. I like to get them nice things from FC and to see how excited they get, even DD who is a very cool 14 now.

I love Christmas Eve. We spend it at my Mum's and have a family party. Now DS will be 4, and my two Dnephews will be nearly 4 and 2, so excitement will abound!

I love it all. Counting now. Looking forward to Halloween and Bonfire Night as fantastic steps towards the main event!!

Every Single Bloody Bit Of It.

I love it in September when things start appearing in the shops

Helping at DCs Christmas Fayre

Writing and sending Christmas cards

Planning lots of activities for wooden advent calendar (new last year, what a hit!)

Having an evening with Nigella's "Christmas" recipe book and planning all the delish food and drink I'm DH is going to produce

Making mince pies from scratch on Christmas Eve morning then going out for a family meal in the afternoon

Watching Christmas DVDs such as Polar Express, the Snowman, Shrek the Halls

Putting together the Elves' Hamper (an idea nabbed from MN last year and another hit!)

DH cooking divine ham which lasts for a good few days...yum, with chutney.

The Strictly Come Dancing Final. (Strangely for first 2 years of DD's life she had to be taken to the out of hours doctors during this show...was she trying to tell me something about my viewing habits?!)

Pimms Winter.......