whats your fave part of christmas?

[zazzabeans]

for me it has to be the run up to xmas... people putting up xmas trees, festive xmas shoppers, xmas music in the shops, smells of xmas such as gingerbread yankee candles and the xmas lattes in starbucks

I love all of Christmas, but I especially enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Loads of traditional Christmas music playing in the house, lovely cooking smells, wrapping presents...

I also love going round all the Christmas markets, mostly for the food and drink!

Tree day! We go to the forestry commission and argue choose our tree, take it home & decorate while listening to Christmas music & drinking mulled wine.

And a couple of days before the big event we go into town spend a few hours at the german market before going for a nice meal to celebrate our 'anniversary' - we met at a works Christmas party

This is our last DC free Christmas (all being well) so we shall be making the most of it before a new tradition starts! Exciting!

I am of those of you with a proper Christmas market to go to. There are none close enough to me, that I can find, to take the girls on the bus

I've just been eyeing up our boxes of decorations in the airing cupboard wondering whether to go through and check they're all ok ....will hold off until next week when dp is on afters though & take myself off upstairs with a mulled one evening when the girls are asleep or I might put them up today

It's all about new fleecey Christmas pyjamas, and full tummies, and something cracking on the telly, and a box of Roses to my left and a quadruple Bailey's to my right, and the tiddlers playing nicely for once, and the dog and cat snoozing after their offally delights, and oooooh, I love it ...

Love the Christmas Market and the smell of cloves and oranges and mulled wine as you go in. The candle lit services in church are beautiful and when all the services are over I can put my feet up with a very large gin and have a week off.

Off MN and back to planning Christmas services.....

Me - when it's over

Dh - dr who Xmas special

Dcs - visiting FC, putting stockings up, Xmas morning, Xmas dinner , school Xmas play & fair, putting tree & decorations up

It's all about the kids & for them really

I could easily do without the smellies from mil, the visiting
I guess when the children are grown up it'll be more about family but at the moment I see them everyday , my dcs I mean

The run up to christmas (about the 7 days previous)- with Xmas eve being my absolute favourite day of the whole season.

By about 5pm on Christmas day I start to feel sad that its all over.

hate Boxing Day

I'm really looking forward to boxing day this year
Inlaws are staying Xmas eve to boxing day
Once they've gone and I've got the house back to myself again we've got friends coming for a lunch of soup & crusty bread & leftovers & celebratory gin

But I hate having people to stay in the house

See I slightly disagree captainsweatpants (I know - a mumsnet first, somebody disagreeing )

I think the present from my dotty Mil contributed to xmas greatly! I mean what would the present opening be without ANOTHER bottle of the SAME smellies set that she has bought you for the LAST 5 YEARS!

Oh and don't mention the 'mystery' present from my Grandpa's Girlfriends Dog (He's 85, she's 72 but still a girlfriend IMO)

But after reading your second post, if my Inlaws were to even stay for half an hour over xmas eve-boxing day I would spend the whole day outside with DD

Another one for Christmas Eve - Everybody seems much more friendly and happy when you are out and about. Smiling faces, polite chat, can I help you out there..? Sort of thing. Just people being nice to each other.

I am yet to take a Christmas Eve drive and get another driver flick me the bird! For some reason drivers on Christmas Eve are so nice to each other.

I like the radio on Christmas Eve when in the kitchen doing things for the next day - all the happy songs and the Christmas top 20 best records playing. Its great :)

I love all of it, but I wonder if I love the build up more than the day itself. I love wrapping presents, putting up the tree etc.

Reastie I think a lot of the enjoyment is in the build up; the visiting, the decs going up, lights going on in towns/cities etc, the big food shop....the anticipation...
waiting to see the dc's faces on Christmas morning

• All the lights
• Xmas food (Xmas M&S range, Lebkuchen and Advocaat)
• Xmas TV (Downton Abbey, Octonauts Christmas Special)

WHAT IS THE NEW PYJAMA THING?????

When did that become a thing?

I love all of it but the bit between christmas and new year the best. Boxing day is basically a bit of a repeat of christmas day in our family with a big luch and all of the family together. I love watching the children play with their new toys and watching christmas TV when some of the frantic buzz has setteld down.

DS turns 2 just before Christmas Day, so decorations won't go up until around 14th.
I love the build up to Christmas, it takes the whole month: 1st Sunday in Advent brunch at German friend's house (this is truly awesome! And yes, I did just use that word if the shoe fits); visiting some Christmas markets, going to see cathedral nativity scene, turning on lights, walking in woods collecting branches and shit to make collages with DS, making decorations, decorating the house. Having Christmas Day just the three of us is important to us, it was ruined when DS was born as we had visitors, colicky newborn, forceps-ripped mummy couldn't sit down/walk comfortably/usethe loo/get in tbe shower without weeping, guest didn't lift a finger, old flat was tiny... etc.
We ate abroad, so now don't invite anyone over or accept the requests to visit - my sanity is far more important than bbeing called a humbug.
We see DH's family (3 miles away) on Boxing Day or afterwards.
New Year is quiet. Kings Day (Epiphany) is huge so we go and watch the parade on 5th where the Kings chuck boiled sweets at to children from floats as they drive from the port to the town hall, it makes the seasonlast longer.

Plus I've got 17 days' holiday - what's not to love?

When it's over

(We don't do Christmas, I have no positive memories from it as a child for many reasons, and so now do my best to ignore the overload everywhere and have super awesome New Year's family time).

Spending time with family, being all cosy by the fire with the Christmas lights on and my aunties Christmas party a couple of days later

Another one here for 'when it's over'.
But don't want to thread hijack - maybe i should start a 'what's your worst bit' one...?
bah humbug

Christmas eve...am a big kid. get two this year too haha

God I love Christmas, everything from shopping for presents, to getting the tree and decorating, to Xmas baking to cooking a huge roast , to baileys hot chocolate, to all the kids Santa stuff to ice skating, to spending an evening wrapping presents, to Christmas 24 film channel with all those cheesy Xmas made for tv films, to bubble and squeak to taking the kids to poundland to choose presents for each other to hoping it will snow on Xmas day to everything! I love boxing day too, it's so stress free nothing needs to be done and we just chill out and kids play with new stuff and we pick at leftovers and cheese and crackers and chocolates all day.

Getting and decorating our Christmas tree with mulled wine, carols and mince pies - as early as possible in December

And getting all wrapped up and going for a walk after Christmas lunch.

Oh, and deep-fried battered cheese from the German Christmas market. YUM.

ooooh im so excited now!

When dc are old enough but not too old to still be full of excitement. Watching their faces when they peep through the door to see if FC has been.
The look of wonderment and joy is priceless.
The thought now makes me smile and go all tingly
Not too many left now as my youngest is nearly 10, so think this is the last year.