What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

[FilthyforFirth]

Hi everyone, really I just want an excusr to chat Christmas with like minded people! W

Whenever I am feeling a bit down, Iove to drown myself in Christmas chat, thoughts and ideas.

I find I prefer the build up to the actual day. My absolute favourite thing about Christmas, and it is hard to narrow down, is the socialising aspect. You get to see people you might not throughout the year, as everyone always makes more of an effort. You get to host multiple Christmas dinners, mulled wine evenings. You all get together for panto or festive pub crawls.

I am a people person who loves to host, so it is my favourite part of it. Christmas music is a close second!

So, what is yours?

The Christmas tree. Switching all the other lights in the room off at the end of the day and enjoying a glass of red wine by gentle fairy light.

Or the pantomime. Watching the kids shriek with laughter.

One of those two, definitely!

I’ll indulge you even though I’m from a culture that doesn’t celebrate Xmas and I’m enjoying the summer!
We love the Xmas lights and like to go somewhere nice to see it. Last year it was Hever castle.
We love getting together with friends that do celebrate it and getting together with the family for a big dinner in the actual day.

Gin liqueurs by the bucket

So much! Mostly when everything has been bought and the cupboards and fridge are groaning - every year in say 'well if we haven't got it we're not getting it' it's that feeling of abundance. Well stocked wine racks, full fridge, boxes of chocolate on the sides and no need to shop for days and days. That and the Christmas eve service when I get a feeling of peace and long held tradition, singing ancient carols that people did years before me at their own Christmas eve. I find it very moving.

Hugs. Christmas tree. Homemade stollen and Christmas cake. Going out in the middle of the night for mad cold walks with DH.

Oh I don't think I can pick just 1 thing. I love Christmas so much especially the build up.

That feeling on Christmas Eve when the presents are wrapped, there's delicious food in the oven (usually homemade sausage rolls and pastys) , the kids are asleep, Christmas carols on on the background and a festive drink of baileys or amaretto in front of the twinkly Christmas tree.

We have a tradition since before we had the kids of picking an evening in mid December to drive around our neighbouring towns to look at the lights, we wrap up warm, blankets in the back for the kids and stop off at Starbucks for a festive hot choc to enjoy on the drive.

Listening to carols at kings on Christmas Eve.

Ahh I can't wait for Christmas now.

Love all of these! Thanks for the indulgence @beechview.

Pretty much no one has said the same thing. This is what is so glorious about Christmas, it has so many amazing parts to it.

I love the idea of Heaver Castle at Christmas and am off to look that up.

I will be going on a Christmas steam train with my DS who will be 18 months old which I have never done before, so looking forward to that!

@mamashark I love the driving round looking at lights idea and plan to start that tradition this year myself.

Argh, why is it only August?!

I love it all 😂

Yes to the Carols by Candlelight in our little parish church - I blub every year and I swear I can feel my heart swelling.

Christmas Eve - prepping everything for Christmas Day with a lovely glass of something, cooking the turkey and the house smells amazing. C

DD being so excited but still a little apprehensive in case Santa decides she's not been good enough (she's always on the nice list).s

Letting me mum relax and enjoy the day snoozing on the sofa, drinking a little too much sherry and generally wait on her hand and foot just because I want to show her how much she means to me and DD.

Fairy lights on anything that isn't moving.

Not cooking anything at all from Boxing Day to New Year's Day unless it goes on a tray in the oven for 20 minutes at 180°. Left overs and nibbly bits for a week is the way forward.

I love the tradition and routine of it all. Visiting Father Christmas, writing lists of things to buy and ticking them all off, finding nice things to give, mulled wine, Christmas carols and songs, decorating the house and tree, watching lots of films on television (my sister and I loved going through the radio times planning our viewing), buying nice food, oh so many things but I think that warm comforting feeling of familiarity and excitement all rolled into one!

Isn't it lovely reading all of these? I love hearing about other people's traditions and what they get up to over the festive season.

I too love having a well stocked house. I am moving into a new house at the end of the month and will be getting a chest freezer for the garage which I am planning to fill with goodies for Christmas!

Ooh @lorisparkle, I haven't done the Radio Times thing for ages. I am bringing that back this year, I used to LOVE doing that. Although that was in my soaps heyday and I haven't watched any for years now...

My absolute favourite is when the dc have had a bath and are in new pjs, putting their stockings out and reading a christmas story. It is magical!

I love decorating my house and tree. It's toned down a bit the last 2 Christmases as I was pregnant so exhausted and then I had a 7 month old so again exhausted. But previous years I've decorated every room downstairs with so many lights, and little festive things like snow globes and candles. I think one year I had nearly 20 sets of lights up inside and outside including a real tree, a fake tree and a small fake tree.

We also have a little Christmas village that we add to each year. Last year my husband was so excited as he finally got the flying Santa and reindeer that he wanted. He loves building it, making little hills to put things at different levels. It's the first thing he wants to get out each year.
Christmas is also centred around my family a lot as it's my mum's and sister's birthday around that time. My sister lives away but she always comes to visit us all. Apart from this Christmas. It's going to be very different as my sister has bought her first house this year so my parents are going to visit her instead. It's going to a lot quieter this year.

I love Christmas Eve. Me and mum spend the day prepping lots for Christmas Day and drink a little too much port. We then go to the children's crib service late afternoon then back to mums for dinner then home to put the kids to bed. Love seeing the excitement and anticipation on their faces. Then it's bringing all the presents out from hiding ready for the morning.

As a nurse I do have to work some years but there is always a lovely atmosphere on the wards and we try to make the best of things for all the patients. We also have a massive ward buffet of delicious Christmas food and enough chocolates for a year!!! Father Christmas always leaves a little present for each of the patients too. Such a warm fuzzy feeling 💗

I also love watching all of the cheesey hallmark Christmas movies. I love that they start in October/ November as it gets me into the Christmas spirit.

I’m a huge Christmas fan too, Filthy

My absolute favourite thing is Christmas Eve, every minute of it. Generally DH spends the morning preparing a fancy lunch while me & DCs do our Boxing Day prep (our annual Boxing Day Party is a close second fave and we have to get our party games, special crackers, funny gifts etc ready for everyone)

PILs come for fancy lunch, then we exchange gifts with them, go for a nice walk and then to our village carol service. PILs go home and we watch a Christmas movie, track Father Christmas on NORAD and eat lunch leftovers.

After bathing and new PJing the kids we get FC’s drinks & snacks ready, sprinkle reindeer food and at 7:30 every Christmas Eve some lovely person goes around our village playing sleigh bell sounds. DC go to bed and DH and I crack open a nice bottle.

Ooh, I’m all excited now 🎅🏼

Your Christmas eve sounds so lovely Witch! My DS is so tiny still, I can't wait until he is a bit older and properly 'gets it'.

@beckslovestimmy how thoughtful you all are on the ward, sounds amazing. I am in awe of those who regularly have to work over major holidays .

I wish Hallmark was all year round, I recently got into the cheesy films and I bloody love them now!

@FilthyforFirth if you have sky or virgin tv, watch movies24. They show loads of hallmark movies. They just did Christmas in July, and always start their Christmas movies in October (when it becomes Christmas24) They also do wedding movies in June. I love that channel.

My favourite things about Christmas:

1. collecting the tree. It has to be done on the 1st December and if that means taking a day off work so be it. If it fits in the car it's too small. I buy the biggest I can find and sod the damage to the ceiling!
2. fine dining eve with my 9 best mates. I do 5 courses, spend 2 dats prepping, design the table, plan games and buy randomness weird gifts for them. I said dress for dinner on last years invites.. they all turned up dressed as Christmas crackers!!
3. Christmas Eve.. totally love it. All the prep, watching Christmas movies, just relaxing. Note to self... am never inviting 60 people to a Christmas Eve party again, assuming a 50% turn up rate.. everyone bloody came and asked if they could bring a mate...cue mad panic buying in M&S to get more food/booze

I'd say socialising too... love catching up with friends new and old, everyone is relaxed and happy.... good times!

Funnily enough I just thought seriously about Christmas two days ago and got all excited!

I love the piles and piles of wrapped presents under the tree....falling over each other. It reminds me of our tree when I was young. Not a clue what was in any of them, the excitement, and wonder. Unfortunately for me I do all the planning in our house so I know each and every one, but if I think hard enough I can remember what it feels like.

The fairy lights (we leave them on all night) so last thing at night when there is no other light...magical. If the fire is lit too......
The mess on the living room floor on Christmas morning from all the wrapping paper. The kids getting lost in their presents.
My "Christmas with Nat (King Cole) and Dean (Martin)" CD I bought years ago- we used to have the LP when I was a child and every single song just brings back amazing memories. It just reminds me of my lovely family and I just hope my kids have the same feeling.
Putting the children's letters up the chimney on Christmas eve, then opening their Christmas Eve boxes (just new pjs, new Christmas story, a chocolate and some bath product) and getting ready for the most exciting day of the year......
Last year was particularly poignant regarding the children as the eldest just worked out the truth but was very amused by it all, and the youngest was just 5 so at a really good age to write part of his letter and be completely engrossed in it all.

Oh I just love it......!!!

The coldness

......drifts off into dreams of snow.......

Picking up the tree.
Hallmark movies.
Endless festive faffing.
Seeing everyone’s houses lit up on the way home from work.
The Christmas Day dog walk.

I love having little secret stashes of Christmas gifts hidden away, and get a thrill from sneaking something else into the house under dh and the dc’s noses.

I love the way something as ordinary as traffic lights can seem festive in the dark and the cold.

I love the sense of connection I have with my mum and my gran when I cook recipes that they’ve handed down.

I love taking out our very eclectic collection of tree ornaments and remembering the places where I got them. Each one has a story.

I love clearing it all away afterwards too - not in a “cant wait to get rid” way, but because it is like a ritual to the changing season. I wait until the 6th, and take my time wrapping each ornament in tissue, sweep out the corners, give the house a good air and I put a vase of tulips out to welcome the coming year. For me that’s more “new year” than the 1st Jan which is still part of the party season.