How long does your Christmas last?

[troubleanstrife]

I know, it’s August, but inspired by another thread!

Just wondering when your Christmas celebrations start and end?

I realise it will depend on annual leave and many people work over Christmas - if so, do you ever celebrate on a different days instead?

For our family, it starts at 5pm on Christmas eve, and finishes on the 28th, when the family visits stop.

I do usually take annual leave until January and the tree comes down on the 6th, but I count 29th - 6th as post-Christmas period.

I have as short a time off as I can, so I can use the leave at other times of year, especially for a holiday in February or March.

Tree and crib come down on twelfth night.

Xmas Eve is the best day...adult day drinking. We walk Xmas day and tree is up 15th to 27th.

Same here bar the drinking - I love having Christmas Dinner on Xmas eve, feels
so much more special and then nice and relaxed with no pressure on Xmas day.

Not that there’s anything wrong with drinking!!!!

Family birthdays on 23rd December and 6th January bookend Christmas nicely for us.

From say, the second Saturday in December till Jan 2nd.

To me the Christmas break is Christmas Eve to the 3/4 of Jan when schools go back.

Xmas eve until 2nd Jan.

Sorry, third Saturday.

I prefer the build up to the actual day. Christmas feels over for me by boxing day night.

I don't understand how it can be over on Boxing Day tbh & for me it's weird to celebrate new yrs eve with no Xmas decor

If I'm lucky, Christmas lasts for about an hour at 8am on 25th December and I don't wake up until 9am.

After 26th. Christmas for us starts on December 1st so we’ve had a lot of celebrating by then. After a big lazy Boxing Day, I like to wake up on the 27th and clear the decs, have a big clean. It feels lovely!

Usually the DC like to traipse all their new things up to their bedrooms and work out where everything will live. We walk the tree out to the collection site in the park, put all the decorations away and put them in the loft. I throw away any “Christmas foods” / junk and when we wake up on the 28th, the house feels renewed and ready for the new year to begin.

We have a few low-key days out hiking, cooking together and just relaxing as we’re all at home.

Then it’s time to start preparing for a New Year party at the house!

One day ... I've always worked in retail and hospitality so the idea of having an extended break just doesn't apply. My DH used to have to take AL between Christmas and New Year and never wanted to .. would much rather take AL when he wanted to. We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day. We have a tree up but don't do anything else particularly 'special' we drink most days anyway.

December is Christmas in this house. We do lots of lovely things in that time and have many traditions eg Christingle, carol services, going to look at lights in local villages, wrapping day, posh hot chocolate in a local very upmarket village on the day they turn on their lights, sea swimming, going to choose a tree and decorating it whilst singing badly to our Christmas playlist, then picnic by the tree lights that evening. Loads of things. Christmas Eve is my favourite day, we see my family on the 25th and in-laws on the 26th, cinema trip a couple of days later, my birthday on the 31st. All over on Jan 1st.

We observe Advent.

We celebrate Christmas from Christmas Eve until Twelfth Night.

We leave the crib scene up until Candlemas.

I include the week after Christmas as part of the Christmas festivities.
And I am often at work on those days, but even work feels different.
I like to enjoy that week, catch up on TV I've saved, eat chocolate and leftovers and relax after a fairly hectic build up.

When DH gets in from work on Christmas Eve and finishes when he gets up for work about 4am on Boxing Day.
He works in in the warehouse of one of the UK's biggest retailers.

I'm not really sure what you mean, doesn't it build up slowly? What specifically starts at 5pm on Christmas Eve?

Hi all

We're just moving this over to the Christmas topic!

We do lots of Christmas activities over the break eg theatre, lights, seeing family & our borough doesn't even collect trees until Jan.

Tree is up for St Nicolas on 6th December though we don't do much for this anymore as dd is now an actual adult.. There are normally market visits and social activities during the month. We normally try to have Xmas Eve to Jan 2nd as holiday. Xmas itself - just a couple of days of over indulgence. It used to be more of a novelty to have a week off at home than it has been in recent years.

I agree, thats why mine starts 20th of November and ends day after boxing day.

Christmas is December here too. We're lucky that there are lots of free or very cheap events locally for the kids to enjoy. Decorations go up first weekend in December and come down Twelfth Night. I work TTO so have 2 weeks off over Christmas and DH usually has at least a week. We always have a meal out with our best friends and their kids the week before Christmas. Christmas Eve we have DH's side of the family round for a buffet style lunch and then in the evening we get takeaway hot chocolates and drive round the nearby villages looking at Christmas lights then home for a Christmas movie. Christmas day we're at home just the four of us, Boxing Day there's a big family party at my DM's and we usually stay over. I really like the period between Christmas and NY as it's really chilled, lots of quality time together, long walks, eating leftovers and watching Christmas movies, playing board games. Definitely my favourite time of year.

Bloody love the build up to Christmas, will start with re reading Nigel Slaters Christmas Chronicles so I'll be getting in the spirit from November! We have tons of December birthdays as well! Love it all!