What pre-Christmas traditions do you and your family have to get yourselves in the mood for Christmas? Tell Cadbury and you could win a £200 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

In honour of Cadbury launching their biggest ever advent calendar, Cadbury would like to know what gets you and your family into the Christmas spirit in the countdown to Christmas.

Here's what they say "This year we’re launching Cadbury’s biggest ever advent calendar and setting out to bring even more joy to the countdown this Christmas. 24 trucks, 24 doors, opening daily in 24 different locations, we’reringing joyful festive surprises to the nation on the countdown to Christmas. While we’re counting down, we’re also keen to hear from Mumsnetters about what you and your families do in the countdown before Christmas"

Find out about the Cadbury advent calendar by watching the video below:

So, what traditions do you and your family have to get that Christmas feeling? Do you spend an evening putting up a Christmas tree? Maybe decorating Christmas cookies is your favourite family activity? Or perhaps you all gather around the TV to watch a particular Christmas movie?

Whatever your pre-Christmas traditions are, Cadbury would love to know.

Everyone who posts a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

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We bake shortbread and gingerbread, make truffles and fudge. A few days before Christmas we take a walk down our lane to a little wood and collect some fresh Holly (hopefully with berries this year) bring it home and add it to our decorations. I also like at least one evening were I can drink a few too many glasses of mulled cider!

School Christmas fair is first up, I'm running the face painting again so need to practise my Olaf and my Elsa sparkles!

Me, Brownie DD and my Rainbows will join the other uniform groups for the toy service church parade on the 1st Sunday in December. We usually get a good turn out and it's a good chance to give something back to children who don't have much otherwise.

We always make Christmas cake together, everyone has a go at stirring, and my 8 year old is in charge of decorating it once I've iced it. We have 40 year old Lego fir trees and Santas that go on it from my own childhood, so it's a lovely tradition to continue.

My parents will arrive around 22nd to stay for a few days, they're abroad so we don't see them often and Christmas is their only visit to the UK a year.

On Christmas Eve I will take the children to Christingle service, while DH waits at home for his mum and sister to arrive. When we get home, we will put the children's stockings up and attempt to get them in bed.

I'm looking forward to it even though I haven't started the shopping yet.

Our pre-Christmas ritual involves organising the Secret Santa for the grownups (saves money and soooo much hassle!). We also decide early on who is bringing what for Christmas lunch so that we can get food ordered in plenty of time. Sharing it takes the pressure off Mum and makes everyone feel involved for a real family lunch

I forgot! At some point during December we have to go and inspect the local house which goes mad for decorations - judging by how many there are, it must cost an absolute fortune to light them

In our family Christmas starts watching The Muppets Christmas Carol, mulled wine and hot chocolate for the kids (and pregnant family members), whilst putting up the Christmas tree.

We always visit a local garden centre which is full of christmas decorations. We allow our son to choose a decoration each year with a view to giving him all the decorations when he moves out for his first tree :)

We do a few 'giving back' activities in the run up to Christmas. Gets me in the mood for the season of giving. I think we are very lucky and need to teach our kids that sharing and giving can bring just as much joy as buying and getting. This year I have been running a sling appeal to send slings to refugee children on lesbos and so my husband and I are forgoing our own big gifts (I'll still get wee things ) and instead we sent waterproof coats to the kids, we've also expanded the remit of the sling appeal a little and our next batch will have donated winter warmers (scarves/ socks etc) included. I've also helped my 3 year old pick out little things to fill a shoe box for a local charity and we've made Christmas cards with our under fives group to hand out at an old folks home. We will go to visit the reindeer and see Santa arrive by helicopter (a local tradition) and see the Christmas lights switch on too. We have a Christmas playlist in the car and will make gingerbread men on Christmas Eve and then go for a long walk. We'll come home to open our Christmas Eve box with hot chocolate, marshmallows and eat the gingerbread. Feeling festive!!

We do lots of traditional things at Christmas like visiting santa, putting out mince pie and carrot on Christmas eve for santa and rudolf, preparing dinner together, the Christmas mischief elf , church and panto but my favourite tradition is reading the night before Christmas eve. This is a tradition passed on from my nana she would read this story to me on Christmas eve. This added to the excitement and now when I read this with my children I remember my nanna and hope that my children enjoy this as much as I did (do).

Our whole tribe goes out the first weekend in December and cuts down our tree. When we've got it home, we spend the day decorating it and the whole house. We make sure we are all together (all six children, no mean feat!) and it really marks the start of our Christmas.

Every year we go and visit Father Christmas at Harrods, we also see the Coca Cola truck if it is coming locally. There is the Xmas school fete and the school nativity to get us in the mood and my Mum has a tradition of cooking up a storm on Christmas Eve for everyone.

We also have had Pete the Pixie and Eric the Elf come stay with us from the 1st of December for the last five years. They get up to all sort of mischief and really get us in the mood for crimbo!

Making cards with the kids to send to close family. We have also started making a tree decoration each year. Also, the kids help with the Christmas cake, in particular, the stirring and decoration

Tree buying and decoration in early December, elaborately themed advent calendars, mince pies on 6 December and lots of Carol Concerts.

Put the tree up (the children watch ha!) we put Christmas songs on, have hot chocolate and then watch a Christmas film.

Santa's cheeky elf starts visting our house in the run up to Christmas - he makes his presence felt by leaving shiny Christmas stickers on objects the kids will find. This always leads to excitement in the build up to the big day!

I get the kids to help by cleaning up their rooms, as part of a general clean of the house, before we all work together to put the decorations up. It helps them to appreciate the tree etc more, as they know they have helped.

We start by putting the tree up and then we hand make some of the ornaments in the run ie gingerbread men, popcorn tinsel! Finished up on christmas eve with a cosy evening after a crisp walk with marshmallows fire and a good film!

We have a set date in mid-November when we can play Christmas songs. We also always have chocolate advent calendars (even the grown ups) - Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without them!

A day putting up Christmas decs with accompanying festive music at the start of December. A 5 minute excitement every morning of December opening our advent calendars - yes I have one too! And then a Christmas Eve box for the children.

We always make a Father Christmas Scarecrow to pop in our front garden, it amuses all the people passing and has kinda become our thing and what the neighbours expect now. We love cutting out our own snowflake decorations, and making hand print wreaths, I love to keep them and compare hand sizes each year. On Christmas Eve we thread popcorn and pop it around the tree so that we have something to nibble on while opening our pressies on Christmas day. And we have a Christmas Eve box with Christmas PJ's for the whole family, hot choccy and mugs and Christmas activity books and stories

We buy a new Bauble for the tree each year, usually with my son's name on :)

We have a few. We always put the tree up on Dec 1st without fail, we buy two new decorations everyyear and attend the local panto. We have a day out to meet Father Christmas and always meet outs friends for a hot chocolate and swap crackers and party bags whilst looking at the towns lights.

On Christmas Eve we sprinkle landing dust, and put out pies and carrots for Father Christmas and his reindeer. We then have the first of our five days in a row roast dinners!...that's what you get for blended and fragmented around the country families!, we love it though.

My DC is two, so too young to have established traditions. Looking forward to developing some as he grows up. I've just booked a Santa's grotto/play den for him and very excited about that.

Instead of a traditional Advent Calendar, we do an activity calendar. Our Elf on the Shelf brings a new task / activity from Santa each day. We make Christmas wrapping paper, a gingerbread house, donate presents to the Salvation Army, watch Christmas films, deliver Christmas cards and have special trips (like the Santa Special train).

The kids love seeing what the Elf brings and it helps them to focus on other things than just what Santa is going to bring!

We do so many different things. We get the pine cones we've collected throughout the year and cover them in glitter. Go and visit Santa. See a local house that is decorated for charity and have pictures taken. Lots of nice walks in woods finished by a nice hot chocolate and some cake.
I love Christmas so plan really really early, which means December isn't so crazy on shopping.

We do it with Christmas music in the background happy mood we hang sweets on tree and lots of handmade dec and we also love our advent calendars

[santa] plan & make Xmas cards
[santa] do a trial of all the food planned but on seperately days building up to the Xmas meal where we ate everything for the same meal
[santa] start playing Xmas tunes at home