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 put the fibre optic ultra tacky Christmas tree up on the first weekend of December. I buy both ds's a new Christmas tree decoration each each year & home/school made ones get put on too and ones from my dad who has spun off his mortal coil. We paint jam jars with glue & glitter to hold night lights to make a runway on our front lawn for Santa & co. We do elf on the shelf from the beginning of December & have to think up more & more daft things for him to do every evening. If the ds's have been good, elf leaves sweeties in the advent train but if they have been naughty elf leaves them pebbles. We have a Christmas Eve party at our house in the afternoon/evening for all our local friends. Lots of easily prepared food & a movie for the kids. All kids get a bag of chocolate money when they leave. Ds's get new pjs from the Christmas Eve fairy on their pillow when they go to bed. We leave mince pie, carrot & milk down for Santa. We do Santa footsteps in flour on the floor. Stockings with lots of little gifts from Santa. One bigger present each from us. We have smoked salmon & fizz for breakfast & my parents come over & we eat & drink & open presents & go for a walk & eat & drink. Then Boxing Day we go over to them for paella & a walk on the beach. Oh getting excited now.

It has to be watching Elf. That is probably the only real tradition.

We watch Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes in The Blue Carbuncle every Christmas Eve. Fish pie for dinner followed by brandy, chocolates and Holmes. Elementary!

We go to three light switching ons every year. Plymouth, Exeter and London. Always marks the start for me. Time to get pressies and untangle the lights etc. Also a big tradition for us is the pre christmas dried pasta making of stars and christmas trees the children make. Always get gold spray everywhere

On Christmas Eve afternoon, we have Carols from Kings on the radio, and make the mince pies and finish off decorating the cake. It's great now the children are old enough to help,. We also make a special mince pie for Father Christmas, and food for the reindeer. it feels as if Christmas is really here.

Me and the children always make a keepsake Christmas tree ornament made out of salt dough of their hand prints, Our Tree has now 12 different hand prints of my children's ranging from baby to my eldest.

Its always a talking point when people come in and the children enjoy making them its our little Christmas family tradition that I did as a child and now ive passed on to mine :)

The week before Xmas we get together to put the tree and decorations up with the kids taking it in turns to add the Xmas star. We also visit the cinema in the run up to Xmas to watch a film together

Always go to the local panto and watch the Grinch while we re putting up decorations

We put up Christmas trees up on 1st December, like to listen to some Christmas carols while doing it. Followed by popcorn and a movie, and fairy lights on

we just decorate the home, have advent calendars and start buying food that we wouldn't normally buy "because it is christmassy!"

A lot of baking! Apple crumble is always on the list and my daughter makes the best one.

We have a few traditions that we do every year! We spend an evening decorating the tree together with Christmas music on in the background whilst drinking hot chocolate. We have an Elf that comes to visit for the month of December! We also make Gingerbread houses and decorate them. And last thing is every December Is one of the months that I give blood!

We always spend the 23rd of December making hundreds of Christingles for the Christmas Eve church services (the picture shows a quarter of them last year!).
It takes days to get the smell of oranges and cloves out of our hands, but it is fun using a 14mm spade bit on a drill to cut holes in the oranges for candles!

Shame on you Kraft, you turned my favourite Cadbury's into inedible crap.

We watch Home Alone every year with popcorn and hot chocolate after putting our Christmas Dec's up.

We make christmas pies the night before christmas eve

We always go on a local Santa train grotto, and then home to decorate the tree together. Christmas Eve we have new pyjamas, a new Christmas DVD and once the boys are in bed we start the mammoth wrapathon.

As well as having a shop-bought one, my son and I make an advent calendar, that gets us in the mood for xmas and takes me back to being a kid as its what my brother and I used to do each year before all the chocolate ones were in the stores (or maybe they already were and my mum and dad never told us!!).

We like to go outdoor ice skating followed by hot chocolate and marshmallows then late night shopping with all the lights and tree in town

watching christmas movies like home alone

We always have a mini advent calendar but don't go out to buy the tree from a local farm until a week or so before the 25th. In the intervening period we hear lots of Christmas carols, eat lots of Chrismassy foods and get amused with how hung up some people get.

Putting up the Christmas Tree on the first Sunday of Advent, with Christmas carols playing in the background...followed by the first mince pies and mulled wine of the year .

Pantomime in Windsor. It's pretty much the same show every year, regardless of which Fairy tale it's supposed to be.

Also advent calendar for DS, refilled with ferrero rochers.
Putting up decorations and lights gradually throughout December.

And one post Christmas tradition that nearly everyone has...missing one decoration and finding it still hanging around in February.

I buy new pyjamas for the kids for Christmas eve - was a tradition my DH used to have as a child. I didn't have any Christmas traditions as child so I'd love my kids to have those memories!

We've always done the reindeer food but I'm doubtful that DS will now be parted from the Xbox for 5 minutes to continue with this tradition

My favourite of all is Xmas eve. We get up and have a special breakfast. We travel to our hometown (about one hour away) to meet up with my husband extended family for a pub lunch. We then go to my do ain't for her homemade minced pies and Xmas cake. The children get to all play together and open gifts from each other. We sing carols and then go back to our own home for the children's carol service. I feel so Xmas before we even start the preparations for father xmas