Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is usually quite busy as we have around 18 people over for a meal in the evening. The day is spent making sure the house is ready, the food is organised, delivering any last parcels in local villages and of course collecting the turkey from the local turkey farm.
The afternoon/evening is when it gets really exciting. My village Church puts on a Crib service late afternoon, which is a short service based around a nativity scene. Going to it is so special as I can't remember a Christmas where we haven't done that. It's also really nice as several of my cousins and Auntie's come along too. Afterwards, we all head back to my home, which is just up the road from the Church, for tea, drinks and a meal. As I don't see all my cousins on Christmas Day, it's really lovely to see everyone the night before and exchange gifts ready for the morning.
My brothers, parents and I then all hang our stockings in age order along the bannister. Something extremely silly which I'm sure comes from my mum's family is putting your stocking over you head before you hang it up. We use a pair of tights cut in half as a stocking and so this always looks ridiculous. This year mine and brother's partners are also hanging stockings as they'll be around which I'm really excited for.
The last thing of Christmas Eve is going to Midnight Mass in the village. And of course, Twas The Night Before Christmas is bedtime reading!
Christmas Day
As much as I'd like to play it cool and say that I don't still wake up with excitement on Christmas morning, I'm just as excited. I love Advent and countdown to Christmas, but there's always a magical feeling on Christmas morning. We all open our stockings together on my parent's bed, me and my brothers have our own little spaces on the bed that we've always sat in on Christmas morning since we were little. But now my brother's are so tall, my parents tend to sit around the bed rather than on the bed haha.
We always have chipolatas for breakfast, which I think my mum did when she was young too. My mum then mostly goes to Christmas Day Church service whilst the rest of us get ourselves ready, and give the place a bit of a tidy.
Around lunchtime my grandparents and some of my cousins come over and we start the celebrations. Some years we've have our Christmas dinner at lunchtime and sometimes we have it more in the late afternoon. After the meal is when it open more presents, I really like that we spread them over the day rather than just opening them all when we have our stockings.
There's usually a bumper Christmas quiz my cousin puts together in the afternoon, and Father Christmas and an Elf always stops by later in the evening to drop off a couple of extra gifts.
Boxing Day
During the day on Boxing Day there's quite a bit of tidying to be done, and getting the house back to normal after the previous day. Mostly there's a chance to relax a little as well, sometimes we'll catch up on a Christmas TV episode, or just generally get cosy with a book or looking over some of our new gifts.
In the evening we'll have some more family over for drinks and a few more gifts and then hot ham.
Last year my brother's boyfriend joined us for Christmas which was really lovely, and he's coming again this year. My other brother's girlfriend actually lives in the next village and so she comes and goes. My boyfriend last year came on Boxing Day and this year is here for the whole weekend. I love sharing Christmas with them all as we're all in quite long term relationships and so it's nice to have a catch up if nothing else! A very new tradition (as in only started last year), is my siblings and I with our partners having a photo in front of the Christmas tree. I think it's really cute, and taking one each year will be so special to look back on.
What are your Christmas traditions?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
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