Christmas Where you are!

Greetings from Worcestershire. We live in a small market town on the banks of the River Severn. Last year, Christmas was a very quiet afair,just DH and myself and very nice it was too. This year we have family to stay, including grandchildren so I anticipate it being much more lively!?

I am in Oxfordshire and will be doing Christmas as usual every year, I love it. Since DS married he and family spend one Christmas with one side of the family and the next with the other. This year on Christmas day there will just be the two of us and DD, which will be very strange because even without DS and family we have usually had wider family or stray friends staying as well. DS etc arrive 2 days later and stay for a week. We will rerun the present opening ceremony with DGC, go to the panto, play games and do quizzes.

We are at home in west Norfolk...family and friends for day

Thank you for your cheerful replies, I really enjoyed reading them, and hearing how you all celebrate a family Christmas.
Also thanks to Shanma for your kind message of sympathy.

Thank you Kupari, Elaine and Shanma. Kupari I had no idea about your daughter, I'm so sorry.

I am in the Lake District. Our five sons are all home for Christmas. It will be noisy! Hoping for dry weather. Will go to the midnight service and hope to have a good walk on Christmas Day as well as a lovely veggie lunch cooked by one of my sons.

We are in Spain. Christmas Eve and day will be a noisy affair with our three children, the eldest's boyfriend, my mother and the dogs! No babies yet, and probably not for a loooong time to come (my eldest is 24 and has no intention of having children at all -at least at the moment, and the other two are 18 and 9, so a long way off)
I believe Boxing Day will be a day of relax, the kids will have gone off to see other family and it will probably just be DH, youngest daughter and my mother. And the dogs, of course

I live in a small village in West Oxfordshire, my son, dil and 8 week old daughter live with me. This year our family Christmas is on 27th. For the first time we will celebrate my son's birthday for the whole of the 25th, burgers are on the menu!

Kupari and Callgirl
I am sorry to hear of your loss, both of you [Flowers]

granjura we had Danish friends when we were serving in Belgium who invited us to share their Christmas meal. I remember the gravadlax and pickled herrings with dark bread, washed down with aquavit (phew!) and then meatballs, roast pork, potato salad, red cabbage and all sorts of other things before you even get to the cheese and the puddings. Hope you enjoy your meal as much as we did! Don't wear anything with a tight waistband!!

We are in the hills of South Ayrshire close to the Galloway dark sky park so its really easy to spot Santa and the reindeer flying overhead.

Channel Islands here.
two of my sisters and some of our children and partners will join us sadly no babies yet, would love to have some children but have to make do with the dogs ;)

Hi everyone, I'm in Lincolnshire, right on the coast with a lovely beach just a five minute walk away.
My mum and I are going to my youngest daughter's for Christmas day so we can spend it with her, her husband and my darling grandson. I will miss my older daughter though who lives away and is spending the day with her partner's family.

in rural Switzerland on French border. Our daughters will be with in-laws in Ireland and Lancs- and we will be spending Christmas, on 24th here not 25th - at a young Danish couple of friends, their toddler and new baby, and her dad and his GF from Denmark - aabout 40km away and stay in a B&B there so we don't have to drive back. So it will be a fusion of British, Swiss and Danish - a proper European Noël

I'm in Ealing W.London, Christmas day lunch at my youngest daughter and her partner just the 4 of us a traditional meal, my son lives abroad so we won't see him or his partner and son. Christmas Day evening will get together with both daughters and some of the grown up grandchildren for Secret Santa. The rest of Christmas will just be OH and I so far but who knows what may come along..

Hi Elaine
Weardale is about 40 miles from us. Two of the kids in our village are going to The Polar Express this weekend.
Hope you have a lovely Christmas

Brenda

We are in a small town in Midlothian. We will be at my DD and SIL in East Lothian with my youngest DD and my Mum. My DS is away at his girlfriend's in Nottingham this year - first time one of my children has been away so it will be strange but we will chat on Skype. DGS is now 3 and very excited this year! He has been poking about in cupboards looking for presents (his Mummy used to do that - still does!). We will have to help DD to be Santa as his Daddy is on cover shift and is working till 3am. We all help with the cooking etc so can be chaotic!
DD, SIL and DGS are going to Weardale I think for Polar express on Friday. Is that near you Kupari? Probably spelt it wrong.
Sorry for your loss Callgirl and Kupari. Will be difficult for you this Christmas > Love to all

I'm in Bedford. Just me and OH for Christmas day. An hour in our p cal pub followed by turkey and all the trimmings. (Yes a whole turkey for two!) On Boxing Day we've been invited to friends where the men will go to watch a football match in the afternoon and we will then have another roast dinner (I hope) followed by silly games. The next day visiting OHs mother then on to my mum and stay overnight.

We live in Germany so just to list the differences in Christmas traditions would fill a book.

I do miss the conviviality of my parents' Christmas morning booze-ups, though. These went on for years in those carefree days of the 60s when drinking and smoking weren't looked askance at, and decorations included gaudy crepe paper twiddly things strung across the ceiling.

Nowadays it's just my sister and her mother and a friend or two, but my sister is a great caterer and hostess and always rustles up scrumptious food.

I shall be at home, and, with a bit of luck, the DCs will all be around at some point during the holidays. This very minute I'm at the computer starting to write out a plan for what to eat over the holidays.

And drink!

But not smoke!

We're on the N Kent coast and our adult son lives with H and I. It's a small town where most families know each other which is not always a good thing. I was born here but H is an "incomer" he's only been here 45 yrs
Usually Christmas is just us 3 since my mum went into a home and subsequently died May '14. We might have D and her SO here this year.
We still have crackers, turkey and pud but it's much like any Sunday these days.

I spent my early years in a village just outside Ripon in Yorkshire. I now live near my DS and family in London, having moved several times in between too. Recently my son drove us north and it was moving in a different way to see my old house and school etc, but I'm definitely a townie now

Christmas Day the family will be away but I will see them the next day and it will be like having two Christmases. (Where's the Christmas emojis when you want one?)

Callgirl so sorry to hear about your husband. My daughter died in February so I can imagine how difficult Christmas will be for you.
However we are going to do our best to give her children a happy boxing day.

We are in Boston, Lincs. I don`t really feel very Christmassy this year, my husband died only 2 months ago, but my children all say that I should still "do" Christmas, so I will, but it will be pretty much understated this year.

Think that should be drier?