A Christmas-lovers' thread!

This year we are following Martin Lewis’s advice and are only spending £10 each on a gift, we’ve decided to try to make it a hand made gift if we can.

My DD2 painted me a lovely beach hut scene for my birthday, so I can’t wait to see what she does for Christmas.

Lovely to hear all your non bah humbug thoughts!

One extra thing I'm looking forward to this year is Gdd's pre-school Nativity play. She's only 3, and hearing a lot of very little ones singing Away in a Manger (as I hope they will) is guaranteed to have me groping for the tissues!

Feeling decidedly hypocritical, since I'd always thought Christmas bedding a daft waste of money, I've bought a Christmas duvet set (admittedly pretty cheap) for the double sofa bed Gdcs will be sharing at Christmas. After all, they're not very little (and so easily delighted) for very long.

Christmas Eve is the real start of Christmas for my family...decorating christmas cookies with the children, and hanging them onto a special small tree. We have been going to the Christmas Eve crib service at 4pm since my own children were tiny and it is always a magical moment for me....shopping, wrapping and all the other preparations completed, and when silence falls in the church at the start of the service, with the family all together, it is truly the start of celebrations.

I do start very early! christmas cakes and puddings are already done. I have most of the gifts bought, and picked up the Christmas cards and some wrapping paper today. Tree goes up on the first Saturday in December; the nativity set, influx of candles, and the odd swag and wreath make their appearance somewhen around the 12th.
Cannot wait

I love Christmas and the run up to it. (There's a thread in AIBU about Christmas decorations, in which various opinions have been offered, some loving Christmas, others not so much). However, as I say, I love it. For me it begins with Advent, well actually slightly earlier as I make my cake around October half term, and my pudding on Stir up Sunday, but the decorations begin with the Advent wreath and a candle being lit each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas. A week or so before, the tree and decorations come out and stay out until 12th night.
I love all the traditions of the season - Carol concerts, The Salvation Army playing Christmas music in the town centre in the run up to Christmas, all the Christmas services, Christmas markets, Christmas films, mince pies, mulled wine, roast chestnuts, having family and friends visit us and us visit them, the lights and tree, oh, everything, really! ?

I love Christmas too. I love having all the family together for a lovely Christmas day - opening gifts in the morning, then an eggs benedict brunch, then games in the afternoon, and of course the turkey dinner with all the trimmings later in the evening. It's a long day but we all love it.

Of course in my family it becomes a bit of a challenge. We have many birthdays at this time of year. Three of my granddaughters, my own birthday, and my eldest son all have our birthdays between Nov 27 and Jan 15. It gets rather hectic to say the least.

I have a Christmas Day birthday so a double whammy for me!

I love Christmas, from wandering around the displays, deciding what to add to my collection of Santa Claus this year. Only buy one a year and never spend too much.
I love the cooking, preparing fresh mincemeat ready for making mince pies nearer the time.
I love making and cooking Christmas puddings that I give as gifts.
I love making a special Christmas decoration for my good friend who does so much to help me during the year.
I love spending time with my family.
I love that I will have the joy of meeting my 1st grandchild who is due at Christmas.

I'm looking forward this year to having three out my four DC home, with assorted partners and GC, and my fourth DC here immediately after Xmas.

There isn't much I don't like about Xmas and I manage to ignore what I don't like. Partly I like doing something different from the other 51 weeks of the year and I enjoy the simple but satisfying aspects such as making cakes and puds.

I love the trees and lights and pretty decorations but most of all I enjoy making people feel warm and welcome and of course well-fed. The best bit for me is Xmas eve when everyone has gone to bed and I can think about what it all means to me and then Xmas day after the meal has been finished and everyone can fend for themselves, foodwise, for a couple of days.

I will admit though, that wrapping presents has become something of a chore now there are fourteen of us, without counting wider family. That's a lot of wrapping!