Pub at Christmas

The men in our family always went to the pub on xmas morning,... a way of letting the ladies get on with cooking and the men meet their regulars in the pub.

It has never been a feature of my life as a child or adult for anyone to go to the pub on 25th December.

I think it might be a Northern thing.
My Dad always went to the pub with his mates on Christmas Day, but not for very long & certainly wasn’t the worse for wear when he came home.
He used to go out with the same mates on a Thursday night & play dominoes. He would shut the fire down before he went out, which would infuriate Mum

I like this thread, brings back memories. Thanks for starting it H1954 - by coincidence on my Dad's birthday.

On Christmas morning, after we'd opened our gifts, Dad lit the fire in the front room. Like most Yorkshire families at that time, the room was used only for best.

The he'd sit smoking his pipe and reading his cowboy books in peace, while Mum and I got the dinner.

Afterwards, we'd all sit in the front room and Dad would light a Hamlet. The smell of cigars still reminds me of Christmas.

I worked in our local pub and loved working Christmas Day. The pub would be packed to the rafters with men, and women, all dressed up and jovial. We only opened for 2 hours and we were very strict about chucking everybody out at 2pm so we could have our Christmas dinner . It was too busy for anybody to get to the bar so no chance of getting drunk!
I met DP when he came to the pub as a temporary manager. I warned him about Christmas Day and that he would need lots of staff. We opened at 12pm to just a couple of people. DP asked where everybody was? By 12.15 there wasn't an inch of space!

It happens in our village. I go to the pub as MIL and sisters cook. We usually get a free drink on Christmas Day. We go 12-2pm then back to help and then eat.

It was never a tradition in my family when I was younger though I did know of families where it was.

My son visited from Australia a few years ago and we decided to go to the pub before dinner just for a change. After one too many sherries I rushed home to find my expensive turkey had dried almost to a crisp.

Never again!

BradfordLass the smell of Will’s Whiffs ( ! What a name)
Was a Christmas scent, along with tangerines.

Is this any different than going to Church all Xmas day morning? I still had to do all the cooking

I wish my ex- husband had gone to the pub on Christmas morning, it might have made him more cheerful......

Tedber

Same as you. Who cares???

Its not something my Dad ever did and my husband is the same! And actually husband does the cooling anyway (although we eat in the evening)

When I had left home to go to uni, it became a bit of a tradition to meet up in the pub on Christmas morning with old school pals. My parents didn't really approve, so insisted that we go somewhere where we were unlikely to be recognised Mum used to say "What will people think of you?" In my adult family life, several families of friends, including children and student AC returning home for Christmas, would meet in our local in our country town. I guess times had changed, and what my parents found unacceptable had become acceptable.

My former husband,two sons,neighbour’s husband and two sons went to the pub on Christmas Day.
Great idea.
I was far happier doing everything myself in the kitchen.

My dad always worked on Christmas day, and Christmas was not really celebrated in my mum and dads until they had Grandchildren then they went to my sisters home or mine for Christmas.

Growing up in London it wa never a thing but down here in the SW its a village thing, everyone goes even if just for half an hour, the landlord gives everyone a drink, sherry or whiskey, we greet long lost relatives home for the holidays, students, neighbours then wander home to eat lunch.

Tedber.
I agree.We are all different with different traditions and possibly circumstances out of our control. I can never recall as a child not having to wait until my father came home from the pub before we all sat down to our traditional xmas day lunch. I married a man for who working on xmas day was frequently unavoidable and part and parcel of his work.This would mean our traditional lunch time xmas meal took place of an evening or put on hold until the following day.

Northern lass here, but my dad and grandad never went to the pub on Christmas Day. My ex-husband did, with his brother, and used to come back very much worse for wear. That's one reason why he became my ex!

My fil was a londoner and xmas was always a drink in the pub before lunch. My dh used to go with him and i was left at home with mil. They came every xmas and after three xmases of them pubbing i suggested us going with them. My dh was all for it but mil was horrified. I went and did so for several years until fil died then my husband and i stayed home

Our son is a chef in a pub. He would love just one Xmas day off but knows that to shut the pub is not allowed due to demand!! So he will open 10-2:00 then close and have the rest of the day off.

My dad apparently used to go down the pub with his brothers on Christmas Eve - as he didn't drink otherwise, came home worse the wear a few times apparently.
Here the pubs are really only open for those that are actually having their Christmas lunch at the pub .

Never happened in my childhood home and never in my own.

When I was a child all the menfolk went to the pub on a Christmas Day, leaving the women to do all the lunch preparations. It was something that always happened, and was always accepted by all.

If all 20 of my family come for Christmas, as looks likely, I will insist that at least some of them go to the pub! And hopefully eat there too!

kitty ??