Who came to your house on Christmas day ?

Just the four of us Christmas Day. We'd either been to Midnight Mass or the morning mass. Breakfast first, then present opening. The Christmas dinner of turkey arrived on the table sometime mid afternoon. A late tea which included Christmas cake It was the one night we were allowed to stay up late and watch tv, which often featured a blockbuster film of yesteryear. I seem to remember visiting relatives was done between Christmas and New Year when we went for what I suppose was a high tea.

Nobody came to visit on Christmas day, it was just my parents and my 2 sisters.
On Boxing day we had a big family party. All my mother's siblings and their spouses and families and my Nana and Grandad.

Nobody, unless my grandparents were staying.
One year we had my auntie and her two sons as their dad had just died.

Apparently, some fat old bloke with a white beard used to come down the chimney very early on Christmas Day, leave me and my brother an orange and some chocolates, drink the glass of whisky that Dad left out for him, and leave the same way he came in. Never stayed on for any of the festivities...

Looking back I don't remember anyone coming in at Christmas other than our neighbours next door with whom we were very friendly.

Christmas meant a new ‘frock’ , midnight mass, after which we would have home-made plum cake and wine./ punch. My Aunt and cousins would visit at some point during the day, but strangely, no neighbours.

Nobody came just me my mum and dad staying over at my nan and grandads

I don't remember any visitors on Christmas day. I do sometimes get relatives calling on Christmas Eve trying to persuade me to spend Christmas with them. They meant well but I would rather be alone than surrounded by someone else's boisterous family.

We lived near two aunts and maternal grandparents, so went there. It was mixed as the uncles and GM didn’t like my father, knew exactly which buttons to press, it rarely ended well. I keep a sense of great anxiety on xmas day.
When GPs died, we had Christmas at our house. We usually had people who didn’t have family. Living in Mauritius, there were a lot of expats, e.g. men who’d left their wives and children “at home”, fearing the education would be rubbish - it wasn’t!

From being very small until I left home most of my mother's family spent Christmas day at our home. There was never fewer than ten of us.
My mother cooked for everyone, don't recall anyone bringing contributions. How she managed I really don't know, the kitchen was tiny and we didn't even have a fridge. My father wouldn't eat turkey so she would cook a pork joint as well as turkey. On Christmas eve she would cook a ham and a tongue which was slow cooked and then put in an enamel bowl with a plate on top and a heavy weight which was used to press the tongue. I used to have to help with the stuffing, making the breadcrumbs and rolling the sage from a dried bunch hanging in the pantry.

My maternal grandparents lived close by and would come around to us for the day. Boxing Day was spent with close friends of my parents who had two sons similar ages to me my brother and sister. We alternated their house one year ours the next. They were the best days lots of happy memories. Lots of laughter and playing games.

No-one, our grandparents were all dead, we never knew any grandparent. There were nine of us, the house was full and very happy. We would go for a walk an play in the park, all of us after lunch

When I was little our next door neighbours dropped in on Christmas morning for a drink, I seem to remember Stones ginger wine featuring some how , and a warm homemade sausage roll.
The sausage roll was the odd thing, as I don’t remember sausage rolls at any other time of the year in our house 🤷🏻‍♀️

Various relatives rom Wales came to stay but not for long due to their farming commitments.
My Uncles didn't enjoy the visit as they found it claustrophobic in the suburbs.
Otherwise-it was an elderly Aunt and Uncle
She reminded me of Irene Handl in looks and she had a dry and rapid wit .

No-one. There was always just my mother and father, my adult brother and myself. He would then leave to spend the afternoon and evening with his fiancée at her home. Occasionally one of our neighbours would call in for a glass of sherry, but my father didn’t encourage company.

Always went
to Grandmas house. The whole family on Christmas Day - 15 of us for dinner, supper and all stayed over, in a small 3 bed house.
Boxing Day others arrived - another couple of families for a great party along with a visit from Father Christmas.
Carpets were taken up for dancing.

How on earth did we all squeeze in.
So much fun was had.

When I was about 9 the strangest guest turned up for Christmas Dinner. Only Dad seemed to know he was coming.

My Dad had invited the plumber, who had been doing work in the house for us and had told Dad that he lived alone and had no family. His name was Spreadbury and always referred to just by that name.

It felt quite inhibiting having this strange man turn up but he brought the most enormous box of chocolates with him which made him much more acceptable to me and my younger brother. I had never seen such a huge amount of chocolates in one box and never have since!

Not sure if Mum did know about the invitation as she seemed quite flustered but it was never repeated!

As my father was in the army, we rarely spent more than one Christmas in any house, so we never had family nearby. On Christmas day the tradition was that the officers serve the Christmas lunch of all those in barracks, so our Christmas lunch was always late.

However, my father was a Christmas person, so he set a routine for Christmas day that remained unchanged no matter what part of the world we lived in, whether it was very hot or very cold. Part of that tradition was that we were all home together and did not visit and did not have visitors.

There was one Christmas when we did do it differently. It included partying in the morning and going swimming after lunch. My sisters and I always refer to that year as 'the year we didn't have Christmas', which always infuriated my mother because, for reasons that are irrelevant, our parents had spent more than average on our presents

We always went up to Yorkshire to be with Mum’s family. She was one of 10 and we all gathered together in Headingley, husbands, kids and partners. I don’t remember ever spending it at home in London. My mum always said Londoners were boring and didn’t know how to celebrate. Not sure what she meant 🥳

When we moved to Scotland from Ireland my mother missed home so much at Christmastime. She thought Scotland was a joyless, Godless place at first, her family at home would be having a loving, warm, happy family Christmas and here there was only us.

Every year thereafter my mother’s maiden aunt would come to stay bringing suitcases stuffed full of treats to eat as well as small gifts for us children. She was outgoing and chatty and listening to her stories in her Dublin accent was a gift in itself.

baubles Christmas in Scotland was a very low key affair when I was younger. The big celebration was kept for Hogmanay

As a child I can only remember my granny ( fathers mum ) coming a few times . Just for lunch then a few hours after before my dad would take then home again .
I say they because my Dads never married brother would come along also because he still lived with my granny.
He was quite a few years older than my dad and I believe probably gay ( but back then it was never spoken about ) he had a ' friend ' who also never married and lived with his own mother .

When I was really young, Father Christmas briefly visited us in the early hours of Christmas Day, but I never saw him, because I was fast asleep.

My mum was one of ten, everyone went to my nans at Christmas. The house was bursting at the seams kids topping and toeing in beds dinner in two sittings, loads of playing board and card games. Letters to Father Christmas sent wooshing up the chimney on Christmas eve. It was joyous chaos (well for the kids anyway!) We saw my paternal Nan over new year.

My grandad used to call in for a glass of sherry on Christmas morning and then he and my nana always came for tea on Boxing Day.