What’s your fav part of Christmas

As a child, it was Christmas Eve. My mum was German and the sitting room was off limits for the week before Christmas.
In the evening, my sister and I would wait with my father in the dining room until we heard the little bell and he would take us through. The room would be in darkness apart from the (real) candles on a big floor to ceiling tree with “Stille Nacht” in the background.
As a Mum, I liked Boxing Day best. Paw would take the eldest girl and our Labrador on the village Boxing Day walk while I got my breath back. Loads of cold food so regardless of numbers everybody could help themselves, Bucks Fizz on tap and a chance to enjoy my new books!

I love Boxing Day - lots of lovely food, no cooking and lots of relaxing with the family!

Bed time!

Being with family, whoever can make it. Then church on Christmas morning, and little children bringing a present to show the rest of us.

I like Christmas Eve when the whole family goes out for a meal at a local restaurant and I don't need to worry about what to cook.

Christmas Eve, cosy , the shops are shut & ‘if we haven’t got it now we’ll have to do without’.

Boxing Day when my dear mum used to ring me up in the morning (having been to ours over the years for 30 odd Christmas family dinners) and she’d always make me laugh when she’d say ‘well love, it’s as far away now as it’s ever going to be!’.

Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, the last verse of 'O come all ye faithful' actually being relevant (-Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning- - yes, I know that He wasn't actually born on 25th Dec) and being able to wish everyone 'Happy Christmas' after the service.

The end, the shops back to normal again without the frenzy of weeks before.

January 2nd!

Me too Greyduster !

Christmas Eve, but I miss going to Mass

Urmstongran, I remember my mum saying that about Christmas, " it's as far away as it'll ever be ". Never failed each year hahaha. That phrase used to make me feel quite down as I remember, because I loved it so much and wanted it to last forever as a child.

Favourite part has got to be watching the children opening their presents, then dragging everything round in their pillowcases .

And yes, the greatest part is locking the front door on Christmas Eve and settling down for the night while the turkey's doing, a few food preparations and trying to stay awake for the Carol service .
After that, you wondered what it was all about.

The family outing to the annual pantomime the day after Boxing Day. We're all ready to take a break from eating/drinking etc and the GC look forward to it so much as do the oldies.

I love it all, tacky decorations, food , music, excited children, gifts . Not forgetting the the real meaning of Christmas of course. No bah humbug for me.

As we usually host it there is a sense of relief when everyone has been fed and watered (!)
Love carol singers and the Sally Ann band, also the street decorations.

The lunch, despite the fact that I've been busy cooking it.

As others have said my mother used to say it’s as far away as it’s ever been. I find myself thinking it. I expect I’ll soon be saying it.

Never heard it's as far away as it's ever been, but it reminded me of something my granddad used to say. on 31st December every year, he used to come in and say to us children - 'Do you know, I've just seen a man with as many noses as there are days in the year'!

Christmas lights, on the tree, lamps lit, candles, golden baubles etc.In the dark time of the year it lifts the spirits.Am always reluctant to pack them away afterwards.

My favourite part is - the day after Boxing day when it's all over and back to normal. Normal is so good, often unappreciated but the ordinary days are my favourites!

Like you, TrendyNannie6 it will be watching my dear little grandson open his gifts.

First he has to hunt for them. He has simple clues and must solve them to find 6 gifts hidden all over the house.
I did this for my own boys when they were young and now it's a vital part of Christmas.

These gifts are quite small: a muesli bar; toy car etc.
He will have two major gifts from me: the Tree House Joke Book and a 2-session ticket for a climbing venue.

My next favourite thing is cooking and all next week I'll be blissfully occupied in the kitchen making Yorkshire Pork Pies, mince pies and the various components for Mille Feuille which will be transproted and assembled at their house on Xmas Day.

Christmas Pud and Brandy Butter are already made and the chef is taking care of the rest this Christmas, so a lazy time for me this year.

I like everything about Christmas, even decorating the tree. This year I bought a $5 blue tinsel one from K-Mart .
It sits on thw dresser with the olive wood Nativity.

There's a wee mystery attached to that. I put the baby Jesus in the manger and a few days later my son visited, looked at the set-up and laughed, 'Who put the lamb in the manger?'

And there it was, the poor baby sadly dumped at the back of the stable.

Funny thing is, the Nativity had been there only 3 days and no one had been in my house but me!

Aw Grandma my lovely Dad used to say that about noses too. I do miss him still-Sigh!

BradfordLass we have/had the same olive wood Nativity set!
I passed it on to DD1 a couple of years ago as the first of our three to have a family as we had also by then “inherited” Paws childhood family crib scene.
Baby Jesus used to be hidden round the crack until Christmas morning. And I used lo love keeping the wise men to one side and inching them along the mantelpiece to reach the stable just in time for Epiphany, but then of course they all got taken down. It has always struck me as very unfair to Wise Men
I was sorry to give it away really but family traditions are best passed on aren’t they? Nice to see it again - happy memories.

Round the back - my iPad has a mind of its own!