Blogmas #16 My Christmas Traditions

On the sixteenth day of Blogmas... I thought I’d share our family Christmas traditions. I actually found this harder than I thought it would be. Obviously, this year will be a little different and I have no idea what the next years hold, but we usually do the same things. So I thought I’d share five of them.

The Christmas tree

My mum and brother go to choose the Christmas tree from Calcott Farm, which is in Brentwood. It goes up in our living room the second weekend of December. The both of them will decorate it, while I usually watch – and the decorations are always red and gold to match the decor of the room. As soon as presents are wrapped or received, they’ll go under the tree. Then on Christmas Eve, mum will put each of our sacks around the tree.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is spent at home, as a family – we’ve never been children to go out and get ridiculously drunk... I don’t think mum would forgive us if we were hungover or ruined Christmas Day. Mum will make the Christmas ham (with honey and cloves) during the day, or even the night before and we’ll have that for dinner with fried eggs and chips. We’ll then play a game together – usually Monopoly – until an argument ensues and we go our separate ways for the rest of the evening.

Stockings

Even though I’m 27 next month and my brother is 23, we still have stockings at the end of our beds that mum fills with little presents. I think this will continue until I leave home – and when that happens, I don’t know what I will do! One year, Robert returned the favour to mum and dad, filling socks with chocolate, walnuts and satsumas – but I don’t think it was as well received. We also have stockings that hang from the fire place, but these are just for decorative purposes.

Christmas Morning

Robert and I have always woken up early to open our presents – the stockings are normally opened in my room – and then it’s time to get ready for the big day. Before we’d make our way downstairs, dad would plough through a couple of glasses of champers. And then it’s a breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. The presents are opened in the living room and we go around in a circle, opening one at a time each – the same Christmas CD plays in the background every year without fail.

The Outing

Every year, dad would book a little family trip to London – we would go for dinner and then to see a play or a show. Last year, we went to see A Christmas Carol and had a feast at Murakami (on my restaurant list). The previous year, we ate at Ping Pong, Southbank and watched The Play That Goes Wrong. And the year before that, Yo Sushi called, before we headed to The Garrick for 12 Angry Men. As we are in Madrid this year, we won’t be going to London – but we are still going to a concert.

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Love, Lucy xx

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