Christmas tree saturday
For me, Christmas starts the first Saturday in December, because that’s when we buy our tree.
Some years, we host guests (usually my parents, sometimes my brother or sister-in-law) and serve nibbles and mince pies and plenty of wine (mulled or otherwise). Other years, it’s just the four of us, decorating the tree to some festive tunes and arguing over where the little red aeroplane decoration should go, and who gets to put the angel on the top.
When I was a child, we’d drive up into the hills in North Wales to choose the perfect tree from the Christmas Tree farm there. (In my memories, it was always snowy too…) These days we’re more likely to pick one from the local garden centre (hills being in short supply in Hertfordshire) but the same two rules apply:
- the tree has to be taller than me.
- we have to choose the first tree we see – but only after we’ve inspected all the other ones too
Once the tree is up, I’m ready to start in on the business of Christmas. All that wrapping and card writing is much more palatable by the sparkle of the fairy lights!
Christmas Movies
Something else that makes card writing and present wrapping more fun is a great Christmas movie! I have a definite top 5 that gets reviewed and updated every year, depending on what new ones are released. And the minute the Christmas 24 Movie channel goes live, my TiVo box is instantly at 100%.
My top 5 are:
- Nativity
- Arthur Christmas
- The Muppet’s Christmas Carol
- The Christmas Card
- Holiday Inn
What are your favourites?
Christingles, nativities and carols
Is there anything more festive than watching small children in tea towels and tinsel halos retelling the Christmas story? (That’s me on the left, by the way, playing Mary at about age seven. Clearly shiny blue is absolutely my colour.) Watching my kids in their Christmas shows, carol concerts and all the various other festive spectacles that seem to happen every other day throughout December is a treat I look forward to all year round.
I also love to take them both the the Christingle service at our local parish church. We’re always in Wales for Christmas, so miss most of the other holiday services (although we try to make them at our local church in Wales) but this one, usually the first weekend in December, is a wonderful way to kick off the season. (I always sob when we make a circle around the church, turn off all the lights, hold up our Christingle oranges with their glow sticks, and sing Away in a Manger together.)
But there’s also my own Christmas concert to factor in – which I drag my family to watch in return for all the others I’ve sat through. The choir I belong to puts on a Christmas concert every December with a mix of traditional carols and fun Christmas songs. Singing my way through our programme always makes me feel sublimely festive – and ready to celebrate! (Which reminds me – I really must learn my words…)
driving home for christmas
The last day of term for my kids is usually a half day, which means I spend the morning frantically packing, loading up the car, and making sure that the house isn’t awful for when we return in the New Year. Then, the moment they finish school, we can all jump in the car and start the journey home to Wales for Christmas!
My mother’s birthday is on Christmas Day, so for our whole family it’s doubly important to be together on the big day. The moment those Welsh mountains come into sight – through the mist, snow, rain or fog – I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
And once I’m there… that’s when Christmas really begins!
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boat sunday
The last sign – or tradition – of Christmas, the one that kicks off the however many days of celebrations in my family, is Boat Sunday.
My mum comes from a large family, and as they grew up and had families of their own, it became more difficult to get everyone all together in one place on Christmas Day. But that’s okay, because we have Boat Sunday instead. That’s the day when we all (about forty of us, give or take) get together at a local hotel or restaurant for a fantastic Christmas meal where no one has to wash up, and then a sing song together afterwards. It’s my absolute favourite day of the year.
(An aside: There’s a complex formula used to calculate the exact date of Boat Sunday (Easter has nothing on us) but this year it falls on the more usual Sunday before Christmas. Past years have fallen on a Saturday, and there’s even been talk of a Friday. And yes, it’s still called Boat Sunday anyway. It used to take place at a restaurant called The Boat, but we haven’t been there in years now. But yes, still called Boat Sunday anyway. We’re nothing if not followers of tradition…)