Not buying presents for family who don’t need anything. Instead, I’m down the west end handing out all the cash I had earmarked for Christmas to homeless people.

Yup. Pretty much

G I bloody love you. What a thoroughly good bloke

There's a very special quality in someone who tries to make people's lives a little better. Nice one g.man.

Merry Christmas everyone. x

g.man wrote:

Not buying presents for family who don’t need anything. Instead, I’m down the west end handing out all the cash I had earmarked for Christmas to homeless people.

Bless you g.man, also brilliant for not patronising the homeless by refusing to give cash because "it'll go on drugs" or similar ridiculous sentiments

Always reminds me of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's "Christmas drink for London's homeless" stunt, which I thought was great and can be read in Bills 45 book

Growing up, Christmas morning always took the same course. We’d get up at the agreed time (when I was under 7, and shared a room with my brother, my dad put an alarm clock in our room on Christmas Eve, we didn’t have one otherwise), and once everyone had dressing gowns on and had wished each other, we’d go through to the living room, where presents were set up. Mine on the armchair, my brother’s on the short leg of the sofa, my parents’ presents to each other on the long section. Our main Santa present was always unwrapped and ‘on display’ like it was in a shop window: for example, the year I got my first radio controlled car, the box was propped up on its side so the lid was facing the door, with the car (pre-loaded with batteries) sitting in front of it.

What followed was best described as a frenzy. The presents from Santa and our parents would be opened in a flurry of torn paper. Once everything was open (my mum’s ability to ‘guess’ that I’d missed a present that had slipped down the side or been lost under a pile of discarded paper never raising a suspicion) my folks would open their presents to each other, then the presents under the tree Would be distributed and opened, starting with presents to and from each other, then moving onto extended family and friends.

Once everything was open (and no doubt some chocolate coins or Jelly Tots consumed) we’d have breakfast. As a child, just cereal (probably Ricicles) but as we got older my mum would prepare other things, the most popular (and frequent) being figs poached in honey and cinnamon, served on toasted fruit loaf with a dollop of mascarpone.

After breakfast, phone calls to everyone, excitedly listing presents to aunties, and thanking them for what they’d given us. Before each phonecall, my mum would make sure we knew exactly what that person had given us, so we could thank them for the item specifically. Even if it was a scratchy jumper from Grandma.

In my pre-teen years, we’d alternate between Christmas at home one year, and Christmas at my paternal grandparents the next. If we were going to theirs, we could pick one new toy (torture) to take with us. We’d get dressed up (normally something from the clubby book that my mum had got us for the school Christmas party) and head out, visiting my Great-Grandma in hospital, en route. Even the years we were at home, it was usual to head out to relatives in the evening, or have extended family round.

Even throughout my teenage years and 20s, once we’d stopped going to my grandparents for dinner, my mum usually invited her mum over for dinner, and she and her sisters took turns to host in the evening. Christmas Day has more often than not been about seeing family. Boxing Day was more relaxed; it was more of an opportunity to spend time with your new things, eat selection boxes, and not get dressed up. Even if we’d had dinner elsewhere, my mum has always bought everything needed to have a second Christmas dinner on Boxing Day.

I’m going to my friends for dinner this year, due to ongoing issues with my parents. Their boys are 7 and 4. I gather it’s carnage. I’m looking forward to it. I know from years past that the boys get so much, my friends hold back presents and drip feed them over the course of the day, and even into Boxing Day, so xcited present opening will still be in full swing when I get there about noon.

The best thing about being an uncle (and, in the case of my friends kids, honorary uncle) is that you get to witness and be part of stuff like that, but you get to go home and leave the parents to it when they go into meltdown.

It’s really lovely hearing all about the various Christmas traditions from all of you. Looking forward to making lots of new ones with my kids

Cheers. It will, in time. Anyway, this isn’t the thread for it.

Andy wrote:

Jelly Tots consumed

Jelly tots.

From a tube at Christmas.

Forgot about that.

Fruit Pastilles too.

Let them clean the fucking house.

Fuck the visitors. Wait, no. Not that.

Early finish! The working man’s festive treat.

g.man wrote:

Not buying presents for family who don’t need anything. Instead, I’m down the west end handing out all the cash I had earmarked for Christmas to homeless people.

You're a good man, G

Tiger's traditions have clashed with Lady Tiger's bullshit. Kids are young enough that I have time to wear her down. This is how a Tiger's Xmas day would roll...

No opening Santa's presents until 7am. Can go and look but can't open until the designated time, where parents would drag themselves out of bed. One sofa/armchair each, replete with stocking and various gifts. Dad stopped wrapping the football eventually - Fair enough. Fondest years were when we would get a Megadrive game each.

Gorge on choc and play with gifts until Xmas lunch in the early afternoon. After lunch, Little Sis Tigro would pass out one present from under the tree at a time. Opening, thank you, hug. Waiting until after Xmas dinner was torture as a very young lad but it really did make the day 'longer' in a good way.

Then board games with Xmas nonsense on in the background. Brother on egg nog duty. Energy sustained by Papa Tiger's 'Christmas Drink' which is basically hot wine with a bunch of extra spirits thrown in. The alcohol fumes were enough.

I never liked having any other family over for the day itself. Feels bad in retrospect but I just wanted my parents and siblings there.

G, that’s wonderful. Really truly wonderful