10 things to Love about Christmas

It’s that festive time of year, when the winter chills set in and you can sup on mulled wine and indulge in many a mince pie. Many people seem to be getting more disillusioned with Christmas each year and bemoan that it’s becoming too commercial and stressful, so for all those Christmas sceptics and Scrooges out there I am outlining 10 things you should love about Christmas, in the hopes that I can win back their Christmas spirit! Christmas cheer and spirit, as you will know if you have seen Elf, is what powers my sleigh, so it’s vital that I win over those sceptics!

Christmas markets
I love a good market at the best of times, but one filled with Christmas treats is that bit more magical! With novelty gifts, yummy food and the odd mulled wine on offer, who can resist a Christmas market ? Especially if the weather is clear, crisp and cold!

Cheese boards and mulled wine
Blue cheese, brie, Wensleydale with cranberries, Camembert, Port Salut, Mature Cheddar, altogether with crackers, biscuits and chutneys….and a lovely cup of mulled wine. Yummy! Best enjoyed in front of a nice fireplace in the company of friends and family with good conversation….followed by falling into what I have dubbed a “Cheese coma”. For those who like to over-indulge I’ve heard you can even buy a Cheese Christmas cake !

Catching up with Friends
If you’re like me and the elves, when it gets to December you suddenly have a very full diary, full of appointments for catch up drinks and dinner engagements with friends who you might not see very often, or those you might see more often. Either way, Christmas is another excuse to gather all your mates together and have a good old drink, feed-up, chinwag and dance.

Christmas competitions and give-aways
Let’s face it, its can get a bit expensive around Christmas, buying gifts for your friends and family and spending money on making the day as fun and entertaining as possible. A little help can be appreciated, so I like to enter a few Christmas promotions and competitions like Toshiba’s Help find Santa competition (you can win a TV to watch E.T and It’s a Wonderful Life on!), or Waitrose and Classic FM’s competition to win Waitrose vouchers or a Christmas meal for 10.



Time off work
Not having to go into the office/toy factory for a week (or two if you’re lucky!)…..*sigh of content*, enjoying a lie-in and not having to deal with those pesky emails. Hoorah!

Ethical Gifts
There’s a new wave of alternative gifts for the ethically minded and those disillusioned with the commercialisation of Christmas. Charities such as Oxfam offer gifts such as schoolbooks for poorer countries, clean water supplies and goats for families via Oxfam Unwrapped . This way you are buying a specific “present” which feels more gift-like than a standard donation. Alternatively, to give someone a material gift you can buy fairly traded products from the Amnesty International online shop or from Traidcraft Traidcraft .

Watching Muppet Christmas Carol
Christmas would not be complete without certain films, and for me the Muppet Christmas carol is one of them! Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy bring probably one of the most touching, and funny, versions of this classic Dickens tail to life. But for me, the character that really makes the film has to be the tale’s narrator, Rizzo the Rat, genius.

Pigs in blankets
That yummy Christmas dinner favourite of everyone (apart from vegetarians of course!), pigs in blankets, pig wrapped in more pig….yummy. The one thing guaranteed to cause a bit of a row at the Christmas dinner table….who gets the last one?!

Watching the kids open their pressies
Christmas just aint the same without children. I know some of the strongest skeptics of Christmas might think that kids can be demanding and all “I want”, but I really don’t think that’s the case. To see your son/daughter/grandchild/younger sibling/cousin etc open their presents with such wild anticipation and fervor really is a heart warmer, especially if it’s a surprise gift or something they’ve been eagerly anticipating.

Getting all the family together and not fighting for 1 day of the year…
Finally, that last point which we all hope will be true of our families….getting everyone together and not arguing for one day of the year… unless you live in Walford that is…. .

And with that, I hope I have managed to get even the most sceptical of scrooges filled with Christmas spirit! Spread the Christmas cheer, one and all….and make sure you leave me an extra mince pie out this year ;)

Santa x