Christmas Traditions πŸŽ…πŸ»

Christmas for my family always starts on the 1st of December. Usually, as a family we get back from work and start decorating the whole house, ending with the live Christmas tree which has been resting outside for a couple of days. I used to love doing it all together as a grew up. of course, now it's a little different but I did put out my flat decorations on the 1st by myself! of course, that involved the advent calender!
Since starting university, I have started to make my own traditions and one of them is to go to Winter Wonderland. It defintely puts you in the Christmassy mood and I love exploring the little markets. 
Each year, my aunt organises an extended family meal with all the Buck family. It' sall my grandma's siblings, their children, their children and their children so it's really nice. While the numbers are slowly dwindling, I love that we get to spend time together. We usually hold it at a venue called Rogerthorpe and so we have a whole room for ourselves which gives the little ones lots of room to run around and play. I think this year will be well over 10 years of the meal so it will be fun!
When I was at school, the two week Christmas holiday was the break from school friends but now that we are all dotted all over the country, it's the only time we see each other before June so we try to meet up at least once but usually 3 times which is really nice. Especially when other people make the effort to organise it as well.
My parents are divorced and while that's one of the hardest things, my dad has never once asked to have us over Christmas or even if we wanted to go so I make the effort to meet up with him. In recent years, we've seen him on Christmas Eve Eve for a nice meal and we try to get my older sister's to come down too. Unfortunately, they usually don't want to but at least I try.
Christmas Eve has become a friends celebration. We usually go out for a meal to a nice restaurant and then head back to someone's house until late. During the day, mum sets the table ready for tomorrow's guests.
When we get home, we put out a little cup of milk and some carrots for Santa and his reindeers. I think it's nice to carry on this from childhood regardless of my new knowledge. We actually put it on a glass plate I made that has Christmas all over it.

Christmas day starts relatively bright and early. My mum's usually first up and walks the dogs before coming back and waking us up after putting on the heating in the conservatory. We open presents in our pyjamas while sharing with each other what we've got.
Then we go ahead and get ready in our dresses and make-up. By the time we're ready, mum has almost everything cooked so we start to help place everything and make sure everything is in the heater trolley ready to go. Setting up Christmas music and laying out the nibbles tends to be my job while gravy and salad tends to be my sisters.
Once the family arrives (aunt, uncle, cousins and grandma), we celebrate, chat and then eat! We spend well into the evening together and it's so nice. We chill, play some board games, listen to the Queen's speech every year and then head to the kitchen to play poker!
Boxing Day used to be a day to relax and play with new toys. Now it's turned into something that I am not a fan of. An expensive meal at a posh restaurant with the same people as the day before. Rush rush rush. The last 3 years, I've spent the day at home alone while the rest of the family has gone.

New Year's Eve is a big party at home and I love it that way. Friends and family all together and doing a quiz. Unfortunately, the whole family is quite competitive - including myself - so it usually ends in an argument. When it hits midnight, everyone kisses, hugs and congratulates each other on living another year before joining hands and singing "Auld Lang Syne".
And of course, it now ends with me heading off back to London for another couple of months. We usually go for a farewell meal the night before with the girls and then I'm very lucky that I have such a loving family who come to drop me off. Usually it's my mum and grandma and they stay to wave me off until I leave.
For me, the Christmas season is a time for friends and family so while it's a hectic time filled with event after event, it's when everyone gets together and enjoys one another's company. There are a few traditions that I can't wait to do with my children like Elf on the Shelf but the majority of things like that are relatively new and so weren't around when I was younger.

I'm also collabing with another blogger today to celebrate Blogmas Day 14! Paige Weatheral from her self titled blog Paige Margaret writes her traditions too. Go and check her out and then tell me your traditions in the comments below!

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