Christmas is the one time of the year that most families get together to celebrate. With so many people working or living away from home nowadays, Christmas is still seen as a family time and to be away from home at Christmas can be very sad. From September onwards Christmas cards (Weihnachtskarten), decorations, baubles, lights and Christmas trees are on sale in the shops. Some people prefer to do their Christmas shopping early to avoid the rush and plan their Christmas well in advance. Christmas is a very exciting time for children who look forward to Father Christmas bringing lots of toys on Christmas Eve. It becomes a very busy time for women who usually have the task of buying all the presents, wrapping them up and buying in the food needed for the traditional Christmas Day meal. Because of the convenience many people buy their Christmas cards online (Weihnachtskarten online) as well as buying the Christmas presents this way. This is an easier way than trailing round the shops particularly for people that work and have very little time.
As Christmas Day approaches, women start to bake Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings, mince pies and order the turkey. The traditional Christmas Day meal comprises of Turkey, chipolata sausages, stuffing, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots, parsnips and cranberry sauce. All this will be followed by Christmas pudding and maybe a glass or two of wine, bucks fizz or a few beers. People like to buy Christmas crackers that they pull while enjoying their Christmas meal. These usually contain a party hat, a joke and a little toy depending on the size of the cracker. Children spend Christmas Day playing with their new toys and the adults usually sit and watch the television after dinner. The following day, Boxing Day, many people like to go for a long walk to burn off the excess calories they have consumed over the Christmas period. Boxing Day also is the start of the sales and the shops are often packed with people looking for a bargain or two. A few days later the decorations are taken down and packed away safely for next Christmas as people go back to work and children back to school.