Can you believe there are only nine more sleeps until Christmas? That means only nine more chocolates are hidden behind the doors of my advent calendar. It also means that the slight panic I'm beginning to feel having realised that I still have some presents to buy, is only going to get worse. On the flip side, the excitement that's building, because I'm one of those people who absolutely loves Christmas, is going to intensify - and that's a good thing. No really, it is!
And speaking of presents ... and excitement, I'm giving away a little present on this blog. It's the one in the photo and it consists of a cute robin cushion, a box of scrummy choccies and a signed paperback of my new book, Bells and Bows on Mistletoe Row. A cushion, a book and chocolates - the perfect reading combination! Unfortunately, this particular giveaway is for UK residents only.
All you have to do for a chance to win this gift is to comment on this blog post and tell me your favourite Christmas tradition (but please don't worry if your comment doesn't appear right away. All comments have to come to me to be verified and that can take a little while. It will appear though. 
)
I was asked this question for a blog tour recently and I must confess I listed about ten things, because I simply couldn't decide on my favourite. So perhaps I should ask you to tell me just one of your favourite traditions. Hohoho! Is it decorating the tree? Making the Christmas cake and wishing while you stir? Finding the perfect Yule log for the fire? Opening one present on Christmas Eve? Or whatever. You get the picture, right?
This will close for entries at midnight on Monday 17th December and a winner will be selected at random and the name posted on this blog on Tuesday the 18th, so there's not much time. Sorry about that but I was busy running other competitions on Facebook, in my newsletter and in my reader group, and I completely lost track of time! I'll clearly be going on Santa's Naughty List. But hey, no change there.
The winner will be asked to let me have their postal address, so do check back on Tuesday the 18th to see if it is you. Thanks for reading this - and Good Luck!
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Comments
My favourite tradition is making the Christmas cake and pudding from my grandma's recipe and having 14 family members for Christmas day
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful Christmas traditions. Some made me giggle and some brought a tear to my eye, but they were all a pleasure to read and it was so difficult to pick just one. But I love Kim Feasey's tradition of their dog buying everyone a book to open on Boxing Day! So Kim is the winner. May I please have your postal address, Kim so that I can send you your prize? You can send me an email via the 'Contact' page on this website.
Thanks again to everyone for sharing, and for the good wishes for Portia, and for Christmas. Wishing you all, the Merriest Christmas ever and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2019! Merry Christmas!
Hi Emily and merry Christmas to you! My maternal grandparents started this tradition and my older brother and I still do this. We have our stocking presents in the morning but we don't open our tree presents until after the Queens speech. We have a great big production of my daughter reading labels and dishing our presents and then we take it in turn to open a present , youngest to oldest, so that the person can see the gift they have being opened. It also gives me time to write a list for thank you notes!!!! When we were younger, my dad used to have to deliver some of his milk round at midnight ( while looking out for father Christmas!!) so he could grab a couple of hours sleep and not miss out on the present opening.
I love trying to find cute little gifts to fill our advent calendar.
I made one for my sister this year and she is loving it, she says she would like one for every day of the year!
Our favourite Christmas tradition is all the family that's children, grandchildren and also great grandchildren visiting my husband's mother who is nearly 80 on boxing day for tea and prezzies x we all take nibbles and sever wants pressies x Great fun ??? merry Christmas Emily x
My favourite Christmas tradition is waking up on Christmas morning and the children all excitedly bringing their stockings to show me, then is all taking turns to open them - eating chocolate and Clementines while we do of course!!
Our family tradition is to make sure everybody, from the youngest to the oldest, gets a satsuma and a bag of chocolate coins in their stocking on Christmas morning. Even those who haven't started weaning yet (there's always a sibling or cousin ready to "help out" on their behalf!)
Favourite tradition is not really a Christmas one but it's my Mums birthday on Christmas eve and she always has a party so that's a special tradition especially this year as she will be 80!
My favourite Christmas tradition is one we started with our children a few years ago. The week before Christmas we go out every day to ‘pay it forward’. Sometimes we will spot a coffee for the next person at the coffee shop, sometimes we’ll leave an encouraging note for a neighbour. Last year the kids saved up their money for months to buy an entire Christmas dinner for a family who couldn’t afford it. (All of this is done without anyone knowing who has given the ‘gift’ so we are learning to give willingly without recompense) ?
My favourite tradition is doing our christmas food shop. Even though we have left home we all get together have breakfast in the cafe and then do our shopping x
I loved reading every one of these traditions. Thank you all for sharing. So many wonderful traditions!
Hi Emily, our tradition is to go to midnight service, come home and are only to open one present before going to bed.
Hi Emily, our family tradition actually happens on boxing day. We always gather as a family and have cold meat and home fried chips for our dinner. My girls alternate christmas with us and their husbands family and have been known to have a dinner with us, then go straight to their inlaws and eat again, just so they get their 'chippings'. Its a must for us. I actually keep a deep fat fryer just for this one day a year! ? ?dont judge us please lol ? xx
We always have a chippy tea on Christmas Eve and read a ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas before putting stockings out ?
Before we had kids,me and hubby used to go for the big Christmas food shop in the very early hours of the morning,it used to be lovely,empty shops,empty roads and Christmas songs on the radio! One year it was snowing and it was perfect! Now we have kids and have to brave the hustle and bustle but theyve brought us an even more magical Christmas! X
Our favourite Christmas tradition is to open one pressie on Christmas Eve,we started doing that when we were living in South Africa at the time.
Getting in from work on late on Christmas Eve, I used to wrap all the family pressies, while having mince pies & a nice mug of tea.
Our dog buys everyone a book to open on Boxing Day She arrived with us near Christmas and this was her thank you to my parents for letting a whirlwind stay over Christmas. Twelve years later it's a firm tradition that is enjoyed by everyone.
Bubbles and Pain au chocolat for breakfast whilst we 'do' stockings.
My Christmas tradition is going out with my husband and family to celebrate our wedding anniversary which is on Christmas Eve x