Looking for something to do on Christmas day?

We spoke to a panel of parents from families around the UK to discover some common as well as quirky traditions that they do around Christmas time.

We asked them to share their thoughts on what must-do activities they do every year and what traditions past generations have passed down to them to provide a snapshot of Christmas in the UK in 2024. So why not see what they say - they may offer inspiration to make your own new traditions:

What Christmas traditions can I do with my family?

So what exactly do families do around the festive period? For many, it’s their favourite time of the year. Opening presents together, wearing matching pyjama sets and watching films as a family seems like the norm. But for others, it’s much more than this.

Elf holds a note saying I made you some beans on toast. There is a plate of toast with cut outs of Mr Beans face. Image on right shows a family sitting at a table around food. — Image caption,
(Left) Laura plays Elf on the Shelf with her children. (Right) Alex prepares food with family.

Alex is from a Christian family household and says, “the significance of Christmas and faith is important to us; we will join the various carol, nativity and Christingle services at our local church.” Alex, whose wife is from Ukraine, adds “For the last two years we have had her entire family over for Christmas and this creates an interesting set of new traditions”.

Holly from Swansea is navigating different traditions, “We spend time with my partner’s family also on Christmas Day now which is nice and different, they all open presents together after dinner one at a time which is different to what I normally do.”

Similarly, Andrew is figuring out the festive season activities “I am recently in a blended family and we are finding our way through Christmas and thinking of how to make it special for both us and the children.”

Playing Elf on the Shelf during the build up to Christmas seemed to be popular among our parent panel with panellists’ younger children enjoying playing it daily. One panellist even has a big breakfast on Christmas morning as a way to say ‘goodbye’ to the Elf.

“Every Xmas Eve morning, the elf sets up a North Pole breakfast…it’s basically a sugar fest but it was always their time to say goodbye to the elf.”
– Laura W, parent of three boys.

Christmas Eve traditions

In recent years there seems to have been a rise in doing more on Christmas Eve, with many families creating traditions like baking treats such as gingerbread houses and decorating them, having a takeaway and opening a pre-Christmas gift like Alex T, “[We] give the children (what has now become) their legendary "Christmas Eve Boxes" containing new [pyjamas], Christmas socks and a toy/early Christmas present).”

Visiting the cinema on Christmas Eve, or staying at home and getting snug under the blanket to watch movies as a family are also popular activities amongst families.

Susan, who has three sons, has a more sentimental tradition with her family… “We watch a visit on Christmas Eve that was recorded on Christmas morning from a few years back, the boys love to see how much they have changed.”

“We stay up until midnight and each adult opens a present before the children wake up around 5am and cause chaos!”
– jokes Stacey.

For some, the hosting continues on Boxing Day, with activities like "karaoke and party games", whilst others, like Darren who lives in Newcastle, "don’t really go overboard" and prefer "going to the beach for a long walk".

What to do if you don’t celebrate Christmas

Whether Christmas is a holiday you celebrate or not, it tends to be a time of the year where most families gather and spend time together. Alan, parent of primary and secondary school children says “it’s great to spend time with wider family and friends that perhaps we don’t see as often as we should do throughout the year.”

A family meal seems to bring family members together, like Andrew and his family in Hertfordshire, “We are Jewish so don’t celebrate Christmas although we still all sit down to a family meal”.

“I personally don’t celebrate Christmas but in my family we usually have one family member host Christmas each year so everyone has a turn and people are allocated specific things to bring such as desserts, drinks etc.”
– Lamar, parent of two primary aged children.

Seasonal activity ideas for families if you don’t celebrate Christmas.

What does your Christmas dinner/festive food look like?

Family are gathered around a festive table wearing party crowns, eating festive food. — Image caption,
Rikki and family enjoying festive food

A traditional roast dinner is a main event on Christmas Day for many, with a big effort put in to make it feel special. “It’s always a traditional dinner, we have [a] choice of 2 starters, turkey dinner with all the trimmings.” Angela adds how her family caters to differing food palettes by serving dinner "along with steak pie separate shared between us all as I have fussy eaters and choice 3 desserts."

Maybe a more uncommon tradition is to eat Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve like Elaine and her family do, “then graze on the leftovers on Christmas Day before going out for a long walk.”

For Natasha from Whitefield, Christmas is her favourite time of the year… “We love to have our whole family around the table for a Christmas dinner, lots of fun games and activities for the children to do, pulling crackers and lots of joy and happiness.”

Of course, there are always disagreements over what makes up a Christmas dinner, from whether mashed potatoes should join the roasties, to if a Yorkshire pudding might be appropriate on the dinner plate.

When to put up/take down the Christmas tree?

One of the many questions that pop up around Christmas time is when to put up and take down the Christmas tree.

For a lot of families, the tree goes up late November/early December and comes down in early January, whilst others like Lisa wait so they can focus on others events before shifting attention to Christmas, “My daughter's birthday is on the 1st Dec so I usually wait until after.”

The earliest our families report putting up their trees were before Halloween 🎃, with the latest being put up "a few days before Christmas".

It seems like families have a variety of reasons for when to take down their Christmas tree, some with specific dates such as following Christian beliefs of taking them down “12 days after Christmas”. And others taking their decorations down soon after Christmas Day; “they’re normally down before new year so we can start fresh with a clean and less cluttered house.” says Laura, parent of three secondary school-age children.

Elizabeth from Pontypridd agrees; "I like an organised house and my tree gets in the way.”

Alan and his family, who live just outside of Glasgow, take the tree down on the 30th December “to prepare for our Hogmanay celebrations.”

Three Christmas trees, one with gold and red baubles, one white tree with colourful baubles, and a tree with candy cane decorations. — Image caption,
Variety of Christmas trees; Leander's (left), Angela's (middle), Ellen's (right)

Artificial tree or real tree: which is best?

We’ve also been hearing from parents across the UK about their Christmas tree preferences, from pre-lit, snow-covered and miniature to 7 foot tall artificial trees, but which is best, an artificial tree or a real tree?

Many families found the mess of a real tree a reason for shifting from real trees to artificial trees, with cost being another factor. Andrew, a single father of a ten year old son recalls, “We used to have a real tree growing up, but now we have an artificial one.”

Though many families have one big Christmas tree as their ‘main’ one, some have smaller trees displayed around their homes, like Rikki's family, “The kids each have a small tree in their rooms, which they enjoy decorating.”

Jason similarly has multiple trees, “there is a tree in the kitchen which has a candy cane theme and the tree in [the] front room which is decorated like santa's dreams”. He adds “All [our] trees are artificial as I learned that real ones are great on the 25th but are still in carpet/floor come mid-Jan and getting pine needles in your foot a cold Jan morning is not the one.” - Ouch!

Others are thinking of more sustainable and cost effective ways to decorate for Christmas, with Elaine getting an artificial Christmas tree "on free cycle 17 years ago", and Lamar saying “I haven’t had a Christmas tree for the last two years”.

Getting the kids involved with decorating can not only be a great indoor activity to do when it’s chilly outside, but a great way to start the family festivities!

Kayleigh, who has two secondary school-age children says, “I have a snow covered fake tree which I normally decorate with my children, I don’t really follow a colour theme as my children have always made things to go on the tree.”

It seems artificial trees are more popular with our parent panel, but have your say and vote which type of tree you will be choosing this year…

Find out what other people find stressful about the festive period, whether it’s a particular Christmas song that they’ve heard just that one too many times, or the worry about whether their travel arrangements will go to plan.