Americans React to How to Have a Very British Christmas

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Reacting To My Roots
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In this video we react to how to have a British Christmas. We had no idea just how different some of the British Christmas traditions are compared to what we're used to here in the US. From leaving brandy for Santa, burning Christmas letters and even the foods that are eaten on Christmas night, British Christmas celebrations are on a whole other level!
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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[@spiritusinfinitus]

When putting out mince pies and brandy for Father Christmas, don't forget to put a carrot out for his reindeer too. This was an essential addition in our house!

[@janinemhall6922]

Oh yes Rudolph always got a carrot in our house too

[@LewisLittle66]

When I was a kid it was always a carrot for the reindeer and a glass of milk for Sannta. It was only later I figured out that the milk was because my dad doesn't drink alcohol. 😄

[@isabeledelsten3945]

one time i ate the carrot the day after because i wanted to know what it was like to be a reindeer and i got so ill we never did it again lmao. i was throwing up the entire day 😂

[@susanbaker9255]

We always left out a bucket of water and carrots for the reindeers. One of my tasks on the way home from Midnight Mass was to tip out some of the water and nibble on the carrots to make it look as thought they've been. Then indoors to fill all the stockings and sacks

[@pitchdark2024]

i thought the brandy was there for the kids to sneak and try then it knocks them out so easier for the parents to sort the santa sack... i used to drink a bit anyway lol

[@claregale9011]

And who still pulls the wish bone of the turkey with there pinky , maybe an older tradition but we still do it .😊

[@gillianrimmer7733]

Crimbo, was a slang term for Christmas in the 1980s - I've not heard it for years.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

Same with a chicken

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

Yup me..

[@christopherwatts1833]

Every one does

[@markfour2841]

As a Brit, I've never heard of putting the letters to Santa on the fire. We always "posted" them to the North Pole !

[@Trebor74]

I seem to remember that in a Christmas film. Something about Swedish tradition,or something.

[@trailerman2]

It's probably a generational thing....us older people when growing up practically every house had an open fire. When you threw the letter on the fire if you were lucky the updraft would take it up the chimney!! Magic!! LOL

[@lisap6584]

You'd have to be pretty old to remember putting letters up chimeys and eating bread sauce (which is disgusting). TJ Max is TK Max in UK.

[@vaudevillian7]

@@lisap6584I’m in my 30s and we did it, remember there being so many more fireplaces in houses even then

[@margaretbarclay-laughton2086]

Yeah the royal mail used to have a department to deal with letters to Santa.

[@PeterDay81]

Boxing day.This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663. This custom is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day.

[@juliemacdonald6572]

Correct. It was called Boxing Day, because they were generally sent home with a small box of gifts, usually food, often clothes, and a Christmas bonus usually an extra days pay, because they worked Christmas Day, hence tradition of double time wages if working Christmas in hospitality.

[@Garybaldbee]

That was a very misleading description of Boxing Day. It's really not just a 'Black Friday' type event. It's a public holiday which to some extent serves as an extension of Christmas Day; people continue to eat and drink and celebrate (or suffer) with extended family. Yes, some go shopping but it's also traditionally a time to talk a walk, go to watch a football match and basically just get out of the house for some fresh air. Oh, and the Christmas Pudding is not a cake. It's extremely rich and dense - you won't want a large portion. It's traditionally served with a cream infused with brandy called brandy butter.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

Yes, Boxing Day is just a second Christmas Day for everyone I know - it's used to visit family you didn't manage to see on the day itself.

[@JuneSivell]

My family were greedy we had three Christmases, the day, Boxing Day for visiting relatives, and the 27th which was my parents wedding anniversary.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

@@JuneSivell, we always had turkey and ham on Xmas day and roast pork with stuffing and apple sauce on Boxing day. None of our family have ever had to work over Xmas, so it's basically Christmas week that ends on the 1st January with another big family dinner - usually roast beef.

[@secondtimearound2539]

@@gillianrimmer7733 Turkey butties and milky coffee sat in front of the open fire listening to the footy results on the wireless (no T.V. until years later) Cosy, comforting, sat with parents and siblings. Bliss.

[@Baiswith]

That sounds like brandy cream, not brandy butter. Not sure if that's a regional/class distinction, but I hadn't even heard of brandy cream until a couple of years ago when, for some reason, brandy butter just wasn't in the supermarkets at all.

[@lovetolay]

Santa magically comes down the chimney, so the letters magically find their way to Santa through the same chimney, total logic, how he gets down after 60 million cookies and alcoholic drinks is still a mystery, no wonder he only works one night a year

[@roseoconnor5938]

Never heard of throwing Santa's letters in the fire....mostly because these days there aren't many open fires !!!! I'm 70 , and we've never heard of it !!

[@alanaw27]

The letters float up the chimney or burn and the smoke drifts to the North Pole We didn’t have a fireplace when my children were small but e did have an old fashioned cast iron boiler with a flue. The children wrote their notes on light weight paper then we opened the vent an up the chimney it flew. Things are too sophisticated nowadays to do this without wrecking the boiler.

[@charlottehardy822]

Yes it always made perfect sense to me 😂

[@michaelstamper5604]

It's a good job Santa flies. If he drove down the street with that much booze in his system, he'd be behind bars for months. Lol

[@secondtimearound2539]

@@roseoconnor5938 Same, 76 here and we did have an open fire for some years. I remember we left a mince pie and a glass of brandy out on the fireplace. As kids if we got too excited about Father Christmas before bedtime, one of my parents used to surreptitiously ring a little brass bell and say 'Sleighbells! He's on his way so you'd better go to sleep!'. A pillow case was put over a drawer in the dresser for presents (which had been sent/collected from relatives during the previous couple of weeks); invariably we'd wake up about 2 o-clock in the morning and see a pillowcase transformed, now bulging with pressies, run into our parents' room, jump on the bed shouting 'he's beeeen, he's beeen!!'. Our poor parents didn't get much sleep those couple of days ☺ Have a wonderful Christmas all 🎄🦌🎅🎁

[@diane64yorks]

When I was small we had a coal fire, my letters to Father Christmas were thrown up the chimney not into the flames, the heat carried the letters up the chimney to the north pole 😊, stockings were put at the end of the bed and usually contained a small toy, a mandarin orange & chocolate coins. My children had stocking right up until the left home, with the same sort of contents plus a comic, it kept them busy while my husband lit our coal fire before we had gas central heating, my children carry on the same tradition with our grandchildren. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Yorkshire, England 🇬🇧

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thanks for the explanation! Makes a little more sense when put that way 😅 Merry Christmas to you and yours, too.

[@AnneDowson-vp8lg]

I'm also from Yorkshire. The presents for my sister and I were put in a pillow case at the bottom of the bed. I never once woke up until the weight of the full pillow case could be felt. Big presents were kept downstairs.

[@nikkirazelli3250]

4. We don't usually call the "chipolatas", they are usually called "cocktail sausages", but we usually use regular sausages wrapped in bacon, and they are called "pigs in blankets"

[@Mahoolipoodles]

We had a pillow case of gifts at the end of the bed and my parents never woke me up!!

[@cornwallcrafter8410]

You guys *SERIOUSLY* have to take Sophia to a panto, you guys will enjoy it too - lots of adult jokes that the kids won't get 😉

[@user-gf1jt2hp4m]

It would be very costly for them to come to England d just to see a panto.

[@clairec1267]

There are some on KZbin to get an idea - but it's not the same without participating

[@stephenlee5929]

@@clairec1267 Also many of the jokes are topical and often local.

[@elemar5]

Personally, our family didn't put Santa letters in the fire. We put them up the chimney above the flames. You didn't see them burn. They were supposed to be transported by the hot air out the top of the chimney.

[@neilsouthern321]

Aye they were sucked up the lum lol.

[@oz25]

Yes, we did this, the letter goes up the chimney and flies to Father Christmas. X

[@reactingtomyroots]

Okay, this makes a little more sense lol

[@RoadkillbunnyUK]

That is exactly what I did as a kid, well my dad would do it as you have to put your hand in above the fire and let the letter go so it is sucked up with the smoke. Thing is that practically nobody had an open fire anymore, most houses don’t even have working fire places. Central heating is king now. My children didn’t grow up doing this as we didn’t have a chimney let alone fireplace. Honestly we didn’t do the letters to Father Christmas as to me having grown up with the tradition I had anything else just seemed a let down!

[@MrBulky992]

I have never heard of tgst custom and it is definitely something we would not have done when I was young in the 1960s: it would have risked setting the chimney on fire and having to call the fire brigade!

[@thomas_oak2943]

When I was young (back in the 60s) I remember we children sent letters to father christmas. We wrote them on tissue paper and then threw them in above the coals and watched them magically fly up the chimney. It seemed totally believable to us. Did anyone else do this?

[@TheJohnboyhunter]

I was a young child in the late 70s, into the 80s, and we still sent letters up the chimney. Although we'd moved on to sheets of lined or plain paper by then.

[@richt71]

Panto is an amazing tradition. As said it's usually a 2 hour theatre production around a children's fairytale. It has men dressed as women and women dressed as men. A lot of audience participation. Singing and jokes aplenty aimed at kids but some more adult humour is usually slipped in. Each town usually has it's own panto and local news is often scripted into the panto.

[@audiocoffee]

it's full of slapstick, double entenres, bad jokes, ropy songs, dancers, men as women, women as men, moments of glorious f***uppery (prop fails, lighting issues, people forgetting lines, dancers exiting on the wrong side of the stage, slips, trips and wardrobe malfunctions) and worth going to see one for all that and more 😁 grew up doing panto and yeah, I was that uncoordinated tap dancer in the lineup.

[@MyOutdoorsUK]

Oh no it isn't. 🤣

[@raymondporter2094]

​@@MyOutdoorsUKOH YES IT IS!

[@alisonrodger3360]

@@audiocoffee HE'S BEHIND YOU!!

[@stephenlee5929]

@@alisonrodger3360 I would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for those darn kids... Sorry wrong show. 😁

[@barrywood7322]

The Queen was the first monarch to have a televised Christmas message, before television the King sent the Christmas message by the radio.

[@pogleswife7572]

With my children we put a pillowcase with presents in it at the end of their beds. It always contained a satsuma. In the past getting an orange in a stocking was a real treat because they were expensive ( my dad who was born in 1927 told me it was often the only time he had an orange all year)

[@pauldurkee4764]

In the UK, it was traditional to put a silver sixpence coin into the mix, so some lucky person would get it with their pudding. The pudding can be served with Custard, Cream, or Cream laced with Cognac or Baileys Irish Cream. 🎄🎀🎄

[@johnp8131]

When small, we would all get a silver "Tanner" in our pudding. I could never understand why my Dad was so lucky to get a Half Crown in his?

[@Burglar-King]

I love soaking the pudding in brandy and sett8ng fire to it and taking it to the dinner table.

[@helensmusings]

I still put a 5 pence in for each family member when I'm making them lol

[@gillcawthorn7572]

There were tradition silver tokens ,which meant something to the recipient . Apart from the money ,I can remember only a few; a tiny horseshoe , a stirrup, and often the housewife`s gold wedding ring . None of these things were to be kept, but washed and returned to the kitchen for next year`s pudding.

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

Yeah I hate CHRISTMAS PUDDING and i just wanted the coin inside it 😂

[@Bridget410]

The name comes from a time during Queen Victoria's reign when the rich used to box up gifts to give to the poor. Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for servants - a day when they received a special Christmas box from their masters. Boxing Day is also known as St Stephen's Day - Stephen was the first Christian martyr, stoned to death in c34 AD. Being a saint's day, it has charitable associations. Charitable boxes - collections of money - would have been given out at the church door to the needy.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Ah, Okay! Thanks for explaining :)

[@DavidGloyne-vf9sv]

In Ireland it's still called St. Stephen's day.

[@mariahoulihan9483]

My Irish family call Boxing Day St.Stephen's day over there.

[@peteharper2687]

Most kids in the UK, will pretend to be asleep when our folks sneak in to fill our Christmas stockings. Christmas pudding is very filling, so you don't need much to fill you up.

[@emeraldgirl7374]

In our house, we use the left over christmas pudding. In a big fry up, on boxing day morning. Its delicious sliced and fried with sausages, bacon and eggs.

[@glenmartin7978]

@@emeraldgirl7374 The boxing day fry up lovely but we cook the left overs from the chistmas dinner not adding the christmas pudding we just eat the christmas pudding all year round lol we always buy far too much of it

[@allycbythesea7937]

@@emeraldgirl7374wow never heard of that but I’m going to give it a go. Sounds delicious

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

And she forgot the family punch ups 😂

[@MickRiley]

The paper crown tradition can be traced back to the ancient Romans, who wore festive headgear to celebrate Saturnalia, a festival that took place around the winter solstice. A lot of things we do in the UK are from pagen traditions slowly watered down over the ages. Mistletoe, for instance, was a druid ritual to bring it in the house for good luck for the household and ward off evil spirits, now used as a sign of love and friendship.

[@dee2251]

As a child, I remember waking up early on Christmas Day and feeling the weight of the presents on my bed. It was so exciting. We also leave carrots for Fr Christmas’ reindeer.

[@beckyallsopp5695]

And yes as parents we do indeed sneak into our children's bedrooms at night to fill stocking. It does vary from family to family as to if Father Christmas or parents leave the stocking presents or 'main' bigger presents under the tree. Each family does it different

[@leohickey4953]

How does Darth Vader know what you're getting for Christmas before you do?

[@Ghhft33]

The biggest difference that jumps out for me is that you call it ‘The holidays’, we tend not to use that frase, here it’s just Christmas time. .Have a wonderful Christmas, don’t forget the mince pies..

[@colinmorrison5119]

USA is a cultural melting pot, so there's not just Christmas, but Hanukkah and probably other holidays too, all clustered around the winter solstice.

[@nicolad8822]

⁠​⁠@@colinmorrison5119So are most cities in Britain, but we all know people are talking about Christmas.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@nicolad8822 Agreed. Other festivals are celebrated, but in general conversation it is Christmas or some times Xmas.

[@reactingtomyroots]

I think one reason 'holidays' is used, at least for me, is because we tend to lump Christmas and New Year's together

[@Sine-gl9ly]

I think one of tne reasons the yanks call it 'the holidays' is because it's possibly the only holiday they get all year, whereas in the UK we take holidays lots of different times during the year. There is no *THE* Holidays, but lots of different ones. Summer holidays, seaside holidays, foreign holidays, sunshine holidays, city break holidays, activity holidays, relaxing-at-home holidays ... you get the idea. That can only happen when _everyone_ gets ample paid time off from their job.

[@moonshinepz]

Santa found a bottle of scotch one year in our house, after that he found the fridge, ate a whole christmas pudding, threw up in the bathtub, and went to sleep on the lounge floor where the kids found him on christmas day, where somebody had been sick on him. He has been strictly excused alcohol on christmas eve for the last 34 years and has behaved himself ever since.

[@johnthomas9992]

ROFLMAO best keep an eye on that bottle in my cupboard tonight WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS

[@pauldurkee4764]

Priceless..😂😂

[@Cherokee-q4b]

😂😂😂

[@secondtimearound2539]

@moonshinepz 😆

[@CollieDog24]

If it wasn,t for the kids ,we wouldn,t bother!!!

[@TheOrlandoTrustfull]

Playing Monopoly with family at Christmas is the perfect way to end up having a massive argument, resulting in at least 1 person going for a walk 😂

[@hopper7234]

Always the tradition in our family too 😂

[@peterfhere9461]

Myself and my family don't go shopping on Boxing Day - the video is a bit tongue in cheek here. It is a Bank Holiday so most people don't go to work. In fact, many people have the whole period from Christmas Day to New Year's Day off, sometimes as part of your annual paid leave allowance . Boxing Day is often a day for meeting up with friends and family you didn't see on Christmas Day, and a day for eating up Christmas leftovers and bringing out generally lighter food. We traditionally have cold meats and chutneys, with bubble and squeak and baked beans.....

[@ronturner9850]

Letters don’t go on the fire they get ‘posted’ up the chimney where they fly to Father Christmas….

[@paidwitness797]

The best thing about stockings left on kids beds is the extra half hour or so asleep they can buy you! My kids always used to have a few small toys, some chocolate, a drink and satsuma just to keep them occupied for a bit! Also, about traditions being lost, try starting your own with your kids. When mine were born we were poor as church mice our first few xmas', and we made many of the tree decorations. Now fastforward to my kids all being grown and i still had those old decorations we used to use, so i split them between them for their own trees. Its only a little thing but always sparks memories when they come out.

[@reactingtomyroots]

That's pretty genius, actually, in regards to the stockings in the bedrooms 😂

[@flo6956]

It doesn't always work, when my son was about 6 he came into my room shouting Father Christmas had been half hour after I'd gone to bed at about 1am

[@paidwitness797]

@@flo6956 Yeah its not 100%, but back then i would take what i could - i used to work retail selling fruit and veg, xmas week was always brutal especially xmas eve, so any extra rest was worth it!

[@rikmoran3963]

The British tradtion was always Sherry and Mince Pies for Santa, which you will discover if you Google it. Not sure why she said Brandy, perhaps because Sherry is not as popular as it once was, so people have started substituting it with Brandy. Most likely as they get to drink it after the kids have gone to bed! 😁

[@real-eyes-realise-real-lie8888]

The letters don't burn in the fire. They go up the chimney with the heat of the fire and the draw of the fire. It really looks magical as they fly off to Father Christmas 🎅

[@mewsli]

Father Christmas must get pretty drunk drinking all the alcohol, and rudolph gets a lot of carrots :) if the house didn't have an open fire? Father Christmas has a "magic key" of course!! 😂

[@keithrudd8003]

My parents used to leave the bathroom window open for Father Christmas to get in

[@kdog3908]

We were told that Santa doesn't drink all the sherry/brandy. We were told it helps Rudolph's nose stay bright red because, as anyone who has drunk alcohol knows, the consumption of alcohol causes the drinker to get a red 'glow' about the cheeks. The same effect helps Rudolph guide the sleigh!

[@gillianrimmer7733]

Christmas pudding is not really like a cake - it's incredibly dense and you only need a tablespoonful or so in a dish and then smothered in custard, cream or brandy sauce. Leftover Christmas pudding is also lovely sliced, fried in butter and eaten with cream or ice cream.

[@enkisdaughter4795]

You can also crumble Christmas pudding into crumbs and stir it through a decent quality vanilla ice cream, then return to the freezer to firm up.

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

Yeah it's disgusting urghhh🤢🤢🤮🤮

[@glenmartin7978]

I live in the North East of England we always leave milk a mince pie and some carrot sticks no alcohol

[@carolineskipper6976]

We used to post our letters UP the chimney- by throwing them into the updraught from the fire, where they would get whisked up the chimney....not throw them into the flames! Because obviously, Father Christmas woud read them up on the roof prior to his coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve! Stockings- these tend to be full of small gifts and sweets, not big presents- which end up under the tree, of course. In our family, the 'stockings' were always one of Dad's big walking socks, and so the trick (make sure Sophia isn't reading this!) is that you give the child one sock to take to bed, then stuff the other one of the pair with the gifts, so all you have to do is creep in to swap the stockings over once they are asleep. Cunning eh? Boxing Day- I'm not sure why she is confused as to its origins. It was traditionally the day when churches and wealthy landowners opened up their 'Poor Boxes' where money had been collected during the year, and distributed it amongst the local poor. These days it's sort of a Bank Holiday (most people get the day off work, but those working in retail and service industries often don't.) In recent years there has been an increase in stores deciding to remain closed on Boxing Day to allow their staff a day off after the very busy run up to Christmas. It is traditionally when the 'January Sales' start - when stores are of course selling off stuff they didn't shift over Christmas. One of the differences she didn't mention is the TV 'Christmas Special'. Whilst US TV will have episodes of regular comedy or drama shows that take place at Chritmas, in the UK lots of shows will produce a 'Christmas Special' in which you see your usual characters very specifically celebrating Christmas. It is considered an honour for shows to be asked to produce a Christmas Special - and the most popular/ biggest shows will be scheduled to be shown on Christmas Day itself, with other less 'big ticket' shows being broadcast in the run-up to Christmas. I hope you al have the best time over Christmas- and do share photos of you in your paper hats after you've done the crackers!

[@reactingtomyroots]

Love to hear about all of this! It's really interesting to us, the differences. :) Especially the part about television shows having 'Christmas Specials' where they're celebrating Christmas.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Also, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@SevenEllen]

LMAO "Sending the letters to Hell" Satan must so confused and annoyed that he's getting all this post and everyone's spelling his name wrong!!

[@cazez17]

I'm from the UK & our stockings were always around the fireplace. The letters were left in the chimney when the fire was out & not thrown in the flames.

[@gabbymcclymont3563]

Our stocking was allways at the fire and we always lit the cornor of the letter and it whooshed up the fire. We had 4 fireplaces in our house growing up and 3 of the 4 were always lit before we did anything on Crimbo day. Father Christmas always left a new daecoration we would have to find. We also had a fry up breakfast before we opened any gift.

[@wildadventure5101]

My stocking would be put on the outside of the bedroom door or hung from the door catch. Normally the stocking would be a pillow case.

[@elemar5]

That's just greed.@@wildadventure5101

[@ethelmini]

I think the fireplace is THE tradition, but it's complicated with concept of bedrooms and heating. some families will have all slept in the same room others may or may not have had children's bedrooms with or without fireplaces. Then there's the tradition that you had to be asleep or Santa wouldn't come, which makes more sense if the prezzies are left by your bed.

[@kimtopp5984]

We put a letter in the the postbox addressed Father Christmas and always receive a letter back …….Thank you Royal Mail ❤️🇬🇧

[@holsfisher]

My partner and I spend Christmas just the two of us - but we still go the whole hog! You can never have too many leftovers! My fave tradition is making the kilties though (that's what we call the bacon wrapped sausages in Scotland!). It was the great Christmas job I started doing to help my Mum when I was a "big" girl, and 30 years later, hundreds of miles away ot still takes me home to the memory of all that love and laughter. The little traditions matter so much!

[@reactingtomyroots]

Love that! Definitely agree with traditions (big or small) being incredibly important

[@kevs4252]

I'm 60 years old and have never heard of throwing the letters on the fire. Also, most houses don't have open fires and a chimney. I think most children leave out a glass of milk and a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.

[@claregale9011]

Letters in the fireplace ?? Never heard of that, carrot for rudolf and mince pie for santa , nothing better than your child rushing into your bedroom in the morning full of excitement shouting Santa's been it's just the best . Merry Christmas guys 😊.

[@deja-view1017]

Just thought it needs to be made clear that you pull crackers between two people (usually everyone around the table pulls together with those on either side) and the person that gets the biggest part gets the prize inside. Mentioning as I recently saw (in a film) Americans attempting this tradition but pulling it like this woman did.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Okay, thank you! Yeah, we wouldn't have done it that way haha

[@JMNL07]

​@@reactingtomyroots In my family you cross hands and pull with both neighbours in a big circle! That way everyone should get one.

[@kitchfacepalm]

Also “British Tradition” is very subjective. I had never even heard of bread sauce till having a meal in the south of England. I truly was surprised by it and admit that it looked so bad (like wallpaper paste) that I didn’t bother to taste more than a finger tip dip’s worth. I don’t know ANYONE who has ever watched the queen’s speech or even cared about, it and care even less about one by Charles. We never refer to Father Christmas, but always Santa or Santa Claus, sometimes even Auld Nick and our Santa drinks Whisky and eats shortbread and mince pies. Traditionally the bird we ate was goose but the cheaper big Turkey bird to feed lots of people has replaced the traditional goose to the extent that many people think that Turkey is traditional, and I suppose it is the modern / current tradition.

[@deja-view1017]

@@kitchfacepalm I think that a lot of 'traditions' came out of the Victorian era and the turkey one was almost entirely the result of Dickens character Scrooge giving a turkey to the Cratchits. Turkey, at that time, was exotic and expensive whereas many people were able to keep a goose, so turkey was aspired to. Funny how it's now the other way round. I'm surprised about the bread sauce. My Nanna was from Newcastle and she always made it (as did the other Grandma from Dorset). Is it just because it's a bit old fashioned (for a start it has to be white bread)?

[@CharlieBrawl]

You put a penny (silver sixpence traditionally) in your Christmas pudding. And the lucky person why gets served the portion with the penny will have wealth and good fortune that year.

[@tonygreenfield7820]

Or they end up with a broken tooth, having to find a dentist for emergency treatment and get hit with a massive bill from the dentist which coming hot on the heels of Christmas can be pretty alarming. Still, tradition right😊

[@catgladwell5684]

I don't know why I'm watching this in June, but I am, and I do think you two are lovely. So open minded and up for trying stuff. ♥

[@paulineolist1124]

Regarding the Christmas pudding ,it is placed on a plate after cooking then you warm some brandy pour over the pudding and then light it,we usually have the lights turned off at this point everyone cheers.She didn't mention the Christmas cake,a rich fruit cake covered in white icing (not frosting) decorated with a snow scene .Merry Christmas to you all

[@tonyjefferson3502]

after eating my wife's Christmas cake- you do not smoke or drive for at least an hour

[@lilyliz3071]

Re. Christmas cake , I just think of the dreaded , by me anyway , marzipan 🤮

[@joosyjulie]

Hubby and I are complete opposite with Xmas cake. I eat the cake, he eats the marzipan and icing.

[@AnneDowson-vp8lg]

The marzipan is one of the best things in a Christmas cake.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

We didn't burn our letters to Father Christmas - they went straight up the chimney by the force of the hot air from the fire. My mum would hold them above the flames and let go, and they would 'magically' fly up the chimney straight to the North Pole.

[@susyward581]

Have you ever witnessed a chimney fire. Put the letters in the fire, the smoke goes strait to Father Christmas. Children have a great imagination and love to play along, like pretending to be asleep when the stockings are taken to fill and being thrilled to see mince pie crumbs and an empty brandy glass. Long live imagination - oh yes it is!

[@reactingtomyroots]

Okay! THAT makes sense lol

[@markp9621]

The question about how to put Presents in Stockings in the Kids Bedroom. Answer is VERY VERY QUIETLY 🤫

[@saturdaysun5724]

We put the letters on the fire and then when the paper burns it disintegrates and bits float up the chimney. That’s the fire fairies taking the wishes to Father Christmas.

[@stevenbird4877]

And a carrot for rudolff 😊

[@gabbymcclymont3563]

I grew up in Scotlad so Santa had Whisky also a carrot for the Raindeer. Parsnips are wonderful. Our gravy is diffrent to yours and i love bread sause. The white on the xmas cake is brandy sause which is butter icing sugar and brandy all mushed together. I have never gone shopping on boxing day.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

She forgot Christmas Cake! A rich fruit cake, baked months in advance, and regularly dosed with Brandy afterwards. Finally covered with marzipan, royal icing and decorative icing. Eaten on it's own in the South and with cheese in the North (Wensleydale is best or Cheshire).

[@user-fe7mg5ot9z]

I remember one year, when my mother somehow forgot the marzipan! My father had to use a saw to cut the cake. The icing was like candy - you couldn't bite into it, so we sucked on it! She was mortified, but we all thought it was great. LOL

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

During the six yrs we lived in VA, we certainly celebrated Christmas as we always had. Many of our neighbours had a lesser event. I think this may be because only Christmas Day itself is a holiday for many Americans, whereas in the UK (Canada, Australia, etc) and in much of Europe, the days off work run from midday on the 24th to January 3rd.

[@vaudevillian7]

Also in the US it gets diluted by Thanksgiving - another holiday where you eat turkey just before Christmas, where you sit and eat turkey

[@purpleunicorn5253]

How do parents sneek in answer very carefuly and quitely ( I used to have a spare stocking so the empty one was laid at the bottom by the child then swapped by "santa" ) best feeling in the world when i was a child was waking up early and feeling the stocking full of pressies with your feet 😂

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

My parents managed it, I must have been in deep rem sleep, as I never heard them come in during the night. 😂

[@juliedowning7782]

Hi both…..we don’t generally call Christmas time “ the holidays”, it’s just Christmas. Chrimbo is just a shortened version of the word Christmas 🤷‍♀️….us Brits do love a shortened word haha! Christmas pudding is lush if you like lots of fruit but it’s very rich so go steady! Crackers are fun and the hat never fits me lol! I’m just heading off to spend Christmas in Cornwall with my family….its where I come from. Happy Christmas to you both and Sophia 🎄🎅🏻⛄️❤️

[@reactingtomyroots]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Julie! :) Safe travels

[@Peter-gv6vf]

We have never thrown our santa letters in the fire. Pudding is nothing like cake which we also have. Black friday happens in november, boxing day has always happened only just recently the sales start on that day. We also sometimes call it crimble. She doesnt know what shes talking about😆. Hope you had a great day with best wishes from the UK

[@WG1807]

The gifts for Santa, put out just before bedtime on Xmas Eve used to be a glass of sherry and a mince pie in our house. Plus a carrot for Rudolph the reindeer.

[@muppetsstoogesfan1]

One thing she kinda breezed past is how huge a deal television is on Christmas Day in the UK. Many tv shows air special Christmas themed episodes that air on Christmas. Particularly comedy shows and soaps. Here in America Christmas themed episodes air earlier in the month and not on the actual day itself.

[@stevehartley7504]

Christmas Pudding with Custard Cream Brandy Sauce Heated up brandy in a ladel lit and poured over hot pudding This not done much now. It was a spectacle bringing into a darkened room Spooned into bowls Used to put sixpence in pudding ( coin) and lucky to find

[@jennd9091]

rum sauce please! x

[@Bueno-82]

Letters in the fire, that’s the magic of Christmas 😂😂

[@Wolfways]

I'm a Brit and I've never heard of burning letters or taking the tree down within ten days. Also, whipped cream on christmas pudding? No, it's brandy sauce. Happy christmas 😃

[@poppletop8331]

Taken down by 12th day.😃

[@psibug565]

I would note that the Xmas Pud is indeed portioned up in bowls after being set on fire. It can be served with custard, double cream or brandy butter.

[@BlueTexel]

Or white brandy sauce 😋. And pouring brandy over it then setting on fire, burns off the alcohol leaving pure brandy flavour. Don't forget the sixpence!

[@beckyallsopp5695]

Or all 3 together

[@jagster0810]

Americans call double cream Heavy Cream 🙂

[@davidflack6430]

Also referred to as plum pudding from the time where plum was slang for dried fruit.

[@susie7356]

We always put a £1 coin in ours too lol just have to warn people

[@crocsmart5115]

Mid 50’s when I was a kid our house was heated by open fires only and yep,letters to Father Christmas magically went (I wonder if that’s where JK Rowling got the chimney travel idea from 🤷‍♂️). And I agree with an earlier post, “The Holidays” just sounds strange,holidays are what you go on in the summer!!

[@stevepreston-be3fi]

Steve, I loved your reaction to rocking the Christmas hat! Yeah!

[@julianbarber4708]

Yay, for bread sauce!

[@valeriewalker3886]

Our Christmas stockings had an apple, orange, nuts and usually a colouring book and crayons in them.

[@Bridget410]

We used a pillowcase as a sack for some toys left at the bottom of your bed. Larger presents under the tree. Mince pie & milk for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.

[@clarelawton4653]

Yes, same, we had a pillowcase too 👍

[@simonorourke4465]

It was a glass of Sherry in our house to go with the mince pie.

[@nadeansimmons226]

Boxing day is a repeat of Christmas Day. Family, parties, left overs etc. Some people go shopping but many people just hunker down for another day of fun and celebration

[@hurnethehunter]

Christmas crackers are a traditional Christmas favourite in the UK. They were first made in about 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith. He had seen the French 'bon bon' sweets (almonds wrapped in pretty paper) on a visit to Paris in 1840. He came back to London and tried selling sweets like that in England and also included a small motto or riddle in with the sweet. But they didn't sell very well. In 1861 Tom Smith launched his new range of what he called 'Bangs of Expectation'! Legend says that, one night, while he was sitting in front of his log fire, he became very interested by the sparks and cracks coming from the fire. Suddenly, he thought what a fun idea it would be, if his sweets and toys could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half. However, looking into the history of the Tom Smith company, it's thought that Tom actually bought the recipe for the small cracks and bangs in crackers from a fireworks company called Brock’s Fireworks. The story of him sitting by the fire was probably added to help sell his new items. Crackers were also nicknamed called 'cosaques' and were thought to be named after the 'Cossack' soldiers who had a reputation for riding on their horses and firing guns into the air. When Tom died, his expanding cracker business was taken over by his three sons, Tom, Walter and Henry. Walter introduced the hats into crackers and he also travelled around the world looking for new ideas for gifts to put in the crackers. The crowns might have been inspired from Epiphany cakes from Europe which are often decorated with a paper crown on the top.

[@kots5105]

Im from the UK and I've never heard of burning your letter to santa we post it

[@ElizabethDebbie24]

HI STEVE AND LINDSAY DEBRA HERE FROM SOUTH WALES UK Say hi to Sophia for me, I hope she is being a good girl and not getting to excited for Santa, so she stays on his good childrens list. MY CHRISTMAS DAY Just like you guys, Santa, (as that is what we called him as well), left my filled stocking by the fireplace, my parents (aka Santa) left stuff for me to amuse myself with whilst I waited for my parents to get up later that morning and thren open up my main gifts. In my family we left pulling our christmas crackers until after our lunch, which was a stuffed roast turkey with vegetables (carrots, sprouts, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, roasted parsnips and honey roasted carrots) and gravy, cranberry sauce and stuffing and of course pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in streaky bacon (American style bacon)). Then we had our dessert of Christmas pudding and custard whilst we pulled our christmas crackers. Oh boy did we feel full after that meal or what! After lunch whch we normally had at around 1:00 p.m. we lounge out around the tv watching a special christmas soap episode followed by the Queen's speech (now of course the King"s speech) at 3:00 pm to 3: 15 pm followed by a film usually a James Bond or a musical depending what channel you was watching. Then we started on our christmas chocolates ( mmm mmm mmm). That basically is my christmas day here in my little part of South Wales. I would now like to take this opportunity of wishing you, Lindsay and Sophia a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2024.

[@JamesNoms]

When I was young in the before I knew days My dad would sneak the presents into our room and then go stand at the other side of the house and shake some bells to make it sound like Santas sleigh bells and we would wake up to find the presents in a sack at the end of our bed. I did the same with our son except I put a red bulb at the end of a stick rang the bells and then slowly pulled the bulb away from the window. Was so awesome seeing his face when he burst in to tell his mum.

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

A lot of what she says does not apply to all of Britain. My children and grandchildren put their letters to santa in a special santa post box, and the post office replied. Never heard of burning letters or throwing in the fireplace. Our stocking were at the bottom of our bed, or attached to the fireplace. A lot of traditions vary throughout the country and families.

[@cornwallcrafter8410]

I was just checking if royal mail still replied to letters to santa

[@witlesswonderthe2nd883]

Most people don’t have open fires anymore, this would have come about when every home had a coal fire.

[@flamingbridges1649]

Me and my brother used to put our letters to santa in our grandma's coal fire.

[@benballard-ho7tu]

Burning letters in the fireplace is a British tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Ever since we had open fires in the house, it kind of died out when central heating was invented and houses had no need for fireplaces. Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it wasn't/isn't a tradition.?

[@Diamondmine212]

Ah! ,you mustn’t be old enough then, I’m 76 and YES WE DID post our letters UP the Chimney, delicate act though, Dad did it because it had to be held just right over the fire so the draft whipped it UP the chimney and not on it. 👍👍. In our stockings, we opened first ,we got Half a Crown, (22 and half P),an orange, walnuts and chocolate money. 😃

[@margaretillingworth6172]

Letters to Santa used to go in the fire as the smoke took the message to Santa. Now letters are posted and the wonderful post office deal with them. Santa fills the stocking used to be with nuts and oranges as they were expensive and were a treat.

[@seijika46]

In my house it was sherry rather than brandy. Monopoly kills family gatherings through people throwing a strop (Trivial Pursuit can have a similar result) - better off sticking to Game of Life or Cluedo (Scrabble lies somewhere in-between).

[@harryminto6048]

As someone from england, since when did we burn our letters to father christmas?!? Never knew this was a thing!

[@EtherealSunset]

I never heard Crimbo until late 90s/early 2000s and have only heard it rarely. There was a programme called Bo Selecta and there was a Christmas song Proper Crimbo. For most, that was the first time they heard it and it fizzled out when people lost interest in the programme. I don't stick to the taking down the Christmas tree. I take the decorations down, but leave the lights on until the days start getting noticeably longers, usually early February. It helps with the January blues.

[@Bridget410]

People have Brandy sauce on christmas pudding or custard or cream. Its rich, I love it!

[@jenniferleighmiron8135]

Spending some of my childhood in England I have had " Christmas Pud" as we called it. My Dad would douse it in brandy and set it alight, making a pretty blue flame, then we would slice it up and have it with custard -yum!

[@TheChrisleekay]

You hit the nail on the head!! UK Christmas dinner is very close the US Thanks Giving dinner!

[@moonramshaw1982]

I'm feeling a little hoarse as well. I hope the RSPCA don't find out😂😂

[@hildajenkins9497]

We left sherry and a mince pie for Santa Claus and a carrot for the reindeer. Our letters went up the chimney on the hot air from the fire, you had to time it just right.

[@christinecoombs3536]

I had COVID for Christmas too guys. Get well soon. ❤️

[@jessicat3649]

I love Christmas pudding with brandy butter! Yum! Butter, and sugar whipped together and then brandy beaten in.

[@matiascampbell2464]

The thing about burning the letters is at it's simplest, santa places presents under the tree by crawling down the chimney, so it would only make sense to send him the letter via the chimney... makes sense in a way.

[@sallytaitchison-gould740]

As Santa comes down the chimney, the idea was that route was the best way to dend letters (up with the smoke) most houses now don't have chimneys. The King follows the tradition of the Christmas 💆 televised 3pm Christmas afternoon.(pre recorded by him some weeks before. Boxingday is a holiday as well. Traditionally when upperclass families and royalty get outside either for the shoot, pheasants, or the fox hunt. Everyone else just goes for a walk, so as to walk off the effects of overeating,and a chance for kids to try out their new bikes . In Ireland it is St.Stephens day, when everyone goes to the horse races.

[@Happyheretic2308]

Boxing Day was also when the staff, suppliers and other tradespeople would receive their Christmas present (or ‘box’)

[@ImCuteButNotS3xy]

my tradition with my family is .. my kids opened there new PJs xmas eve and the rest of prezzie's Chrismas day .. and now i a grandma .. last night i started it with my grandaughter 2 yrs old !

[@littleannie390]

Growing up Santa always left our presents in my parents’ bedroom (stockings weren’t big enough). Mum would wake us up to let us know he had been. Nowadays most people just put their presents under the tree. Boxing Day is the start of the January sales and the reason is to get rid of the Christmas stock they didn’t sell. The monarch’s Christmas speech tradition that goes back King George V and the invention of radio and has been shown on TV since 1957. It’s on at 3.00 pm, about the time everyone is dozing off after a huge Christmas dinner.

[@harvelle2432]

MY family ALWAYS send our kids in the Royal Mail letter box to Santa!!! Do people HAVE many fires these days? 🤔

[@elemar5]

How do you get your kids in to the box? 😂

[@phoebegreig6523]

About the letters, you send them up the flume. You don’t burn them. The hot air will send the letter up the chimney and you tell kids that that is Christmas magic sending them to Father Christmas/Santa. The reality is that it will probably burn up inside the flume but kids don’t know that part 😂

[@shirl790]

I remember as a kid waking up to a stocking and pillowcase full of goodies. We always burnt our letters to Father Christmas. We always left a Sherry n mince pie with a carrot for Rudolph

[@amathans]

We put our stockings on our fireplace in till Christmas Eve when our kids take them up to hand on the end of their beds. Once we have put all the gifts out, we sneak the stockings downstairs, fill them with little gifts and then quietly put them back. We don’t fill them while they are hanging on the beds.

[@anthonyquinn3671]

1st let me say I used to be a Postman (mailman) and we used to get a lot of Letters Posted to Santa at Christmas, which we forwarded on to a Special dept that would read them and if there was a return address They would often reply to the letters on Santa's behalf. 2nd I always convinced my kids it had to be Mince Pie and Brandy left out for Santa otherwise they would be on his naughty list for next year. I also Agree Monopoly is a Brilliant Game, But a lot of things are being exchanged between the USA and the UK. We never had Trick or Treat at Halloween, when I was a kid, We called it Mischief Night and we used to knock on doors and run infuriating the Neighbours. Christmas Pudding is served like that on the table but I wouldn't advise trying to eat a whole one to yourself they are very filling and usually sliced up in individual portions around the table. The Alcohol is usually Heated on the stove until it is ready to flame off and it burns the Alcohol off so it makes it safer for Children to eat. Boxing day may have had many different reasons but the norm now is for Supermarkets to Cut the Prices to the bone on Boxing day especially on Christmas Lines because they can clear the shelves for the January Sales, It's either that or pay staff to store them until next year, and of course some of the Christmas food stuffs wouldn't survive until next year. Merry Christmas to you all see you next year.

[@JudithMaack]

I'm 67 years old and I have never heard of letters thrown into the fire. Always wrote letters to Santa. Some children post them in Royal Mail postal boxes. I think the royal mail even reply? Today, youcany buy festive 'sacks' to put at the end of your bed. So, exciting to wake up (usually 5.00am) to see Santa had been. Families vary in putting present round the xmas tree for christmas morning. Most houses have chimmneys in the UK. If someone lives in an apartment, then Santa would use the door.

[@jacquie58]

We don’t usually put alcohol out for Santa these days. Don’t drink and drive Santa. It’s usually milk and a mince pie plus a carrot for the reindeer. 😊

[@beckyallsopp5695]

Always a carrot for Rudolf but our Father Christmas had Baileys and chocolates (that's what I liked 😂)

[@sarzl1980]

We have a sack that goes at the end of the bed, so when they wake up in the morning they have a sack full of presents. They drag them into mum and dad’s bedroom and we open them there. Then we go downstairs for the big presents under the tree x

[@suedavebennett1878]

Parents help Santa sometimes to fill stockings 😊 because he's so busy and we also leave carrots for the Reindeer

[@alldalong]

Merry Christmas to a very lovely family.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you as well.

[@Carl_Raybould]

I was always told when I was younger that boxing day came from putting your empty boxes from Christmas outside for bin men to take away, when they worked that day in the past. That could be wrong though. Have a Merry Christmas.

[@Racheell4520]

The Christmas socking was always sleight of hand for us.....Mum used to use my red Hockey Socks, so she could fill one and then exchange it during the night/early morning!

[@davidmarshall6616]

If you guys have brandy in the house pour one or two tablespoons on your Christmas pudding and immediately set it alight, it will burn off the alcohol so you don't get that bitterness you mentioned. It will just add another flavour dimension although not really necessary. Serve with either custard or heavy cream and i hope it is something you will all enjoy. P.S. Last night i cheated and had some after my dinner but don't tell anyone. Here's hoping that you, your family and all your viewers have a great Christmas.

[@libradragon934]

Now that's very naughty and Santa would have seen, you might get a lump of coal in your stocking now! 😂

[@benballard-ho7tu]

You're forgetting the white sauce laced with Brandy on Christmas pudding too.. 😉

[@octaviussludberry9016]

You should heat the brandy first. Lights quicker.

[@benballard-ho7tu]

@@octaviussludberry9016 it does, it's the same principle as pre-boiled water boiling faster second time round.

[@Rachel_M_]

Will "Santa" be having a British treat tonight 😉.. Merry Christmas to all 🎄

[@ajkarimpumalil]

Ummmmm I don't think I like that

[@tinacarrington9337]

The Queen banned Monopoly in her christmas household as it always evoked arguments. Christmas pudding can be served with custard, double cream, brandy or rum sauce or brandy butter. Some people have the leftovers fried the next day.

[@mandimoo87]

You can make your own advent calendar out of fabric with 24 pockets sewn in. Place a hersheys kiss in each and something thats gaining popularity is a reverse advent calendar where you give rather than receive (place a slip of paper with a good deed/act of kindness or an item to be donated to a foodbank written on in each pocket). My fave tradition is a new ornament each year. Theres a set i am collecting.

[@Peterraymond67]

Hello Both. One of my neighbours used to leave the veg peelings on the doorstep telling the kids that Santa’s reindeer had called by. No chimneys in my street! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda I chi, in Welsh. Chrimbo is just a childish version of Christmas.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thank you! The same to you and yours :)