How many weeks until Christmas?
One of the most frequent questions we see is “How many weeks until Christmas?“, click here to see our real-time printable weeks until Christmas planning page.
Christmas Planning Guides
Visit my month by month Christmas planning guides.
Where can I find Tunis cake?
Tunis cake used to be very popular and in all the shops but where can you buy Tunis cake how do you make Tunis cake?
Frequently asked questions about Christmas - FAQ Page Welcome to our Christmas FAQ. If you can't find the answer to your question below please post it in the comments and one of our panel of Christmas experts will research it for you and post the...
Reusable wooden advent calendar I spotted this in the gift shop at Wimpole Hall (National Trust) this weekend and thought what a great idea. So many of the advent calendars we see are a mix of cardboard and single use plastic and hard to recycle....
I popped into Boots during my lunch break on Monday and was surprised to see their Christmas Brochures. I don't know if they did one last year, but I never saw a copy of it. There's a sort of magic in those glossy pages. In an era where digital...
How did Advent Calendars start? Germany and Austria are both credited for having created the Advent Calendar in the early 1900's. An idea that formed from the traditional Christian lighting of the advent ring in Church. The reason for these early...
52 Aperture Photo Frame When I saw the inkifi 52 aperture picture frame I immediatley thought what a great Christmas present it would make for Grandparents, other family members who are usually so difficult to buy for. It would also make a talking...
Are you looking for Christmas colouring pages for children? We are the Christmas experts having run this Christmas blog since 2009, so you've come to the right place. We are developing a free open source collection of children colouring pages with...
This years Costa Coffee cup Christmas cup design featured a ginger bread character with some snow drops falling. It's a nice simple design but perhaps not so Christmasy as previous year designs. Here are the designs from previous years....
Is New Years Eve a Bank Holiday? December 31st is known as New Years Eve. It is not a Bank Holiday and is therefore treated as a working day when it falls on a weekday. Many businesses however close for the days between December 25th and the first...
Lots of people are asking if Christmas Eve is a Bank Holiday. The answer is no, it isn't. In the UK many companies let their staff finish early on Christmas Eve. Shops, pubs and restaurants of course stay open as long as they can for last minute...
We've seen lots of people asking if Boxing Day is a Bank Holiday this year. Well yes it always is a Bank Holiday in the UK. When December 26th falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the Boxing Day holiday shifts to the following Monday. What is Boxing...
Update December 21st 2021 I had to pop into Tesco today and spotted they had their own Tunis Cake this year. I couldn't resist buying one, so thought I'd post some pictures here. Tesco Christmas 2021 Tunis Cake Tunis cake purchased from Tesco -...
When I was a child we always had a Tunis Cake at Christmas. I remember they always came in sturdy bright coloured boxes. They were a perfect alternative to rich fruit Christmas cake for those who like something a little lighter. A Tunis Cake is...
I don't often get a chance to watch Saturday Kitchen, but as I had my Covid booster jab yesterday I didn't feel like doing much else. The guest today was Stanley Tucci who was talking about food, and dipping into several sections and recipes from...
If you have been following my blog you will know that I have been collecting the cover of Boots (and a few others) Christmas Catalogues for several years. It is therefore great to see a traditional paper based catalogue from Boots again this year,...
Samantha Lily is a small business dedicated to bringing you organic skincare from Essex! This small business has been created by Samantha West following the birth of her daughter, Lily, hence the name. Samantha has made her own beauty...
Explore a botanical world filled with seasonal cheer at Kew Gardens this winter Wednesday 17 November 2021 – Sunday 9 January 2022 4pm – 10pm (advance booking only) New installations feature innovative video design and scenescapes inspired by Kew...
Many of us are turning to a vegan diet or at least reducing our intake of annimal based products. I was therefore very interested to receive some Oggs Vegan mince pies to review. When I opened the box my children were really excited to see the...
I find even the best eye creams to be under whelming in their effectiveness. This might be the pragmatist in me with a hint of age related cynicism. I naturally assume that anyone who raves about anything to do with the best eye cream is selling...
With the country still in the Covid-19 lockdown this is very unusual May Bank Holiday weekend. Normally we would be at the seaside or enjoying a visit to a National Trust property but this weekend we'll be enjoying a barbecue in the garden, walking...
Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy Christmas whoever you are and wherever you are. Do try and stay calm and remember it's not the presents or the food, but the people that make the day. Smile, Breath and Go Slowly
If you are giving children gifts this Christmas which contain small watch style batteries this is an important warning to read. To a 4 or 5-year-old these batteries can look very much like sweets especially this time of year when they have...
Recommended Christmas Reading
An A5 hardback Christmas Planner with gold decorative detail and an elastic closure.
It has sections for a Christmas card list, present ideas, planning festive feasts, keeping family favourite recipes and a calendar for planning.
The Christmas planner can be re-used year after year – for at least 5 years
The organiser also includes 2 paper pockets and a zip lock pocket for keeping receipts, lists or magazine clippings – it has hundreds of reviews on Amazon and a 4.5 star rating. Click here to see it on Amazon.
This is now a classic, when it came out Jamie Oliver said he’d been working on it for over ten years. With classic recipes for every part of Christmas dinner, veggie alternatives, clever ways to use up all of those leftovers, top tips for cooking meat perfectly, and even recipes for edible gifts and Christmas cocktails – Jamie really has thought of everything! It’s one of the best selling Christmas cookery books of all time with an Amazon rating of 4.6 out of 5. Click here to see it on Amazon.
With her no-nonsense approach and inspirational ideas, combined with reassuring advice and easy-to-follow, reliable recipes, Nigella Christmas is guaranteed to bring comfort and joy, and make sure the season of good will stays that way.
This book haw everything you need to make your Christmas easy and enjoyable, from party food ideas and scrumptious cakes and puddings to the main event itself – turkey with all the trimmings, a vegetarian Christmas dinner or a wide range of delicious alternatives. It has hundreds of glowing reviews and a 4.7 star rating on Amazon. Click here to see it on Amazon.
Delia’s Happy Christmas has 150 recipes, plus menu plans and shopping lists, illustrated with full-colour photography. There are recipes for all your favourite traditional dishes – Delia’s Classic Christmas Cake recipe has been in print for over 50 years and has never been bettered.
As we know organisation is the key to a successful Christmas. If you follow Delia’s Christmas calendar, you will be sure to create a very special Christmas. And even if you don’t, there is always Delia’s The Last-Minute Christmas – a chapter for those who leave things to the eleventh hour. 4.7/5 Star Rating on Amazon – click here.
Welcome to our Christmas Countdown blog
Christmas is a busy time of year when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. This Christmas story includes three wise men or kings, who brought Jesus gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh. Today Christmas in the UK and US has become highly commercialized and there is too big a focus on giving expensive Christmas Gifts or Presents to each other. Our Christmas blog helps you keep Christmas simple and get back to the basics of enjoying good food, with family and friends whilst celebrating your Christmas traditions.
Planning a perfect stress-free Christmas with our Christmas countdown calendar
Our blog is full of planning tips and schedules to ensure you and your whole family have a merry Christmas and a happy new year. We have a real-time countdown to Christmas at the top of each page and we also have a set of free printable Christmas countdown planners and even an advent calendar. Our printable Christmas planning guides are a fun way to plan out a stress-free Christmas.
We have detailed month by month Christmas planning guides which will step you through everything you need to be thinking about from October, through to Christmas Eve, the big day itself on December 25th and also those days between Christmas and New Year which can be difficult to plan for.
Frequently Asked Questions about Christmas (FAQ)
We started this Christmas Planning blog way back in 2009. Since then we have collected numerous questions from readers about Christmas, ranging from should you have an artificial Christmas tree or a real fir tree and everything you could ever want to know about Santa Claus. We’ve even seen lots of people asking if you start your advent calendar with 1 or 25, which if you think about it from a countdown does make sense.
If you have any questions I recommend you check out our Christmas FAQ and if you don’t find what you are looking for please don’t hesitate to leave a question in the comments. We like a challenge and if we can’t answer your question we know lots of Christmas experts we can ask for you.
Our team have collectively celebrated Christmas hundreds of times, we are aware that many of our readers will be celebrating Christmas for the first time in their own homes? Cooking Christmas lunch for your family and maybe the extended family for the first time can be a daunting task but our Christmas tips and tricks will help you keep calm and carry and cook a great Christmas lunch that the whole family will enjoy.
Christmas Presents
We don’t have endless and pointless lists of Christmas presents but we do have some carefully curated lists of great products which make great gift ideas. For example, we have gift ideas for fans of Top Gear. We also work with some of the top brands to share with you discounts and voucher codes to make your money go a little further.
Christmas decorations and holiday decor
Our Christmas blog has been running since 2009 and over that time we have seen lots of Christmas decoration ideas and fashions come and go. Do you remember the year everyone had blue Christmas tree lights or the year several shops thought they would have upside-down Christmas Trees?
Our blog has become an archive of Christmas decor fashions and branding through the years. For example, we have pictures of how Costa Coffee have changed the design of their Christmas Coffee cups each year and how stores such as Boots and John Lewis have branded their Christmas brochures and websites.