New-and-unsure

It is indeed, starts on Thanksgiving weekend. Hubby and I have our trip there in the diary! You're welcome to join though if you fancy it.

Well I concluded I need to seek out the Christmas activities, rather than waiting for them to appear around me. Consequently we're off to the Pier 39 Christmas light switch-on this Sunday.

yellowroom

Carol services at your local freezing cold parish church and/or midnight service on Christmas eve straight from the pub so you can belt out the last verse of Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

The thing I found harder to adjust to here last year was that 26th is just a normal day - which I knew of course, no Boxing Day. But amazing how much we're used to that day as Christmas Day part 2. I've actually always preferred it - more relaxed, slob about, eat leftovers and play with your toys. In fact I've always tried to make sure I had enough annual leave to take off the whole week between Christmas and New Year, and in the UK there is definitely an extension of the Christmas spirit up to NYE. Well, technically, the christian Christmas begins at sundown on Christmas Eve and goes to Twelfth Night (jan 6th) and I think there is a hangover of that even in the secular UK Christmas, which starts 1st Dec and goes on til the kids go back to school in Jan! Here I was the only person on my sub-division with any Christmas decoration up past New Years.

In summary, Brits do a much bigger build up and come down from Christmas, whereas here the festive spirit is shared with Halloween & Thanksgiving, so not much energy left at the end of it.

N1cky

Just bring me back a sausage roll

Santana Row switch their lights on tonight too.

Ethelred_the_Unready

Lots of James Bond films.
Towns & cities decorated and lot up.
The gloomy, yet festive weather.
The EastEnders Christmas special
The queen's speech
Turkey, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, Christmas pudding
No work for at least 3-4 days
An excuse to get shit-faced drunk
People going to church once a year.

You cannot beat Christmas in Britain. Sorry.

Christmas 2002 was my last in Blighty. I didn't do much that day, but drive through Dudley town centre, watching the rubbish blow around in the wind on deserted streets. I thought it was depressing at the time, but it was actually beautiful in its own way. Nothing but serene calmness and fish & chip wrappers blowing in the wind. God bless Dudley council. Christmas was so important that they left the street decorations up for 3 months after the event.

Karrie72

There's just a weird and wonderful atmosphere at Christmas in the UK that's difficult to describe. For me its mostly noticeable if I'm in the country-side. There's a total lack of the materialistic shopping clamour that's goes on here. I think that is changing unfortunately but still the emphasis is on family/friend time and very simple but meaningful pleasures. A fire, crackers, mince pies, going to midnight carol service whilst slightly tiddly, sniff...

ChocolateBabz

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2012

Uncle_Bob

Christmas day is what you make of it, theres lots you can do to make it feel like your childhood experience if you want, I find every little bit helps and i refuse to sitback and just tell myself they don't do it over here. Theres never going to be any office parties. And what’s up with boring all white Christmas lights? I'll always use coloured ones. And why is it always the same old bloody Nutcracker year after year, I'm sure my kids would love to see the different pantomimes in the UK some time. But we do put some traditional non pixar movies on for them. Mary poppins, sound of music, oliver twist, wizard of Oz etc.
I like to take Boxing Day off work and I’m always let go from work at mid-day on Christmas eve.
Back in the UK I remember the pubs being packed all afternoon and on into the evening, girls dressed up as saucy Santa’s. People singing along to music and everyone getting very merry.
I was very disappointed when I went out on Christmas eve on my last visit to the UK, it was like a ghost town in comparison. No one does it anymore, my friends told me. I went from pub to pub, not one even half full, no special DJs setup or anything special. I was gutted.
I don’t go home at Christmas often anymore, it’s too cold and depressing and I don’t have to sit through hours of crappy soaps like Easterners & Coronation Street. Now i have a UK VPN connection i can use the BBC iplayer and the ITV one and choose what and when i want to watch for my UK TV fix. I'm used to Arizona now and a nice 60-70 degrees on Christmas day, I've cooked the turkey outside on the grills Rotisserie several times. We can drive 2 hours north up to Flagstaff to see the snow for a day but then i'm done with it and glad to get back into the warm. We can also drive to williams and ride the polar express they do on the grand canyon railroad.
We still put up all the decorations and its one of the few times of the year we used the formal dining and formal eating rooms in our house.
We manage to get all our supplies from cost plus world market including Christmas crackers, shortbread, chocolate fingers, golden syrup and walker’s christmas pudding & mince pies. We have a nice fry up for Breakfast and as we don’t have a fireplace and its not cold we put that channel on the TV that plays the close up of the fire in an open fireplace.

Red Cloud

Yes, Xmas is a bluddy nightmare in some ways. I mean how often do you want to listen to Noddy Holder belting out 'Merry Xmas Everyone', jeesh, shopping is horrible, the weather is horrible, the adverts, after several weeks of them, are horrible.

But I am going home and family, now grown up, are getting together, so that is not a common event now and will be great.

So, yes, guys - eat your heart out, but remember it's only one day

Ethelred_the_Unready

Screw Noddy Holder, best Christmas song ever:

AmerLisa

Sigh....just no warmth there though....

Lassie-in-Dubai

I'm currently residing in Dubai and this is my 2nd Christmas away from home (Glasgow). Feeling very homesick and watching Xmas ads on YouTube does not help. It's a bit strange going into Magic & Sparkle and smelling festive spice when it's 35 degrees outside

Sally Redux

Can't throw your tangerine skins in it can you?

scrubbedexpat027

OMG, I have a big lump in my throat now after seeing that John Lewis ad.

I spent last Christmas alone here and it was kinda nice skyping home then going out for a run in the sunshine. I was all set to go back for this Christmas but I'm mid-sorting out my GC so I'll have to skip it again

I definately miss spending Christmas Eve, Christmas afternoon and boxing day in the pub with mates. I guess I like the pub more than I realised.

Lothianlad

The German Christmas Market in Birmingham - this opened up for business and trade in the streets of Central Birmingham yesterday 15/11/12....if you can't get your Christmas wotsits there then it simple doesn't exist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5aDkwUBdgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgxNnkp3Axk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbKQ0...feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxtOs...eature=related

Sehr gut ja?

Sally Redux

Oh I remember that. Ausgezeichnet!