5 things I love about Christmas

Spending time with family and friends
Without a doubt, for me the best part of this season is spending quality time with loved ones. Hubby and I typically take turns spending either Christmas or New Years with each other's family and it's always so nice to spend that time together. Considering the fact that I live hundreds of miles and overseas from my family in Ireland, this makes the time we do spend together even more special. Now at some point we will choose to stay at our house in Germany and create new traditions around that but in the meantime we'll be enjoying going back and forth between our relations. 

Creating your own traditions 
I love the fact that everyone can decide for themselves what traditions they would like to uphold. For instance with my family in Ireland we have taken to wearing our silly Christmas jumpers and taking funny pictures. We'll also play games like trivial pursuit or Cluedo and watch Christmas movies. Or maybe we'll spend all morning in our winter pajamas. The nice thing is, anything goes! I've written a bit about our traditions in Ireland versus Germany before.

The food
Ah the food, the glorious food....! Germans don't do mince pies and that's one thing I really miss each year so when we make it over to Ireland we'll go crazy eating them and buying some to bring back to Germany. (Hubby loves them now too!). Heated mince pies in custard or cream are even more delicious. The Christmas dinner itself is also yummy. We typically serve turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, roast vegetables, roast potatoes...And because it's the holidays, there's always an excuse to eat lots and lots of chocolate.

The Christmas spirit
This time of year it's nice to make an extra effort to think of others less fortunate. There are usually collections for Christmas hampers where you can donate food items in the supermarkets and at work. You can give to charities and/or visit your local nursing home. Now of course people can do charitable things all year around but I'm often busy with various things and this time of year really reminds me to stop and do something nice for others. 

Being off work
I like my job but it's still work and it is nice to have time off to relax and regroup! The way Christmas and New Year's fall means you can usually end up with two whole weeks off without having to use up too many of your annual leave. 

Honorary mentions - all the Christmas parties and get-togethers - it's a nice excuse to catch up with friends before the end of the year. Germans celebrate Christmas like no other with their wonderful markets - they are really beautiful.

Those are the first five things that came to mind.. What would make your list? Maybe I'll follow up with the five things I *don't* enjoy about Christmas, haha...