What's Christmas like in your country?

I've grown up with hot, sunny Christmas holidays in every Australian city I've lived in, and there's always a few family traditions that I've become used to.

What's Christmas like for you?

1) We always have a big family feast.

The first few Christmas days that I can remember over in Perth, we would go to our aunties home, see all our aunties and uncles on our dads side and have a great big feast. Play with our cousins, go swimming in the pool, share presents with one another, fall asleep under the Christmas tree..

2) We always have zero stress.

After the family moved to the gold coast, I would visit after coming up from Melbourne. My brothers and I were all over 18, so we would always bust open a bottle of white wine or rum (depending on how hot the day was) and start drinking pretty early in the day. Usually by 1pm we were all pretty cooked (metaphorically from the alcohol and physically from the sun) and we would start sharing stories about what its like in other cities. One year my older brother bought an inflatable pool and half a dozen sombreros, and we ended up dusting off the old N64 and pulling an old TV outside.

3) We always receive a pile of generic text messages sent from whoever has our phone number.

Throughout the day, there is anywhere from 20 to 40 text messages reading something along the lines of 'merry fishmas' or 'don't get too drunk' although by that stage it's usually too late and all the brothers and I are well plastered.

4) If there is a beach nearby, even in Australia, most people are having a family lunch.. so if you head to the beach, it's pretty empty

There are always a small few people who know the reverse logic behind getting the beach all to yourself, but then there's still a few. So can you imagine a beach normally with 300-400 people, with 30-40... feel way less crowded and claustrophobic :) we'd often go for an afternoon swim as a whole family.

It's an overrall peaceful experience.

It's good to have one day of the year where you can forget about bills, work, responsibilities, and just have everyone have a day off to relax, go for a swim, have plenty to drink, have an afternoon nap and share stories with family.

What's christmas like where you are?