A Very British Christmas – Memories and Traditions

Ever wonder what makes up a traditional British Christmas? Everyone has their own special Christmas traditions – here are some of ours! If you live in North America, you may enjoy this juxtaposition of different ways to celebrate.

Updated October 2025 – This blog post was originally written in 2013, back when we enjoyed one of our last Christmas celebrations with my late in-laws. Sadly, my sister-in-law also passed away this year (2025). Our Christmas traditions have evolved since they passed away, but this article will give you an idea of some of the differences between North American and British Christmas celebrations.

When I moved to England over thirty years ago I was surprised by how different the Christmas celebrations could be. To start with, Christmas lunch was, well, lunch – not dinner at about 5pm as I was used to. Oh, and we set fire to the dessert, but more about that later. 

Of course traditions vary family to family and they are constantly evolving. However, here’s a little peak into some of the traditions you may come across if you happen to be in England for Christmas.

Father Christmas

Santa – who is called Father Christmas – visits on Christmas Eve to fill stockings and leave presents under the Christmas tree just like I was used to in Canada. However, instead of cookies and milk, children leave Father Christmas a mince pie and a glass of sherry. I have no idea how he drives after so many glasses of sherry but as he is magical, perhaps alcohol does not affect him! Carrots are usually left out for the reindeer.

Stockings are opened first thing Christmas morning, but in some families larger gifts may be left till after Christmas lunch, as we used to when my in-laws were alive. We now open all the presents in the morning but many families still continue this tradition. I always thought it was quite unfair to ask small children to wait to open their presents until late in the afternoon after a very long lunch. I also love to enjoy opening presents with a coffee and a breakfast treat.

The main Christmas meal at my late in-law’s was almost always served at no later than one o’clock in order to ensure that everyone finished in time to gather round the television and watch The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast at 3pm. (Of course, now we have the King’s Christmas Broadcast.)

The Christmas Table

Whatever time the Christmas meal is enjoyed, decorating the Christmas table is a fun tradition. Everyone has a Christmas cracker at their place at the table. This is not a cracker as in a biscuit – Christmas crackers are brightly decorated paper cylinders that contain folded paper hats shaped like crowns, a novelty gift and a joke inside. At some point during the Christmas meal, everyone crosses arms with their crackers in their hands, each person holding one side of their cracker and one side of someone else’s. On the count of three everyone pulls as hard as they can on both sides and the crackers make a loud noise (a crack) as they are pulled apart sending the little surprises inside tumbling out. One person will be left holding main body of the cracker, and the other will be left with the empty end (the aim is to try to win both).You then put the paper crown, admire your little gift and share the silly jokes. It’s a festive tradition that everyone seems to love, even though the little gifts are generally nothing much at all!

Christmas Attire

My late mother-in-law used to take the hat tradition to another level give everyone a silly hat to wear as they sat down. While the silly hats were nicer than the paper ones, I often felt a bit self-conscious!

That’s me on the left and my late sister-in-law and her husband on the right back in 2013. A lot of people wear Christmas jumpers (sweaters) to Christmas lunch or dinner as well.

When I was a kid, we dressed up for Christmas, but I have found British Christmas traditions to be a lot more casual. A lot of people wear a Christmas jumper (sweater). Here I am wearing my latest Christmas jumper (sweater) and cardigan at Christmas 2024.

The Christmas Meal

An appetizer course is sometimes served. If it is, it is generally something very light, perhaps some smoked salmon or shrimp cocktail. Nowadays we tend to skip this course as you just get so full! Turkey – and sometimes ham – are the main dishes served at most British Christmas tables. Some of the side dishes you’ll find at our table are Crispy Crunchy Roast Potatoes and Apricot and Celery Stuffing (pictured below).

Chestnut and / or sausage stuffing may be served as well. Sometimes sausage stuffing is rolled into balls before it is cooked and served alongside the turkey with tiny, slightly addictive bacon wrapped sausages. Stuffing is never referred to as ‘dressing’ here, even when it is cooked outside the bird.

There will be a number of vegetables served but generally dressed simply with butter and salt and pepper. There will almost always be Brussels Sprouts. We sometimes have Creamed Spinach as well.

Dessert was traditionally Christmas Pudding (and generally is at our house), but we now also enjoy Mince Pies and other treats like my Auntie Irene’s Cherry Christmas Squares.

Christmas Pudding is a mixture of lots of dried fruits and spices mixed with flour, suet (fat), eggs and brandy, although recipes for this traditional dessert vary wildly between cooks. Traditionally it is garnished with a sprig of holly and carried flaming to the table. Christmas pudding is served with either Brandy Custard, Hard Sauce or Brandy-laced heavy cream.

Mincemeat pies are sometimes served as well. These are small tarts filled with a delicious combination of currants, raisin, sugar, apples, candied peel, suet and sometimes nuts and cranberries. I also like to serve Mincemeat Oat Squares or small squares of Brandy and Mincemeat Cake but this is a new tradition in our family, brought in by me! I also introduced the homemade Christmas Cookie Tray to our British Christmas celebrations, a tradition that I have followed every year since I was a kid in Canada.

Last year we enjoyed (from bottom to top) Cherry Christmas Cookies, Cranberry Crunch Bars (recipe coming soon) and Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies (with a dairy-free option).

For those who still have room there’s a cheese course, generally accompanied by small glasses of Port, a sweet fortified wine.

The King’s Christmas Broadcast

It is traditional to watch the Monarch’s broadcast, generally at about 3pm, after lunch. I can remember racing to our Christmas meal – or leaving the table for a pause before dessert – in order to be able to watch The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast in years gone by. More recently, social media has meant the broadcast is available more widely, so you do not have to watch it on the television – but many family’s still watch The King’s Christmas Broadcast together when it is first aired.

Present Opening

In the days of celebrating with my husband’s family, the children were only allowed their stockings in the morning and had to wait with baited breath until after lunch and The Queen’s Christmas message to open their presents. Having been allowed to open all my presents in the morning as a child, I always thought this was a bit unfair, so when I began hosting my own Christmas celebrations, I pushed for the presents to be opened earlier. In recent years, as there have been no young children at our Christmas celebrations, we have reverted to the original tradition of waiting until after lunch.

Time for Games

After lunch, The King’s Christmas Broadcast and present opening we mostly just collapse on the sofas and play silly board games or maybe watch a Christmas film on television. If anyone is still hungry, there’s always plenty of chocolate and dried fruit, ‘sweetmeats’ (candy or crystallised fruit) and nuts. We also drink copious amounts of hot tea.

Teatime

In the evening, at about 7 or 8pm, we have Cucumber Sandwiches and more tea. Making a sandwich with cucumber may sound odd, but thin cold slices of cucumber served on buttered white bread with salt and pepper are actually incredibly delicious. Sometimes salmon sandwiches are served as well. These can be made with smoked salmon and creamed cheese or, for a vintage twist, canned salmon mixed with a bit of mayonnaise and maybe some chopped celery or red pepper. The latter was very popular in the late twentieth century and really reminds me of British Christmas traditions from the past!

Following the sandwiches there’s almost always a Traditional Christmas Cake at a British Christmas. We use the recipe passed down from my husband’s Grandmother, Nana, who used it when she was a cook in a stately home in the Edwardian era. I have also developed a Gluten-Free Christmas Cake based on Nana’s recipe (pictured below).

The Christmas Cookie Tray might also make another appearance at this point.

I miss my Canadian Christmases – and especially the people who are no longer with us – but over the years the British Christmas traditions have grown on me too. I love how we now enjoy a hybrid of both country’s traditions in our family, but I hope this has given you a glimpse into some of the things you may experience if you find yourself in England for Christmas!

What are some of your favourite Christmas traditions? Please share in the comments!

More Christmas Posts

Old Fashioned Christmas Pudding

Old Fashioned British Christmas Cake

Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

Maple Fudge

Aunt Dorothy’s Butterscotch Squares