When I Think of Christmas...

What does this time of year conjure up for you?

Is it any surprise that Christmas tends to sit so richly in our memories? There are few other times of the year when rites and rituals are so cheerfully repeated; mulled wine and a few last-minute gifts wrapped on Christmas Eve night, your nearest and dearest getting dressed in their festive best on Christmas morning (paper hats compulsory after the ceremonious popping of the crackers, of course). Then perhaps you round things off with a quick snooze by the fire, letting that second helping of pudding digest before someone inevitably breaks out the boardgames.

They’re often routines with little rhyme nor reason, and no one can quite put a finger on which started when, but that’s what makes them all the more worth preserving. Preciously ordinary moments, layered one on top of the other, bookending the year gone by and marking the beginning of the next.

So, what does Christmas time conjure up for you? Here we’ve ask a few of our friends to tell us exactly that.