If you ask anyone what they love about Christmas, the answer may surprise you.
It’s not the presents or picture-perfect moments under the tree which make the festivities special.
Christmas is a collection of moments, sayings and unbreakable rituals, which differ in every single household across the country.
With that in mind, we turned to you, the readers, in a bid to find out about Christmas at your house.
You did not disappoint, from tales of cold gravy to a simple yet much loved trifle – and all the messy bits in between.
Julie Farquhar and family
Christmas has always been a special time of year for Julie Farquhar, who is a mum of three and works as a lead practitioner at Elrick nursery.
The eldest of four siblings, Julie was always roped in to help with the big day, with her mum at the helm of Operation Christmas.
The incredible Vera Wild adored this time of year, and since she sadly passed away several years ago, the family have continued to celebrate as she would see fit.
“Our mum loved Christmas; for her it was always about the fun,” said Julie.
“It was more about family, crackers and silly hats then it ever was about presents.
“There was a great big table and the more people in the house, the happier mum was.
“She wasn’t the best cook in the world, but she loved giving people that hospitality.”
Dinner was always eaten after the Queen’s speech, a tradition which the family has since done away with.
But the sense of togetherness remains in Vera’s honour.
“Mum passed away seven years ago, my siblings were quite young at the time,” says Julie.
“She would have wanted us to all be together, so that’s what we have continued to do.
“My sisters and I always spend Christmas together, it’s a very full house and it’s absolute chaos.
“The food might not be the best cooked or even the warmest on the plate. Sometimes the gravy has gone completely cold by the time we have all sat down.
“But that doesn’t matter to us, it’s about being together.”
There is also one culinary triumph which is non-negotiable, however.
“The trifle is always done perfectly,” said Julie.
“It’s just a bog standard trifle with cream and mandarins on the top, but my mum really loved it.
“We still do things like listening to Christmas music. My mum loved Johnny Mathis. He was number one when I was born, so I always make my own kids listen to it.
“It’s not always happy families, but we try our best. Christmas is hugely important to us.
“I always wanted my kids to realise, remember what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.
“You never recall what gifts you got, but you’ll always remember who was there.
“We always say to ourselves, what would mum do?”
Gaelle Conjaud and family
For Gaelle Conjaud, Christmas is a wonderful blend of traditions she has picked up, from living in different places around the world.
But at the heart is her homeland of France, with the focus on creating an incredible feast.
Gaelle, who works at the Clarins counter in Boots and is also a Shiatsu practitioner, has lived in Aberdeen for 15 years.
She believes a period of living in homeless accommodation has made her appreciate Christmas all the more.
“I’ve lived in Siberia, Houston and Dubai,” said Gaelle.
“In France we celebrate Christmas on the 24th and again on the 25th. We are big on food.
“The meat depends on the family and level of income. One year my mum did wild boar, a baby one.
“Or you can bring up a chicken and castrate it, because it makes the meat juicer.”
This year Gaelle is hoping to make the most of the north-east bounties with a seafood platter on Christmas Eve.
“I’m roasting a duck on Christmas Day, it will be marinated in spices before it goes in the oven,” she said.
“I will be spending most of my time in the kitchen, preparing for a big family reunion.
“My sister sent me some black cooking chocolate from France, so I make chocolate truffles.
“I light some candles and play Christmas music. My mum would kill me for saying that English speaking Christmas music is better than French, but it is.
“I make a Christmas log for dessert on the 25th, we French are all about the food.”
Gaelle believes that the many traditions are of the upmost importance.
“I’ve passed it all down to my own children,” she said.
“French people don’t normally do a stocking, that’s a tradition I picked up when living in Houston.
“An Aberdonian tradition is to go to the Christmas market, I just adore Christmas.
“I find cooking very relaxing. I’m a mumma bear, I like to feed people.”
Gaelle now puts her Christmas tree up after Thanksgiving, a tradition she adopted from her time in Texas.
This tradition is particularly poignant, after Gaelle found herself homeless for five months.
“I was working at John Lewis at the time; I want my kids to remember that you shouldn’t take everything for granted in life,” she said.
“I was in a bed and breakfast for homeless people for around five months.
“The people were absolutely lovely, I was the only person employed who came down to breakfast every morning.
“I lived off microwave food, so I was so excited when I finally got my cooker. I don’t even have a microwave anymore.
“I really do believe in the magic of Christmas, when not necessarily the nicest of people turn nice.
“Everyone has a child within, and Christmas talks to that child in you.
“It generates miracles.”
Rebecca de Vos and Family
For Rebecca de Vos, who is part Norwegian, Christmas is a rather big deal with celebrations starting on December 1.
“All decorations are up, the tree, the garlands and the train set,” said Rebecca, who lives in Inverurie.
“Normally this is done together with hot chocolate. We plan our theme the weekend before.
“This year’s theme is The Grinch.
“Every day in December we have a calendar with a task, so we pretty much celebrate an aspect of Christmas for the whole month each day.
“This keeps the excitement going.
“Our main big event that I make a fuss over is called Yule, where we have a family ritual of writing down what we are thankful or grateful for, and burning it on the log in the bonfire, followed by hot chocolate and marshmallow toasting.
“We also do Christmas cocktails with the neighbours; we each invent our own drink and go round each other’s house trying them.
“Sinterklaas dag is another neighbourly thing we do. Our eldest dresses up as Santa and we deliver homemade gifts to a select few neighbours, it’s usually given with a Dutch Christmas song.”
Christmas dinner is cooked by Rebecca’s husband, with a salmon salad starter, turkey with all the trimmings and sticky toffee pudding for dessert – although the menu changes year by year.
“Our traditions have shaped us and our celebrations completely,” said Rebecca.
“Without them it just wouldn’t be Christmas.
“We take traditions from our grandparents to keep their spirit alive and to remember the joy of our childhood.
“This joy will live on in our children and their children. I feel as though Christmas IS the traditions.
“The little things you do each year, regardless of how elaborate or small they are. That’s what makes it special.
“I enjoy seeing my family with big smiles on their faces.
“Regardless of what has happened in the year, this is one day for them. To make wishes come true and to show them how magical and special they are, that they mean something.”
Lisette Bellizzi and family
Lisette Bellizzi believes Christmas is for spending time with people, be that family or friends.
Half English, half Italian and having grown up in the US, Lisette, who now lives in Aberdeen, has adopted a wide range of customs.
And although she won’t be spending the day with family this year, that hasn’t stopped her from opening her home to friends in similar situations.
“I live in a two-bedroom flat with four rescue cats and two rescue dogs,” said Lisette, who works in social media sales training.
“This year I think 15 people will be coming on Christmas Day. I’ve always invited people although, there will never have been this many.
“Aberdeen is such an international city, so people can be far away from their families.
“It can also be so expensive to fly home.”
Christmas this year will therefore be a wonderful mix of cultures, as Lisette is also part of Aberdeen Girl Gone International, which unites women from around the world who have move to the Granite City.
Far from feeling stressed at the thought of cooking for so many people, Lisette is raring to go.
“This is where I shine,” she said.
“Cooking for the masses is in my DNA.
“I’ve invited people for 5pm, as quite a lot of them will have been at work during the day and I don’t want them to miss out.
“I’ll be doing this spinach dip which my brother in law makes in America, it’s incredible.
“Plus lots of appetisers, then the main course at 7pm.
“We’ll have prosecco and apple juice cocktails in sugar-rimmed glasses as well.”
Alongside turkey, Lisette will be offering plenty of pasta and isn’t expecting anyone to sit down at the dinner table.
“Everyone will just have to squeeze in, it will be very ad hoc and that’s part of the fun” she said.
“I’ve also told people that if there is something special to them about Christmas, bring it along.”
Alongside the melting pot of cultures, Lisette also keeps her own traditions.
These include Christmas crackers and an ugly Christmas jumper, plus a treasured nativity scene.
“My late dad would always get nativity figures, it was something we did together,” she said.
“So now I have a random collection including Santa, I’m pretty sure he was there anyway.
“Christmas for me is about people. Of course I like tradition, but I don’t think there is any one way to do Christmas.”
Lyndsey Thompson and family
Health coach Lyndsey Thompson, who lives in Cove, is looking forward to Christmas this year, having kept the tradition of going to see It’s a Wonderful Life at Belmont cinema on Christmas Eve.
On the day itself, she has plans to enjoy Chinese takeaway with her 18-year-old daughter, before her eldest, who is 21, joins them in the evening.
This departure from the normal fanfare has always been a very deliberate move on Lyndsey’s part, who considers herself lucky to have had the girls each Christmas as a single parent – because their father worked abroad.
“We’ve got fond memories of Santa leaving the stockings somewhere random, on the stairs, outside the bathroom door, etc, and the girls would always wake before me and find them, and then come snuggle in my bed to go through their stocking gifts,” said Lyndsey.
“They stayed in PJs while we went to see if he had been.
“They’d open their Santa surprise, while I made coffee and stuck croissants in the oven.
“There was often prosecco and orange juice poured but never really drunk.
“The dogs would be right in the middle of it all tearing their pressies open. I’d sit and watch, while they worked their way through their gifts.”
The day would always include a dog walk, with food spread out.
“We’d have a semblance of a roast dinner for our evening meal, with my eldest and I both being vegetarian, but my youngest having chicken or turkey breast,” said Lyndsey
“We laid the table nicer than usual, with candles and crackers, and a small tray of After Eights.
“Then it was telly time, while they sat on the floor surrounded by their new gifts. Usually Home Alone or Love Actually, then we’d pull out the profiteroles for pudding later in the evening.
“I always believed Santa found you at home, so we didn’t visit folk, but we did invite family to us for Boxing Day.
“I have always kept Christmas Day just for me and my girls, with no time constraints to be anywhere else.”
However you and your family celebrate Christmas, we hope you have a wonderful time creating more special memories.