When I was in my late teens and early twenties Christmas was all about meeting up with friends, some of whom lived in other parts of the country and would only return home for the holidays. Going out to the pub for a few drinks, meeting people I hadn’t seen since school and generally getting far too drunk were the important things and family and gifts came a distance second.

Now that I am in my thirties, have gotten married and have kids there is a big shift in my priorities at Christmas time. Now its all about the children and the joy they got out of opening their presents. For me the time is about buying the presents in the run up to the big day, getting the Christmas tree decorations in place so that the house looked as spectacular as possible and generally running around mad trying to get the meal ready and making sure everything runs like clockwork.

Christmas is certainly a lot more hard work these days, you don’t realize when you are a kid just how much goes into ensuring the whole thing goes off without a hitch and that everyone is kept happy. If you ask me if I preferred Christmas when I was a kid I couldn’t answer, I my mind the holiday season is great no matter what age you are or what your responsibilities are.