3. Christmas decorations

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Hi, everybody. OK, so I'm going to show you my Christmas decorations.

OK, so da daaa! Here's my Christmas tree. It's not the biggest tree, but it fits perfectly here. And it stands up straight, which is a miracle. They don't normally do that, so I'm quite happy.

Let's have a look who we've got. We've got this lovely rabbit in his tartan jacket. I've got quite a lot of animals, as you'll see. Down here, right, this is the Christmas dinosaur. I actually made this one years ago. He's got this, like, shiny sequined jacket. And that's why he's near the disco ball, there, obviously, having a Christmas dance, and he used to have a present here, but unfortunately he's lost that gift over the years. But we keep him because we like him.

Up here we've got, er, here's Cat. That's another homemade one. That was from the days when I had no money, was really enthusiastic about Christmas, but obviously I had a lot more time on my hands than I do these days. Don't do much sewing now.

Oh yeah! Aaah, this lovely penguin! Umm, this was a present from one of my students when I was a teacher at the British Council in Paris. So thank you so much! That was about 15 years ago. If she's watching, your penguin is still with me, thank you so much.

Here we've got these beautiful sardines. I like those. I like the, erm, because I live in Barcelona, I love the connection to the sea and the Mediterranean. Those sardines that just glitter in the light.

And, right OK, this is the last one that I'm going to show you. Erm, and I don't actually like this one. You'll see why. OK, can you see this snowman? I think the reason – I find him a bit creepy and I think it's because he's got these, like, human eyes and mouth. I find him a bit weird, so I just leave him at the back there, hidden.

OK, so, this is my Christmas tree in all its full glory and I'd love to hear about Christmas decorations or decorations in your house if you've got them where you live or if you've got them in your town.

In this video, Jo takes you on a tour of her Christmas tree and tells you the story behind her favourite decorations. 

Christmas decorations can add a little joy to the month of December. In many places, there are beautiful window displays in the shops and Christmas lights in the streets. 

In the UK, decorating a Christmas tree for your home is an essential activity. Some people get really creative with their Christmas decorations! 

What about you?

  • Do you decorate your home for Christmas or for another special celebration?
  • Do you have Christmas lights and decorations in the streets where you live?

Tell us about your favourite (and least favourite) decorations in the comments below, and if you want to share a photo of a decoration, please upload an image with your comment. It's already looking quite Christmassy! 

* Please don't include any people in your photos (even if you can't see their faces) as it's not allowed under the British Council's data protection and child protection policy. We're sorry, but we won't be able to add these.

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Average: 4 (6 votes)

Submitted by fallen on Wed, 04/01/2023 - 14:11

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Christmas is get together,to feel a nice atmosphere and to get presents which you would. Kazakhs have a good celebrate(holiday). It's called Nauryz.Nauryz is our Christmas and our New Year.When it's coming we make a nauryzkozhe.Come!!

I'd love to experience your Nauryz celebration @fallen. Is it also in December? Could you tell us a little bit more about it please? What sort of food do you eat and how long does the celebration last?

Sorry, too many questions ... but I love hearing about other traditions and festivals from around the world!

~ Tinaツ

LearnEnglish team

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Submitted by Styankee on Wed, 21/12/2022 - 21:11

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Usually we more celebrate a New year, but decorate our homes from early of December. We live in the flat and decorate only inside. We use different various of decorations - lightings, garland and different ornaments. And in our family we don't use real Christmas tree, because for our opinion, it's not good. Last year we made a lighting's installation on the wall, which looks like a Christmas tree.

I love the idea of a Christmas tree made out of fairy lights! Do you use multicolour lights or white? I love having fairy lights everywhere in our house, arounds windows, doorways and of course the tree. We also like to have some solar type ones on bushes in the garden.
~ Tina ツ
LearnEnglish team

I ❤ it!

Thank you for sharing the image and I really like the warm yellow fairy lights compared to the 'white' ones!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 2023 @Styankee!

~ Tina ツ
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Yesicalmp on Wed, 21/12/2022 - 01:39

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We always decorate our house. inside we have a christams tree with lights and many others decorations, outside we also decorate the front garden with lights and three big snowmen

Submitted by samarareis on Tue, 20/12/2022 - 22:32

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this year I will not assemble the Christmas tree because I have a cat, if I assemble Christmas tree I will to feel so much stressful. My cat think the tree is his. kk

Hi @samarareis,

We once had a dog that used to get up on the sofa and suck the chocolate ornaments off the tree so you were only left with the wrappers hanging from the branches! 

What's your cat called? We have a cat called FatCat ... can you guess why? :D

Have a lovely Christmas,

~ Tinaツ
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by ivantabora01 on Tue, 20/12/2022 - 17:20

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when I was a child my mother used to decorate our house with xmas tree, light etc. but now no because we dont spend the xmas party in the house and now is not necesary decorate the house, we (me and my family) get used to celebrate xmas in another way

Submitted by hkawwu on Tue, 20/12/2022 - 08:42

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I love Christmas season, Christmas lights and decorations. Christmas decorations bring people happiness and joyousness. Especially for me, as a dad-hood, I can explain to my son about the decorations of the Christmas and he likes how people decorating around the streets, at houses and at the Churches. Happy Christmas to you All!

Submitted by mdstamataki on Mon, 19/12/2022 - 19:41

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In Greece we either decorate a christmas tree or a boat. We also excessively decorate the interior and exterior of the house.

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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Fri, 16/12/2022 - 14:51

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A pewter snowflake made near where I grew up. When I was young, we usually had plenty of snow at Christmas and so I especially like decorations that remind me of that.

Kirk - LearnEnglish Team

 

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Submitted by Tina Pole on Fri, 16/12/2022 - 13:20

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I love baubles, so add heaps to my tree with lovely Christmas tree lights. Here are just a couple!


~ Tina☃

LearnEnglish team

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Submitted by Jo Budden on Fri, 16/12/2022 - 12:22

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Here are some of my favourite Christmas decorations. You can see the famous 'tió' log from Catalunya here. 

Happy Christmas, everyone! 

Jo - LearnEnglish team

 

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Submitted by Kevan Cummins on Thu, 15/12/2022 - 16:56

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We always decorate our home at Christmas. My favourite decoration is an advent calendar. It has a small chocolate treat you can eat as you count down the days remaining until December 25th. Merry Christmas!

Kevan - LearnEnglish team