Last year, I tried my best to write a blog post with this very title, but ultimately I couldn’t quite pull it off. It may be that I even felt a little bit of pressure with regards to committing my thoughts about Christmas Eve to “paper”, such is my love for the day. Christmas Day is the crowning glory of the entire festive period, of course, but to be at home for 24 December – and the preceding week – has always been equally as magical for me. It’s for this reason that I’m not going to worry too much about writing a masterpiece right now. Instead, I’m just going to focus on the glee that is always immediately stirred inside me.

Waking up on Christmas Eve is, for me, a little bit like waking up on the day before my birthday, such is the feeling of anticipation within. Every hair stands on end and the butterflies are quick to make themselves known in my stomach. The excitement is just the same now as it was when I was younger, and it makes me feel weightless – I live in the moment and my cares just slip away. Today I had to wrap the presents I’d bought for Mum, Dad and Louis, and on any other day wrapping would be a mild inconvenience. On this occasion, however, I couldn’t think of it as a normal chore, one of those run of the mill tasks we might try to put off. Instead, it was tackled with a solid smile, alongside everything else (even if all I did was hold the sticky tape). 

The same smile even extends to the crib service at church in the early evening, which we’ve been to for as long as I can remember. Whilst we aren’t religious, it’s a little tradition that has become synonymous with Christmas Eve, and as such it is always positively received. We continued said tradition earlier today, and followed it up by really pushing the boat out and going to the pub for a couple of drinks – in my case, a Coke (full fat, because life’s too short for Diet) and a lager. They went down well, as you might expect, and I can think of no better way to finish the day than sitting in my front room with a cuppa and the Christmas tree aglow, watching the legend that is Peter Kay. All set for tomorrow? You bet!

Mason