I was on my own with my two children for a number of years and got really fed up with Christmas decorations going up so early. (Still do). I told the kids that, as they only had one parent, Santa Clause's fairies would come along when he left the presents and decorate the sitting room. They would go to bed on Christmas Eve with the place looking normal and were not allowed in the sitting room until they had dressed and had breakfast on Christmas morning. Their faces when they saw the decorated room were a picture. There was one year when I was working in a pub until midnight on Christnmas Eve (with the kids upstairs with the pub landlady). We got a lift home and a very tired fairy had to put up decorations about one o'clock in the morning!

Nowadays I usually end up at my daughters for a couple of days before Christmas as both she and her husband have to work right up to Christmas Eve and I look after their very energetic toddler. Watching him enjoy the season makes it all seem quite magical again. Mind you, before I go to them I'm hoping to attend a number of Christmas sessions and have just printed off the Christmas parodies thread to find some good stuff to sing! Hopefully that is going to become a Christmas tradition for me as well.