christmas

With Christmas now less than two weeks away, our writers are revealing their opinions and experiences of the festive period in a new series of posts. Over the next week, we will be publishing posts from a number of writers from different backgrounds and cultures. First up is Colombian student Johanna. 

"Last year was my first Christmas in England. I was struggling to keep my mind working properly all through the premature nights of winter, when I started to feel a homesickness that only a Christmas tree can cause. Encouraged by the Christmas spirit, my English flat mate invited me to spend the days with her family.

I arrived on Christmas Eve and the welcome was warm and happy- I met her parents and her two younger brothers in the kitchen while they were cooking the dinner. During the dinner I talked about Colombian traditions and asked about English ones. The parents, one at each end of the large table, competed to try and monopolize the answers while their eldest daughter, my friend, tried to point out the mistakes of their opinions and remind them that there was a guest at the table.

With Christmas just two weeks away you should be in a festive mood by now. To help celebrate this time of year, loads of attractions and events pop up around London. Here we round up some of the very best Christmassy things going on this year.

Christmas Markets

There is nothing quite like a good Christmas market to get you in the spirit. There are the smells of the delicious food and drink, brass bands playing all the old favourites and loads of last-minute, unusual gifts. There are great markets all over London, but there are some that really stand out.

Covent Garden at Christmas is always nice, and the Christmas market based around the piazza is one of the highlights (plus there is a giant Lego advent calendar and reindeer petting!). Centring around the Southbank Centre, there is a huge market stretching along the Thames. The traditionally German themed market has a wide selection of gifts and toys, as well as choirs singing carols, whilst the Real Food Market has all the amazing meats, cheeses and mulled wine you could want.

If you're looking for something a little bit different, then the Camden Lock Night Market is perfect, offering vintage items, fashion, arts, crafts and home ware, all in the typical Camden style.

Paris is one of the best tourist destinations in the world. It is considered the most romantic city on earth, and is certainly one of the most advanced cities in the world. Paris in the month of December is even more of a treat because of the all the lights, the glitter, and the decorations for the most celebrated event of the year- Christmas.

It is the mother of all festivals, and like all European capitals, Paris is decked out and spruced up to welcome the festival. Despite chilly winters, people are in a happy and cheerful mood to celebrate Christmas, and the happy faces and decorated shops tell the story to all those who arrive here in the last week of December.

With Christmas just five days away now, no one is bothered about buying presents, putting up decorations or buying food. Instead the question on everyone's mind is ‘who is going to be UK Christmas Number 1?'

In the UK the song that is top of the singles chart on Christmas Day takes the coveted Christmas Number 1 title. Here we take you through the possible contenders this year, with the usual mix of reality show winners, novelty acts and tearjerkers:

Military Wives Choir- Wherever You Are

This choir is unique in the fact that it is made up of only women whose husbands are in the military. It was put together by conductor Gareth Malone as part of a BBC TV show, and this is their first single.

The lyrics are inspired by letters to and from their soldier husbands, and this group of regular women from Devon are now huge favourites to be 2011 Christmas Number 1.

Latest Odds: 1/16 (Favourites)

If you still haven't got around to buying Christmas presents yet, then time is getting tight. Indeed, today is the last online shopping day on Amazon. If you are completely stuck for ideas then have a look below for inspiration for presents for brothers, sisters, mums, dads and partners.