How to celebrate an English Christmas Play traditional Christmas music during the season Send Christmas cards to friends and relatives Select a live Christmas tree to arrange in your home, and hang evergreen branches indoors Encourage your children to write letters to Father Christmas detailing the gifts they most want He'll arrive wearing a red or green robe, with holly in his hair Burn the letters in the fireplace so the wind can carry the ashes up the chimney and Father Christmas can read the smoke Hang stockings on the mantel so Father Christmas can leave presents inside them on Christmas Eve Go caroling from house to house and collect money along the way The proceeds are often kept by children, but are usually given to charity by adults Wait until Christmas Day to open gifts Prepare a traditional dinner of roast turkey or goose, Christmas pudding (a rich cake stuffed with raisins and sultanas), mince pie and red wine Celebrate Boxing Day on December 26 This national holiday commemorates St Stephens and also the alms box at English churches 10 Take down your Christmas tree and decorations 12 days after Christmas, or you'll have bad luck in the coming year (You'll also want to wait until December 13 to put up the tree and decorations for the same reason!)