Have yourself a grilly little Christmas with Kamado Joe's Christmas grill guide

Following the boom of BBQ equipment sales motivated by the lockdown, more people are taking to cooking their Christmas dinner on the BBQ. Over 2020, the UK BBQ and heating sector increased by 22%. Out of that, charcoal barbecues dominated sales with an increase of 96%. The backyards of Britain saw a revolution of smoke and fire, as the nation renovated their patios, gardens and invested in outdoor cookers.

Top 5 tips for BBQ Christmas turkey

TV BBQ chef, and Kamado Joe global marketing manager, Ben Forte reveals his top tips to BBQ'ing your turkey this Christmas. Passionate about BBQ's, Ben's no stranger to cooking over charcoal flames whether it's for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

“My passion for BBQ began at a young age” he says. “Obviously I use a Kamado Joe and have done so for years. It'ss highly versatile. The thick ceramic walls retain so much heat you need use less fuel to keep it hot. Added to that, they are built to last a lifetime. The ceramics have a lifetime warranty and you can leave it out all year round. In my household winter barbecues are definitely a thing.”

What better way to please the crowd this Christmas then with a showstopping barbecued turkey taking centre stage?

Ben Forte shares his sure-fire tips..

Cook to temperature, not time. 75C.

Add a bacon weave. This helps the breast meat stay moist and you get a bonus bit of crispy bacon.

Get your turkey out of the fridge half an hour before you start cooking. Prevents shrinkage.

Cook your veg below the turkey so it catches all those juices as it cooks.

If you like a bit of smoke then try adding a chunk of fruit wood such as apple or cherry.

 Gifts for BBQ Lovers

Kamado Joe BBQ Range

Kettle Joe is the first of the kettle-grill category to integrate a ceramic firebox and the ability to fit a SlōRoller - Kamado Joe's revolutionary innovation allowing the versatility to transform a grill into an oven or smoker. RRP: £599

Kamado Joes - These world-renowned ceramic grills pack the latest technology and meticulous craftsmanship inside each iconic red barbecue unit. The thick-walled, heat-resistant shell locks in smoke and moisture at any temperature. There's nothing you can't cook in them, from low-and-slow dishes to grilling and searing at scorching temperatures. Prices start at £499 for Joe Jr

NEW Masterbuilt Portable

Made for adventurers, this suitcase-sized grill comes with an easy transport collapsible cart, for effortless mobile grilling. 

With a tough shell, it's tough enough to withstand expeditions and is designed to be hauled into the back of a car, wheeled across moors, carried across beaches and set up next to lakes and rivers. Like all Masterbuilt grills, it's designed for convenience. Simply light a firelighter under your charcoal, then turn a dial to control a fan for a consistent temperature. The charcoal hopper can burn briquettes or lump wood for up to 4 hours from 130c - 260c. Uk.masterbuilt.com

RRP: £399

Must have accessories every grill-master needs

The iKamand meat thermometer connects to your phone and controls the fire remotely! It allows total control over the grill's heat, smoke and meat target temperature from an app on your phone. The app includes recipes, with temperature settings already programmed into the software. Just sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy juicy, flavoursome food with little effort: £229

The JoeTisserie fits inside your firebox and slowly rotates your skewered meat, veg or fish above the charcoal. It's been cleverly designed so the kamado lid will still close, keeping all the heat right where you want it. If you're going for a low and slow spit-roast, Kamado Joe's thick ceramic walls helps retain moisture, so you get a juicy, tender result. Best of all, you can bung the whole lot in the dishwasher when you've finished. RRP: £279

Kamado DoJoe The durable cast-aluminum transforms your Kamado Joe into a best-in-class pizza oven. You're guaranteed a crispy crust on the bottom, while the altered airflow traps heat in the dome above the pizza for perfect toppings. This combination of convection airflow above and conduction heat below creates a uniform, even cooking environment surrounding the pizza as it bakes for masterful results.

RECIPES

Orange, Whisky and Cranberry Glazed Joetisserie Gammon

Ingredients

2kg Gammon, fat scored

2tbsp Whole cloves

200g Cranberry Sauce

1 Orange, zest

3 tbsp whisky

1 tbsp honey

Method

Set your JoeTisserie up on the Kamado Joe and set the grill to approx 170c.

Score the gammon fat in a diamond pattern and stud with whole cloves. In a small bowl mix together the cranberry sauce, orange zest, whisky and honey.

Secure the prepared gammon on your JoeTisserie and cook until it reaches approx 50c. At this point, brush your ham periodically using two thirds of the glaze mixture, reserving the remaining glaze.

Once gammon reaches a core temperature of 70 degrees, remove from the heat. Brush on the remaining glaze and set aside to rest.

The Jingle Burger

Complete with Turkey & Smokey Bacon Burger, Brussel Sprout Slaw, Oak Smoked Cheddar, Pancetta Weave, Cranberry Sauce and topped with a pickle and pigs in blankets this is one burger that has to be tried this festive season.

Burger Ingredients

500g Turkey Thigh Mince

4 rashers of Smoked Bacon (finely diced)

1 Egg

Bacon flavour crisps (I used popcorn crisps as they are gluten free) (crushed) 

Brussel Slaw

250g Brussel Sprouts

2 Carrots

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

 4 tbsp South Carolina BBQ Sauce

Other Bits

Oak Smoked Cheddar

16 rashers of pancetta/streaky bacon

Cranberry Sauce

Pigs in blankets

Pickles

Seeded Brioche Buns

4 Wooden Skewers 

Method

 Make your burgers by combining all the burger ingredients together then shape them into burgers using your hands or a burger press.

Finely grate the sprouts and carrots then combine in a bowl and add the vinegar and South Carolina BBQ Sauce.

Now you need to create some bacon weaves. For mine I use 4 rashers of pancetta cut in half and stretched out for each weave. This makes them the perfect size for the burger.

Now smoke your burgers in your BBQ at around 225F until they reach an internal temp of 165F.

Put your bacon weaves onto some foil and put them in the BBQ until they are nice and crispy and cook your pigs in blankets.

Then bring off the burgers and put them onto a hot skillet and cook for a few minutes each side, then add your cheese to the top and cover with a closh for about 1 minute to melt the cheese.

Time to build the burger.

Layout the base of the bun.

Put on the Sprout Slaw

Next add the Burger

Then the bacon weave

Now the cranberry sauce.

Finally push a wooden skewer through the pig in blanket and through a pickle and then straight through the burger.

https://uk.kamadojoe.com/

It’s Going to be a White Christmas, Thanks to Mitchell & Brown’s Snow White Entertainers

Celebrating the best in festive TV viewing with a truly white Christmas theme, Mitchell & Brown has launched two Smart TVs finished in Snow White. (Dwarves not included!) 

White Christmases and white TVs have both been exceptionally rare in the UK over the last decade, but the UK’s favourite TV brand, Bolton-based Mitchell & Brown, has unwrapped a brace of Snow White festive treats in time for peak Christmas TV content.  

As a TV isn't just for Christmas, these versatile performers in 24” and 32” screen sizes are ideal for bedrooms, the kitchen, office, or the conservatory, and come with Mitchell & Brown’s class-leading 7-year guarantee as standard. 

Against a sea of black and grey TVs that can look rather ‘Grinch’ at this time of year, the JB-24SM1811AW and JB-32SM1811AW are finished in a full white cabinet with a white frame and a matching white pedestal stand.  

HD-ready and boasting Android TV Smart TV features, these sleek TVs offer instant access to a fantastic wealth of streamed content from services like Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and Disney+. Merging live and catch-up TV, Freeview Play allows you to scroll through the past 7 days of on-demand programmes from the likes of BBC, ITV, and Channel 4.  

With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, the TV’s home screen gives users access to all the popular Smart TV services available on the Google Play Store, plus it has Google Assistant built-in. For even more ways to watch your favourite content, you can link it to a satellite box, games console, Blu-ray or any other HDMI-equipped device thanks to two HDMI sockets. Both models also boast a USB port allowing you to enjoy films, photos, or music from a USB memory stick. 

An optical digital output affords easy connection to a soundbar or speaker, and for late-night viewing, there's even a headphone output.  

The Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811AW and JB-32SM1811AW HD-ready Smart LED TVs with Android TV will be available from December from independent electrical retailers and selected Euronics stores across the UK, complete with a 7-year guarantee as standard. 

JB-24SM1811AW - RRP - £299.99 

JB-32SM1811AW - RRP - £339.99 

www.mitchellandbrown.co.uk 

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Sainsbury’s donates £3 million to help beat food poverty this Christmas

Sainsbury’s has launched its Nourish the Nation programme, which a long-term effort to support communities with access to food now and in the future.

Sainsbury’s will be donating £1.5 million to long-standing partner Comic Relief, FareShare and key redistribution partners to support communities this Christmas.

Sainsbury’s is calling on customers who are able to donate to give what they can when shopping in store and online, with the retailer matching all customer donations up to a value of £1.5 million.

Launching today, on 23 November, the money raised will help provide food and urgent support for those most impacted by the rising cost of living.

Sainsbury’s will donate £3 million to those in need as 13.7 million people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat.

The money will be split evenly between supporting communities with access to food now and supporting projects that help prevent people and communities falling further into food poverty in the future.

In response to the rising cost of living, Sainsbury's has launched Nourish the Nation, a long-term programme, working with longstanding charity partner Comic Relief, which will fund initiatives designed to tackle food insecurity and ensure communities have access to balanced, nutritional, and sustainable food sources now and for the future.

As part of the campaign, between 23 November and 24 December, Sainsbury’s is encouraging customers to donate if they can and has pledged to match donations up to £1.5 million, with this funding going to Comic Relief.

To support the Nourish the Nation programme, customers can make donations to Comic Relief in store and online at Sainsbury’s, and in store at Argos, or by donating Nectar points. The money raised will help people across the country, for example, a £1 donation could help buy fruit and a healthy snack for a child and £5 could help feed a child for a day at a community hub during the school holidays.

Customers can also donate food at the food donation points in store which will go to local food charity partners.

This year, through its partnership with Comic Relief, Sainsbury’s is already supporting two organisations; Feeding Britain and The Bread and Butter Thing, in order to help alleviate food poverty in communities that need it most.

Feeding Britain works in partnership with local food networks to develop community-based projects which support families on low incomes before they reach crisis point and need to rely on food banks. 

This funding from Sainsbury’s will support four food clubs in Glasgow, Gateshead, London and Nottinghamshire. Each club aims to prevent hunger, reduce food waste and ultimately lift people out of poverty through a combination of affordable fresh ingredients for families to take home, cookery sessions, and wraparound support to maximise family incomes, manage debts and budgeting, and mitigate the rising cost of living.

The Bread and Butter Thing run over 75 mobile food clubs, delivered in partnership with local community hubs, which provide people who are struggling financially with easy access to nutritious, quality and diverse food at an affordable price. They provide wraparound support to members such as debt advice, budgeting and employability skills. 

The Bread and Butter Thing helps members to connect with their community, which helps to tackle loneliness, improves confidence and builds a foundation for people to move out of food insecurity. With support from Sainsbury’s, The Bread and Butter Thing will widen its impact through expanding support in the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and the North West to ensure communities in some of the most deprived areas, have access to quality and sustainable food and also support services.

In addition, Sainsbury’s is donating a further £1.5 million to key food distribution networks, with £500k going to longstanding partner FareShare through Comic Relief’s On the Breadline Winter cost-of-living Christmas appeal which will provide funding for the equivalent of 2 million meals to those living in food poverty all over the UK.

Ruth Cranston, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Sainsbury’s, said: “With more challenging months ahead, support for those facing food poverty has never been more critical. We know how difficult the rising cost of living is for so many communities across the country which is why we’ve launched our new community programme Nourish the Nation, to help ensure that everyone has access to the food they need right now, whilst also helping to prevent those who are most at risk from facing food insecurity in the future.

"We'rededicated to supporting the communities we serve and through our large scale work with longstanding partners Comic Relief and FareShare, whilst supporting local projects with Feeding Britain and The Bread and Butter Thing, we hope we can go some way in providing relief to vulnerable communities up and down the country over the coming months and beyond.”

Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “Right now, communities across the UK need our support more than ever as the rising cost of living pushes people beyond breaking point. Families are fearful of what winter may mean for them as they are already being forced into making impossible decisions. It’s never been so urgent to tackle food poverty and so we are grateful to be working with Sainsburys on this much needed new programme to get help to people struggling the most.” 

Lindsay Boswell, who is the CEO at FareShare said: “We’re very, very grateful for the generous support from Sainsbury’s through Comic Relief’s Cost of Living Appeal. Their donation will help us get more good-to-eat surplus food to people across the UK most impacted by the cost of living crisis. At a time when demand for our food has skyrocketed, this funding will make a huge difference to the people we support who are experiencing food poverty.”

Sainsbury’s has been an official partner of Comic Relief since 1999, raising over £153 million to support people in the UK and around the world. Through working together, Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief have been able to help more than 1.6 million people in the UK and 13mm worldwide.

Meanwhile, applications for the next round of its Helping Everyone Eat Better Community grants, which have so far received £338k of funding, open on 9th December. The grants offer money to local charities, nominated by each individual store, that tackle food poverty.

Sainsbury’s has now rolled out Neighbourly to its full store estate, where it connects stores to local good causes, with the aim of reducing food waste. To date, the Neighbourly partnership has donated 7 million meals.

www.sainsburys.com

Keep your pets safe, well and calm over Christmas

A new Christmas Gift Box for pets has been launched, offering owners the opportunity to include their dogs in the big day with a present of sustainable, nutritious and safe treats.

Blue Pet Co. (https://bluepetco.com/) has launched the gift box along with an expert guide on how to make sure your dog stays safe and calm during the busy festive season.

Dog owners say there’s no way they can leave pets off the gifting list, well, they’re part of the family, after all.

Yet, many pet gift options are made with materials that are unsustainable and all too often come wrapped in excessive packaging, while the pet treats themselves are often poor-quality and of low nutritional value.

The new Christmas Gift Box (£9.95) from Irish pet nutrition company Blue Pet Co. is a new way to treat the family dog affordably, sustainably and nutritiously this Christmas.

Each Blue Pet Co. Christmas Gift Box includes a taster pack of each of the brand’s best-selling GoShine Chews, to help support skin and coat condition, GoActive Chews, for improved mobility, joint and muscle health, and GoSmile Sticks for healthy teeth and gums.

The supplements come in recyclable pouches and an outer gift box, with space for a suitable festive Christmas message.

The Blue Pet Co. range is enriched with unique, highly nutritious marine extracts sustainably sourced from indigenous Irish seaweeds.

The supplements support a dog's skin, joint and oral health - to induce tail-wagging happiness all year round, not just for Christmas.

Blue Pet Co. supplements are helpful to have to hand during the holiday season, which can be a confusing, overwhelming, bewildering and over-exciting time for pets.

Blue Pet Co’s resident dog behaviourist Roz Pooley advises keeping your dog entertained and stimulated by cutting up Blue Pet Co. supplements into small pieces and putting them in a cardboard box with scrunched-up paper for some foraging fun.

What's the secret behind the Blue Pet Co. range? It's the utterly unique proprietary ingredients, PhyCoidanTM , PhytoMaraTM and PhytoDentTM. 

These bioactive ingredients are extracted from seaweed that is hand harvested off the Irish coast, ensuring the delicate seabed goes undisturbed and biodiversity and supply are protected. The seaweed-derived molecules are combined to create Blue Pet Co.’s range of functional nutrition supplements that target critical areas of health concern in dogs, including joints and muscles, skin and hair, teeth and gums.

Blue Pet Co. Is based in Kerry.

Here are some Blue Pet Expert tips to keep dogs and puppies safe and calm at Christmas

Everybody wants Christmas to run as smoothly as possible, and managing a busy household at the same time as managing your dog can be challenging.

For dogs, the shift in activity and energy in the household during Christmas can be confusing, overwhelming or perhaps over-exciting. It’s absolutely vital to try and prepare your dog for what's to come and manage the environment to keep them calm and safe.

Here are some tips from Blue Pet Co.’s resident dog behaviourist and animal trainer, Roz Pooley, to set your dog and household up for success.

1. Give your dog a safe place

Ensure your dog has a safe place to retreat to where it can rest undisturbed. For open-plan homes, an area may need to be created using a large puppy pen with blankets as visual barriers. Your dog may need to learn to associate this place with calm and enjoyable things. Prepare this place in good time and give your dog stimulating activities to do in there, like perhaps a yummy chew, Kong, Lickimat or food puzzle etc. You can hide sticks and chews in a cardboard box with scrunched-up paper. Cutting up Blue Pet Co. supplements into small pieces can provide foraging fun.

A barrier can help children enthusiastically engage in their new toys without the dog’s involvement. Rather than tell a dog off for stealing things, set them up not to do this in the first place.

2. Give your dog something to do

Don’t want your dog underfoot while you cook? Don’t want them to scrounge at the table? Don’t want them to get in the way during the present opening time? Give them something to do! A long-lasting chew (given under supervision) or a frozen Kong can keep your dog out of the way without them becoming frustrated.

3. Be careful of certain foods

Cooked bones can splinter and cause internal damage when eaten, so be sure all food scraps go straight into an outside bin. Gravy, stuffing and other festive foods may have a high salt content that can upset stomachs, so licking the plate clean may not be best for your dog. 

Sweets, Chocolates, Liquors, Mince Pies and Christmas cake all contain ingredients that can make dogs extremely ill. Be sure to keep such items in a secure cupboard or well out of the dog's reach. If presents contain food, ensure they're not left under the tree where your dog can access them. Remember, they can sniff these things out even if they can’t see them.

Also, be mindful of your dog’s intake of food and treats. If you intend on giving them chews and treats to manage their behaviour, reduce their meal portions slightly to reduce overall calorie consumption. If your dog never experiences variation and higher value treats or foods, either avoid giving these or gradually introduce some variation in advance.

4. Consider penning your tree away

A decorated tree can be very enticing for puppies or ball-obsessed dogs. Having your tree up high or penned away can prevent your dog from causing chaos and potentially ingesting harmful, dangerous items.

5. Ensure visitors know how to behave around your dog

If your dog is anxious around visitors, ensure your dog/s have a safe place, as detailed in tip number one. If your dog is over-excited by visitors, giving them something to do to keep them busy may help redirect their behaviour onto something else. 

However, visitors must be clear on what interactions help your dog feel confident or stay calm. Excitable voices, excessive attention, children running around, or unsolicited affection may promote undesired or dangerous behaviours.

If your dog has a history of resource guarding, ensure visitors understand not to take any item away from your dog and to call you to deal with any issues they perceive. You can text visitors in advance and remind them as they turn up, so they're well-informed on how to behave.

6. Bear in mind your dog’s existing exercise tolerance

If your dog is only walking for 45 minutes at a time, a three-hour Boxing Day walk may be too much for them. If your dog is used to three walks a day without fail, a sudden drop to one walk a day may result in undesired behaviour.

Prepare your dog by increasing their walks a little, choosing a walk duration that suits them or increasing their rest periods in preparation for the big day.

7. Don’t forget alone-time

Too often, alone time is overlooked during the festive holiday season. After spending time in constant company, the sudden shift to your previous routine can be a shock for dog. If your dog can cope when home alone, be sure to maintain this across the holiday season.

8. It may look cute, but is it fun for your dog?

Dog antlers, hats, jumpers, posing for the camera, cute pictures of kids with dogs. Too often, we see pictures of dogs looking uncomfortable in such situations. Watch for signs that your dog is uncomfortable, such as the whites of their eyes showing, any signs of tension in their face, excessive lip licking or yawning, looking away or trying to move away. Remember! Your dog’s welfare is always more important than likes on social media.

● The Blue Pet Co. Christmas Gift Box (£9.95) is available now on bluepetco.com.

● Find Blue Pet Co.(https://bluepetco.com/) on Instagram @bluepetcompany and Facebook @thebluepetco.

● Blue Pet Co. is an Irish range of zero-waste, all-natural dog supplements made with seaweed sustainably sourced off the West coast of Ireland.

● The Blue Pet Co. Christmas Gift Box (£9.95) is a nutritious and sustainable way to treat your dog this Christmas. Available now on bluepetco.com.

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Different Christmas traditions from around the world

Every year, That's Christmas likes to run a feature on different Christmas traditions from all over the world. This  year we are running this feature in conjunction with Language and culture experts at Busuu (https://www.busuu.com) have researched what unusual and traditional celebrations take place across the world at Christmas time.  

Christmas is soon upon us, and the experts at Busuu have revealed the different and often unique ways the festive season is celebrated around the world.  

Whilst Germans enjoy feasting on roasted meats and the Polish have fish as part of their ‘Wigilia’, the Japanese rush over to KFC for their Christmas dinner! 

Most countries decorate their homes and public spaces with large Christmas trees, festive ornaments and sparkly lights, but those in China use a plastic tree featuring flowers and chains made out of paper. 

A spokesperson for Busuu said: “Lots of countries around the world love to celebrate Christmas - whether that be on Saint Nicholas Day at the beginning of December, or on the 24th and 25th. It’s such a wonderful time to spend with family and friends, exchange gifts, decorate the house and eat lots of yummy food.  

“Everyone will have their own traditions passed down from family members, but countries also have different ways they like to spend Christmas day. For example in Japan, Christmas is only celebrated by families with children and couples tend to see it more as Valentine's Day.  

“However you spend the festive season, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, there is no denying the warm, fuzzy feeling the period brings to us all, and the time we get to spend with our nearest and dearest.”  

Here’s how Christmas is celebrated around the world:  

1. France  

The 25th of December is a public holiday for the French, and decorations fill every space in households and public spaces over the festive period. Traditional Advent wreaths (‘Couronnes de l’Avent’) is a feature for many families, where one candle is lit each week throughout December. Christmas Day in France is spent opening presents, celebrating and spending time with loved ones, and feasting on a late lunch consisting of goose or capon, truffles and mashed potato.  

2. Germany  

In Germany, Christmas day (‘Weihnachten’) is celebrated on the 24th of December with homes lovingly decorated with trees, ornaments and lights ready for the big day. On the evening of the 5th, a day before Saint Nicholas day, children spend time polishing their shoes and leave them on the street, to later find them filled with chocolates and sweets as a reward for good behaviour. Christmas markets are a huge part of German festivities and traditions, with Dresden's ‘Striezelmarkt’ being considered the world's longest-running Christmas market. 

3. Japan  

Christmas isn't a public holiday in Japan, but is still considered a big celebration with festivities tending to start around November time. What’s interesting is Christmas tends to only be celebrated by families with children or couples. Kids will wake up to presents next to their bed and couples spend the day like Valentine’s Day, going on dates, having dinner and exchanging small gifts together.  

Christmas dinners in Japan look very different to most countries - the Japanese typically eat a meal from KFC. Some pre-order their chicken meals months in advance and long queues are expected on the 25th outside KFC restaurants. 

4. Poland  

The start of Christmas in Poland really takes place on the 24th when streets are lit up with festive lights. Traditional glass-blown ornaments adorn Christmas trees and carols aren’t first sung until ‘Pasterka’ - the celebratory Polish midnight mass. For many families, Christmas Eve is the first day of fasting and when the first star appears, ‘Wigilia’ is held, a vigil dinner often serving fish.  

 5. China 

In China, Christmas tends to be more of a commercial holiday with cities and department stores decorating with large Christmas trees, ornaments, and bright, colourful lights. Those who do choose to celebrate tend to spend the day as a get together with family and friends. For those who put up a tree in their homes, it will usually be a plastic one decorated with paper chains and paper flowers.   

6. The Netherlands  

The Dutch merrily celebrate Christmas on both the 25th and the 26th of December, spending lots of time with family and friends, watching films, playing games and feasting on delicious Christmas food like ‘Kerststol’ - a seasonal fruity bread loaf. 

The evening of December 5th is the most exciting Christmas day for children in the Netherlands as ‘Sinterklaas’ arrives with presents. Kids will leave a shoe by the fireplace, sing Dutch Christmas songs and wait until ‘pakjesavond’ (present evening) for their gifts to arrive.   

7. Italy 

The festive season officially begins on December 8th, the time of Immaculate Conception, when Christmas trees are put up and light displays decorate towns and villages. Italian tradition goes that Christmas Eve must be a meat-free day, with many choosing to cook pasta, rice and seafood. Christmas Day is therefore all about feasting on grand roasted meat meals and finishing off with a slice of traditional ‘Panettone’ Christmas cake.  

8. Caracas, Venezuela  

On Christmas Eve, residents of Venezuela’s capital city will be seen travelling to Christmas mass on roller skates! Supposedly an alternative to sledding, people all across Caracas will dust off their skates and travel through the city to gather together at an early-morning Christmas service. Skating is such a popular tradition that the streets are closed to cars to allow skaters to travel safely and enjoy this fun Christmas activity.  

For more festive facts on Christmas time around the world, visit Busuu https://blog.busuu.com/santa-claus-worldwide/

(Image courtesy of Scott Payne and Pixabay)