10 Liverpool Christmas traditions every Scouser loves

Hanging mistletoe in the house, leaving a carrot out for Rudolph and scattering reindeer dust on the path to guide the way for Santa and his furry helpers…just some of the traditions that make for a magical Christmas.

But there are other customs closer to home that Scousers just couldn’t live without.

And here are 10 traditions that Liverpool loves…

1. Cracking the curly blow

You don’t know the meaning of hard work until you’ve done the ring round to book a curly blow in Liverpool in the run up to Christmas. Yes, the seasoned party girls plan ahead to guarantee their glamour – but there’s always one invitation you hadn’t expected, and a hair appointment is essential before you even think about an RSVP.

2. Getting the gifts wrapped up

You know what makes the perfect present so you’ll think nothing of joining the endless queue outside Pandora (it’s part of its charm!) or heading to Boots to cover yourself in (Soap &) Glory with a sweet-smelling gift set from the British Beauty Brand.

3. Christmas Eve Church Service

You might have spent the night in the pub but, come closing time, you’ll want to swap one bell for another. No sooner has it rung for last orders than it’s time to pay a visit to the local church where the bells will be ringing for the Christmas Eve service or midnight mass to welcome in the big day and remember the reason for the season!

4. New jarmies for Christmas Eve

You might be five or you might be 50 but there’s one present you can unwrap before the big man in red arrives – and that’s the Christmas PJs. It doesn’t matter if you need them or not, come Christmas Eve you’re letting the side down if you even think of hitting the sack without new nightwear, preferably with a festive theme and definitely with the kids, mum and dad, and even the dog matching!

5. Sleigh ‘em as Santa

Seems a shame to wear your Santa suit for just one day so if you were one of the thousands who sprinted through the city to raise money for charity – and thank you again by the way – you’ll want to get the most out of your Father Christmas clobber to give out your gifts on December 25. Ho ho ho!

6. Getting dolled up for Christmas Day

Spend Christmas Day in your trackies? Not on your life. We all know Scouse girls like to dress to impress but on this fab festive day NO-ONE is allowed to look like a slob. So when you peel off your Christmas jarmies, you need to change into something snazzy or sparkly, for girls that’s glam and gorgeous in your Zara frock and skyscraper heels, and blokes – fling the footie top back in the draw and at least iron a shirt eh?

7. Pre-dinner pint

They don’t care they’ll be in bother, the men in the family will find it hard to resist the pull of the pub and sneaking out for a swift one before Christmas Day Dinner is served up. What they don’t realise is that the females in the family prefer them out of the way, and they’ll be popping open a Prosecco while they prepare the parsnips and put the pigs in blankets.

Check out 20 pubs open on Christmas Day on Merseyside.

8. Bag a Boxing Day Bargain

So what if you’re still stuffed from the turkey or hung over after too many bubbles, we all love a festive fashion find and that means going online for the Next Boxing Day sale. No need to queue with the crowds for a frosty start to the day, savvy scousers set their alarm to go online – cos they know best sale buys get updated in the early hours – around 4.20-4.30am.

17 Boxing Night parties you will love in Liverpool

9. Come on you Reds – or Blues

While you’ll look forward to ploughing through the leftovers or rustling up a turkey scouse with them, for most of the city Boxing Day is about the big game and heading out to the match. This year Liverpool are playing Leicester City away and Everton are at home to Burnley.

10. TV Times

Other than the parties and family gatherings, there’s one thing that sums up the season for anyone in the city and that’s curling up on the sofa together in front of the telly. No-one wants to miss the festive episode of their favourite soap or the one-off Christmas special – this year it’s got to be Gavin and Stacey – so you’ll be going through the TV mag and circling all the films and programmes you don’t want to miss or pressing the record button well in advance.