Mzuri gets festive

Whether you rock around the Christmas tree, jingle your bells, deck your halls with boughs of holly or dream of a white Christmas – everyone has their favourite festive traditions to make it an extra special time.

The team at Mzuri have been sharing their warm and fuzzy ideas.

Tatum swims like a polar bear!

Heading home to celebrate Christmas in Guernsey with family and close friends is always a special time for Tatum. Unlike many of us, Christmas Day in the La Patourel household isn’t a leisurely affair – it starts with an early morning swim at the bathing pools. And no, it’s not a lovely indoor pool – it’s an icy cold dip in the English Channel!

Whatever the weather, everyone jumps in and swims one length as quickly as possible – before enjoying a shot of flavoured vodka to keep frostbite at bay. After this invigorating start to the day, it’s back home for a hot shower and time to get dressed up to party the day away.

Finding the perfect Christmas Tree

For Alex, it’s all about the tree. Having grown up with artificial trees, Alex has started a new tradition with her family to choose the perfect tree from a local farm. Come rain or shine (usually rain!), Alex and her family head to Wylds Farm to seek out the perfect Nordman Fir.

Making the most of the festive fun available, choosing the tree involves a bouncy tractor ride up to the field, a tape measure, a piece of ribbon and a flag! Once you’ve found the perfect tree, it’s time to tie the ribbon around it to make sure it’s not chosen by anyone else – and then wave your flag so that your tree can be loaded onto the tractor. Sounds simple, but it’s been known to take hours to find that perfect 5ft tree!

After tramping through the field, it’s time to head back to the farm for mulled wine and a hot dog to warm up!

It’s panto time…oh no it isn’t!

Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the pantomime for Katherine and her family. Who doesn’t love a panto? The cheesier the better, I say. The tradition includes an annual trip to the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford, where front row seats are secured to make sure the kids get soaked. It’s always a great show with cast members returning year on year, so you feel like you get to know them too.

To add to the panto fun, a trip to see Guildford Spectrum’s Panto on Ice has snuck into the festivities too in the last couple of years – this year it’s Peter Pan. It’s always such a hit with the children and highly recommended.

Blowing the cobwebs away

For Phil, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without daily walks to blow the cobwebs away…and make space for the next meal or quality street! New Year’s Day is always an epic walk at one of the many local areas of outstanding natural beauty that we’re lucky enough to live close to, or sometimes even a trip to the beach.

Accompanied by a trusty portable BBQ, there’s always time for sausage sandwiches to warm up at the end of the walk!

Christmas all wrapped up

In the Twidell house, Lisa and her family have a rather ‘sweet’ tradition. Every year without fail, before any present wrapping is done, the festivities are kicked off with a family baking session. To add to the festive fun, the Christmas tunes are played – usually Wham!’s Last Christmas – and the mulled wine is warmed.

Using a secret family recipe passed down from grandparents, mince pies and gingerbread biscuits are lovingly baked and decorated (and eaten!). With the baking done, the tree is decorated and the presents are wrapped and placed under the tree.

However you choose to spend the festive season, we wish you all a wonderful time. 🎄 ⛄ 🦌