One of the most famous Christmas traditions, and the one that causes the most stress, is exchanging gifts.

Children get excited to see what presents Santa Claus will leave for them under the Christmas tree

and leave brandy and a mince pie out for him on Christmas Eve.

For adults, it means braving busy stores to find the perfect presents for those they love.

But always remember, it's the thought that counts!

Christmas is a time for families to gather together and central to this is the Christmas dinner.

The whole family sits down together to eat a heavy meal of turkey and all of the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding for dessert.

Often, we pull Christmas crackers and inside these are terrible jokes, cheap presents and paper Christmas hats.

After lunch while everyone is waiting for the food to digest, many people switch on the TV and watch the special Christmas programs and movies that are broadcast.

The most famous of these is the Queen 's Christmas speech.

It 's broadcast simultaneously on the two biggest TV channels in the UK, the BBC and ITV, at 3 pm.

And the Queen reviews the year and gives us a Christmas message that usually speaks of tolerance and forgiveness.