Click here for New Year's Eve events!

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Trees

What Tree?

The increasingly popular Nordmann has thickish dark green needles, and is non-drop. Blue and White Spruce have very pretty, thick, blunt needles but tend to shed them a little. Scots Pine holds its needles well, and its strong branches can cope with heavy decorations. Small Fraser Firs can be bought potted, rather than cut, meaning they don't shed and have a rather pleasant fruity smell. Norway Spruce, while the most satisfyingly traditional-looking of all, is a dedicated shedder. If you choose a tree that makes free with its needles, the best thing to do is to give it plenty of water and try to keep it in the coolest part of the room. You can also purchase anti-drop chemicals from places like B&Q.

This environmental site has some interesting information about the benefits of a living rather than a plastic tree, which, if memorised, may enable you to astound your friends and confound your relations.

Places to Buy

Flash in the Pan
9 South Parade, Summertown, OX2 7JL. 07846 633957. [email protected]
5-9ft Nordmann Firs. Also selling at Wolvercote Farmers Market & South Oxford Farmers Market (Sundays).Opening hours: daily 10am - 6pm, Thurs 10 - 8pm, Sun 11am - 4pm.

Kingston Fruiterers
(01865) 552812. 14 Kingston Road, OX2 6RQ - entrance just round the corner in Longworth Road.
They have trees at all sorts of heights. Opening hours: 10am - 3pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

Waterperry Garden Centre
Wheatley (01844) 339226
A range of species - 4ft Norways live in pots, Nordmann firs, 3ft - 8ft, Noble Firs, 6ft, and Fraser Fir, 3ft - 6ft. Opening hours: 10am - 5pm. On the 16th December there is a special event where customers can go with the gardeners to where the trees are grown and choose their own tree!

Blenheim Palace
[email protected] / (01993) 813196
There is Norway Spruce, Fraser Fir and Nordmann Fir for sale at the Palace, 10am - 5pm until 22nd December. Or you can go to the fountainhead at the Blenheim Sawmill at Combe: 8am - 4pm daily until 22nd December.

The Garden
(01865) 240709. 99-100 Covered Market, OX1 3DY.
The Garden have Lodge pole pines (5 -8ft), Premium Nordman (3 - 8ft) and Premium Norway Spruce (4 - 6ft) and pot grown trees, i.e. living ones with roots and everything.

The Sea Cadets
(01865) 249158. The Sea Cadets have trees for sale at Meadow Lane, off Donnington Bridge Road OX4 4BJ, everyday until Christmas from 10am to 8pm
Non needle droppers up to 250cms. All proceeds for Cadet funds.

Tree Recycling

Take your tree to one of these collection points in the first two weeks of January and it will be recycled into wood chips. NB artificial trees are not accepted! The collection points are:

Alexandra Tennis Courts, Middle Way, Summertown
Atkyns Road,Wood Farm
Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre car park
Blackbird Leys Park car park
Bury Knowle Park, North Place car park
Cutteslowe Park, Harbord Road car park
Elizabeth Green, Northway
Florence Park, Cowley
Green Road, Risinghurst
Hinksey Park, Abingdon Road
Long Lane, Littlemore
Manzil Way Gardens, Cowley Road
Margaret Road Recreation Ground
Meadow Lane Recreation Ground, Jackdaw Lane
Oatlands Recreation Ground, Ferry Hinksey Road (car park)
South Park, Morrell Avenue
Sunnymead Recreation Ground, by play area

Oxford City Council says: "17 sites across the city are set up to collect your Christmas trees. The trees are recycled into woodchip to use in the city's parks and open spaces." Collection points are open in the first two weeks of January.

For all this and more (eg. Christmas bin collections, etc.), visit http://www.oxford.gov.uk/christmasrecycling. Oxford City Council also asks us to remember that "wrapping paper, Christmas cards, champagne and sherry bottles, mincemeat and cranberry sauce jars and foil from the turkey can all be placed in the blue recycling bin". For tasty recipes that might help avoid some food waste this festive season, visit www.england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes.

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Warming Winter Drinks

Here is the distilled [ho ho ho] wisdom of the staff at Daily Info on the subject of warming winter beverages. If anyone has any suggestions for further exploration in this area, do let us know.

Our Techie's Really Fabulous Mulled Wine

After a few hours staring at a string of code, you need something to take the edge off life. [I know I could do with a drink.]

Boil 1 ½ half pints of water and dissolve in it 4 heaped tablespoons of the darkest brown sugar you can find.
Add 1-2 cinnamon sticks, about 5-10 cloves, star anise, a few cardamon pods.
Stir and simmer for 15 - 30 mins, depending on patience.
Roughly chop 3 oranges, 1 lemon, apple if you like that sort of thing.
Turn down heat to a low simmer. Add fruit, simmer 5 - 10 mins.
Remove all fruit & spices through a sieve, returning the syrup to the pan (spices can be retained & reused).
Turn heat down low, add wine (1 bottle, red).
Stir, warm wine through but do not boil (loses alcohol).
Can add dark rum (or brandy) at the last minute. Serve immediately.

Norfolk Punch

A non-alcoholic alternative to your usual seasonal mulled beverage, this bottle is based on a traditional recipe made by Benedictine monks no less and contains all sorts of wild and wonderful herbs and spices. The office tee-totaller gave this 9/10 for its sheer proximity to mulled booze, and others felt similarly until asked to consider its resemblance to warm cola. Available from Holland and Barrett (£3.19), Uhuru (Cowley Rd), etc.

Hot Toddy

Quick version

Ingredients: Half a lemon, tablespoon of honey, shot of whisky per person.
- Squeeze lemon into a cup
- Add boiling water, melt the honey in it
- (Stop here if you don't want the whisky, or) add whisky and drink

Slow, loving version

- Grate some root ginger into a saucepan, about 1tbsp per person
- Add however many cups of water you want, dark brown sugar to tast, an orange (or an apple) stuck with cloves
- Bring to the boil once, then simmer for about 15 minutes
- Drain into cups and add whisky and the juice of half a lemon for each person.
A useful tip if you have a disastrous toddy-making enterprise: you can salvage a cup of it for a very cold person by adding a slosh of Rochester's ginger wine (£3.19 from Holland and Barrett).

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Open Fires

If you are lucky enough to live in an area and a household which allows you to have fires, you will be able to luxuriate in front of blazes as Dickensian as your ecological conscience will allow.

Wood

You can get FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved hardwood logs fairly easily: A.W. Mobbs, London Road, Wheatley do it, as do many more local suppliers.
You can buy log offcuts from Eynsham Park Sawmills, Cuckoo Lane, North Leigh (off the A40 to Witney). Their softwood is £20 a 'box' (cubic metre/car bootload) - this doesn't last as long as hardwood, which costs £90, (£85 for mixed and £80 for soft) and might be better in proper woodburning stoves.
Salvaged wood (old pallets, furniture, etc.) - the cheapest option - should be put beside your stove to dry it out before burning. Wood that isn't kiln-dried or well-seasoned is going to burn at lower temperatures and will therefore produce more particulates. Beware of burning treated or varnished wood and the resultant fumes.

A. W. Mobbs, Wheatley
Mon - Fri: 7.30am - 5pm, Sat: 7.30am - 12pm. 01865 872691

Eynsham Park Sawmill
Mon - Fri: 8am - 4.30pm, Sat: 8am - 12.30pm. 01993 881391

Blenheim Sawmills
Mon - Fri: 8am - 5pm, Sat: 9am - 12pm. 01993 881206. Closed: 21st - 2nd.

Farmer Gow's
Near Faringdon: daily in December: 9am - 6pm. 01795 780555. Environmentally sensitive hardwood saved from local ancient woodlands, including Wytham Woods.

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Opening Hours

Shopping Centres

The Westgate Centre 23rd December: 11am – 5pm 24th December: 9am – 4pm Christmas Day: CLOSED Boxing Day: 11am – 5pm 27th December: 9am – 8pm New Year's Eve: 9am – 5pm New Year's Day: 11am – 5pm

The Clarendon Centre Last year open these times (will update as soon as we know more!): 24th December: 8am - 5pm Christmas Day: CLOSED Boxing Day: 10am – 5pm New Year's Eve: 9am – 4pm New Year's Day: 10.30am – 5pm

Bicester Village Shopping Outlet 23rd December: 10am - 7pm (not Thursdays, weekends) Thursdays, 1st – 20th December: 10am - 9pm Saturdays: 9am - 8pm Sundays: 10am - 7pm 23rd December: 10am - 7pm 24th December: 9am - 5pm 25th December: CLOSED 26th – 29th December: 9am - 9pm 30th December: 10am - 7pm 31st December: 9am - 7pm 1st January: 11am - 9pm 2nd - 5th January: 9am - 9pm

Petrol Stations

Hartwell Ford BP Mon - Fri: 7am - 9pm Sat 8am - 9pm Sun: 10am - 5pm Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day: CLOSED Christmas and New Year Eve: 10am - 5pm

Blenheim Service Station Christmas Eve: 6am - 10pm Christmas Day: 9am - 3pm Boxing Day: 7am - 9pm New Year's Eve: 6.30am - 10.30pm New Year's Day: 7am - 10pm Otherwise: 6am - 11pm

Chemists

Woodstock Rd Chemist, No.59 Christmas and New Year's Day: 4pm - 7.30pm All other days: 9am - 7.30pm Phone: 01865 515226

Boots, Cornmarket (01865 247461)   18th - 21st December: 8am - 9pm 24th December: 8am - 6pm Christmas Day: CLOSED All other days: Mon - Sat, 8am - 8pm; Sun, 11am - 5pm

Boots, Cowley Rd (01865) 243633 Christmas Day: CLOSED Boxing Day: CLOSED New Year's Eve: 9am - 6pm New Year's Day: CLOSED Other days 9am - 6pm, 10am - 4pm on Sundays

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Eating Out on Christmas Day

This is by no means a comprehensive listing of restaurants open on Christmas Day, but we've tried to give you a range of options. To browse for other possibilities, look at our Oxford restaurants page. If you'd like us to list your Christmas Day opening here, please email us and we'll list it here for free! A surprising number of Chinese, Indian and Thai restaurants are closed on the 25th, so don't count on being able to find something by wandering hopefully up and down the Cowley Road. We advise booking as far in advance as possible! Most places require a deposit for Christmas Day lunch, often refundable if there's a cancellation up to 48 hours in advance.

Majliss Indian Restaurant
(01865 726728)

Open Christmas Day: midday - 9.30pm. Free bottle of wine for all bookings on Christmas Day.

Strada, Little Clarendon Street
(01865 514468)

Open midday - 3pm. Set Christmas menu: £40

Quod, High Street
(01865 202505)

Set lunch menu, 11.30am - 3.30pm: £52.50. Booking required. Open 6 - 9pm for a la carte menu.

Browns, Woodstock Road
(01865 511995)

Open midday - 3pm. Bar open from 11am. Set Christmas menu: £70. Booking required.

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Deliveries, Dates and Deadlines

Christmas Post

Royal Mail advises you to post in advance of these if possible. Here are the last Christmas posting dates for letters and parcels for destinations within the UK.

Standard Parcels: Thursday 13th December
Second Class: Tuesday 18th December
First Class: Thursday 20th December
Parcelforce Express 48: Wednesday 21st December
Parcelforce Express 24 / Special Delivery:Saturday 22nd December
Special Delivery with Saturday Guarantee:Friday 21st December

For more details, and international deliveries, , which shows you when you should post (/have posted) your Christmas presents. The usual answer is “last Wednesday” - it pays to be prepared!
click here for the Royal Mail's handy Last Posting Calendar

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Getting Around Oxford

Public transport over the Christmas period will be slower, more crowded and less frequent than usual - and that's before we get any snow! Expect delays and, if the weather is anything like the last three years, plan for road and rail transport to be subject to unforeseen cancellation.

Bus & Coach Travel Over Christmas

For full details of Oxford Bus Company services, including the London Espress service to Heathrow & Gatwick click here.
For full details of bus and coach services, including the Oxford Tube London service and super-cheap national Megabus service, click here. For other national locations and direct services to Stansted and Luton airports, visit National Express.

Monday 24th December, Christmas Eve

Oxford Bus Company: Last buses leave from 7-8pm
Stagecoach: Last buses leave from 6-9pm

Tuesday 25th December, Christmas Day

Oxford Bus Company: No services
Stagecoach: N1 & N2 city services (Blackbird Leys / Kidlington - City Centre) hourly 9.30am to 5.30pm (N1) and 10.15 to 5.15pm (N2

Wednesday 26th December, Boxing Day / Bank Holiday

Oxford Bus Company: Restricted routes.
Stagecoach: Restricted routes.

Coaches to London & Airports

See here for Christmas schedules for Oxford Espress.
See here for Christmas schedules for Oxford Tube.

Last bus to London on Christmas Eve leaves Gloucester Green, Oxford centre 6.30pm.
Last bus to Oxford on Christmas Eve leaves London Heathrow at 10pm and Gatwick at 9.15pm.
The Oxford Tube also runs on Christmas Day (shock, horror): hourly from 6am-5pm from Oxford to London (via Heathrow), and 8.10am – 7.10pm from London to Oxford (also via Heathrow), special cost of £30 single.

Train Travel Over Christmas

Early last trains run through Oxford train station on Christmas Eve, and severely reduced services run on Boxing Day; for details of how your journey will be affected, I suggest using National Rail's Journey Planner

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Feeding the Birds

Now is a really good time to put out water for your garden birds, as this can actually be harder for them to find than food in this weather.

Get a shallow dish (you don't want to risk drowning them!) and fill it with tap water and put it outside on a highish surface, ideally near a bush so that the birds can come and check it out from somewhere they feel safe. You may have to break the ice on it (or crack the ice out of it and refill it with water) each morning. If you have a pond, leave a tennis (or other buoyant) ball in it - this should create an un-iced breathing hole for any frogs taking refuge in your pond, and birds may be able to drink there too.

The RSPB has a fabulous page (actually, two - one just on scraps and one of general advice) all about how not to kill birds with the wrong sorts of edible kindness. In summary:

Yes:

Seeds
Nuts
PURE lard or suet (not salted or mixed with meat juices)
Fresh coconut
Peanuts (make sure you get them certified aflatoxin-free)
Cooked rice
Dried oats
Bread
Pastry (cooked or uncooked, as long as it's not heavily seasoned)
Fresh or dried fruit
Potatoes (open up baked ones so the birds can get at them)

No:

Milk products (a bit of mild cheese is OK though)
Anything salty (salt is very toxic to small birds)
Anything starchy and dried, eg biscuits, dessicated coconut (it can swell up inside the stomach and kill them). Large birds can handle dried lentils, but small birds can't and they won't necessarily know this themselves. Strange but true.
Anything mouldy (can lead to respiratory problems)
Dried rice
Cooked oats