christmas

No one likes being squashed around shops on Oxford Street in December. It's much nicer to sit in your living room with a glass of wine and buy all your presents online. However, the last online shopping day for Christmas is rapidly approaching, so you'd better hurry.

To help you out we've gathered together some brilliant gift ideas for all the family. Though we've sorted them into categories, of course, who are we to say that your sister wouldn't want a football shirt, or your Dad wouldn't want a tea set.

Make sureyou also check out our full Online Christmas Shop.

With Christmas now less than a month away, the Festive season is in full swing in London. Lights are going up, ice rinks are appearing and loads of special events are going on all over the Capital.

We've gathered together seven of the best Christmassy things happening in London over the next month to get you in the mood.

With Christmas just a week away, our writers are giving their views on the festive season in a series of posts. Last week we had Colombian student Johanna describing her first Christmas in England and Erik explaining the tradition of St Nicolas' Day in his home country of Slovakia. Here Shaun Dent describes his relationship with Christmas:

"Christmas for me is a bit of a double edged sword. I love Christmas itself. Going right back to my childhood, it consists of getting new toys, spending time locked up in the warmth playing with new toys, and eating far too much. What more could you want with your time off?

I tend to work right up till Christmas so this is still very much a holiday for me, as I didn't like going to school a great deal either. Also no university essays are looming anymore, which is far more pleasant. The toys may change (tablet computers rather than Lego), whilst some stay the same (I have some gaming to catch up on...), but a lot about Christmas still feels as good as it always does.

Chances are you've got some free time at the moment over the university holidays. And what is the best way to spend spare time? By watching YouTube videos of course. Here we've gathered together some of the very best Christmassy videos the internet has to offer. Sit back and enjoy.

A Very Modern Nativity

Ever wondered how the Nativity story would play out in today's world of social media, mobile phones, emails and Amazon? Well wonder no more, as the charming video below shows you just that.

With Christmas just round the corner, our writers are giving their views of the festive season in a new series of posts. Earlier in the week we had Colombian student Johanna describing her first Christmas in England. Here Erik describes the tradition of St Nicolas' Day in his home country of Slovakia:

"I knew that in the UK nothing special happens on the December 6th, but I hung my stocking in the window anyway. But Saint Nicolas did not show up. Maybe he didn't find the way as he doesn't visit children in the UK. Or, his sledge might have been shot down by the missiles installed before the Olympics. In the following article, I would like to describe to you the small pre-Christmas festival- Saint Nicolas' Day.

The Tradition of St Nicolas

Originally, Saint Nicolas is a Christian tradition, just like Christmas really. Nicolas was a bishop who lived in Turkey in the 3rd century. There was a poor family with three daughters living in the same city. I would say that no one would marry them due to their looks, but according to the story the family did not even have enough money to support a marriage.