Nicola here! I hope everyone has enjoyed a happy and peaceful Christmas Day. In the UK it's Boxing Day, an odd title that has nothing to do with the sport of boxing but lots to do with boxes. (I'm told that Boxing Day isn't celebrated in the US although it is in some other countries. I'm hoping people around the globe can let me know whether it is or not.) The first written mention of "boxing day" comes from Samuel Pepys diaries in 1663: "Thence by coach to my shoemaker's... and gave something to the boys' box against Christmas." The tradition was for patrons to give tradesmen and servants Christmas boxes, usually made of pottery and containing cash or gifts. I 
rather like the idea of a pottery box - it's a cut above cardboard, although there are some beautiful cardboard Christmas boxes around. Five years later, Pepys mentioned boxes again, although he wasn't in quite such a jolly Christmas mood, recording in his diary: "Called up by drums and trumpets; these things and boxes having cost me much money this Christmas."
To my pleasure I did receive a gift "box" at Christmas; it contains shortbread biscuits and has a picture of a guide dog puppy on the front! What about you - did you receive any Christmas boxes this year? Whether you have been woken by drums or trumpets, or received a lovely china box for Christmas, we wish you a happy boxing day and here are some pictures from Charles Dickens' house to celebrate the festive season!
