Christmas Traditions

It has been some time since I’ve written about office dogs Poppy and Ralph, and while I’ve been busy buying them lots of squeaky toys to terrorise us with play with on Christmas day, I’ve also been thinking about the Christmas traditions my family have adopted and how our dogs make it so much better! I thought I would share with you what I love about dogs being part of our family at Christmas time.

The Build-Up:

Ok, I am guilty of accessorising my dogs for Christmas. There is a part of my brain that cannot control itself when I see Christmas outfits and accessories for dogs, or a vaguely Christmas themed toy. Poppy and Ralph will momentarily put with being dressed in some festive accessories if I bribe them with enough treats. I made a deal with them - if they put up with the Christmas accessories for long enough for me to get a few photos, I’ll only make them dress up once. Maybe twice.
It’s a festive tradition that they put up with because I only give them the BEST treats to ensure their co-operation. Everyone wins. Especially all my friends on social media who obviously cannot wait to see how adorable my pets are in their festive getup.

Christmas Eve:

Preparing for Father Christmas’ arrival is always fun, and everyone settles down for a nice meal before we fill up on Christmas chocolates and watch festive films. Nothing says Christmas Eve quite like cosying up on the sofa with a Christmas film, a peppermint hot chocolate (my personal festive drink of choice) and Jack Russell or two curled up next to you.

Christmas traditions have changed since dogs have come and gone, and it can be a little sad looking back over the years and seeing photos of pets that are no longer with us. Years ago we had a Border Collie cross German Shepherd rescue called Gemma, who had a fondness for carrots. Every Christmas eve we would put a carrot out for Rudolf and give one to Gemma to prevent her eating the carrots meant for the reindeer. It didn’t always work, but it was a Christmas tradition!

 Christmas Day:

I love Christmas Day with pets. Christmas changes as we get older, but there is always the joy of seeing our dogs get completely over-excited when they join in with opening presents. I wrap up presents for the dogs in loosely secured wrapping paper so they can get their paws involved in opening their own presents. Ralph is more difficult to please though, and will play with his new toy for a moment before coming back to see if the humans got given anything more exciting for him to play with. Queue lots of Christmas games of chase where Ralph has adopted those new socks you got from your aunt and decided they are now his third Christmas toy.
There is always that very British tradition of the Christmas walk after dinner, which of course gets the dogs involved too! When everyone has eaten their weekly calorie allowance in Christmas food, the last thing I want to do is get up and go for a walk. Nothing motivates me to move more than seeing two hyperactive small dogs wearing leads preparing to perform a running leap onto me and my full belly. We get up, layer up the with scarves and gloves, and head out for a bit of fresh air after all the festivities are over.

We absolutely love Christmas here at Purrfectly Yappy, and can’t wait for the big day! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your pets and family, and hopefully we’ve made Christmas shopping that little bit easier with our gift ideas!

Here’s a few throwback snaps from last Christmas’ dress up with Poppy and Ralph for you to enjoy - Poppy wanted the treats a bit too much and didn't sit quite as still...