The most popular Christmas idioms

Be no angel- sometimes behave badly

Christmas comes but one in year – used as an excuse for over indulgence, whether on food or on gifts, on the basis that it doesn’t happen often

Cold turkey – nothing to do with eating leftovers from Christmas dinner but the sudden and complete withdrawal from an addictive substance

Deck the halls– decking (or decorating) one’s hall with branches from a holly tree is an old tradition

Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle – don’t get stressed out trying to make Christmas perfect

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth  – don’t be ungrateful when you receive a present, even if it’s not exactly what you wanted

Good things come in small packages – the size of a gift doesn’t determine what’s inside; in the same way a small person may have a big heart

Lit up like a Christmas tree – nothing to do with decorations but used to describe an intense military attack on enemy positions

The proof of the pudding – in order to fully test something you need to experience it yourself

There’s no time like the present – a reminder that there are things in our lives we can take charge of and accomplish with a little hard work

‘Tis the season to be jolly – taken from a Christmas carol, this phrase serves as a reminder to put on a happy face over the festive period

Trim the tree– nothing to do with cutting, this is an old reference to decorating a pine tree with ornaments, lights and other glittery bits

White Christmas  – when it snows at Christmas time