10 things that always happen without fail on Boxing Day

Today you only have one job – chill out.

Boxing Day is one of those days where millions of people up and down the country do a lot of the same things but mainly nothing at all.

Aside from watching Love Actually (because that’s a given), here are a few things you’ll probably relate to today…

1. You’ll wake up groggy and a tiny bit (or very) hungover

There’s no getting away from this one, you most likely drank from 9am solidly until midnight on Christmas day. No matter how many roast potatoes you ate to soak up the booze, you know you definitely didn’t alternate your bucks fizz/mulled wine/Baileys with water, so a headache is very, very probable today. Thankfully recovery is exactly what Boxing Day was meant for.

2. You’ll have a massive mess of a living room

Mountains of wrapping paper, empty chocolate boxes (did you really eat all the Quality Street?!), toys and presents strewn about, and the tree in total disarray. You don’t dare look in the kitchen…

3. You’ll have leftover roast dinner for breakfast

Is there anything better than roast potatoes and veg smushed together and fried with some cheese, and maybe an egg on top? Or maybe there’s some leftover turkey to add to a bacon sandwich for extra Christmas meatiness (stuffing works too).

4. You won’t get dressed until well into the afternoon

Yes, you’ve regressed to childhood, and it’s fine. You can slump around in your pyjamas for as long as you like, while batting away questions from parents (and children) about whether or not you plan to get dressed today.

5. You’ll watch approximately seven hours of telly

Three Christmas films back-to-back? Why the hell not, it’s Boxing day, and it’s pretty much your duty to relax today more than you’ve ever relaxed before. You’ll probably get really into whatever really tragic story line is on EastEnders, despite not watching it for the rest of the year.

6. You’ll have a meal approximately every two hours

It has to be eaten and you’re happy to take on the job; and of course, there’ll be several cheese courses.

7. You’ll play with your presents

OK, so as a child it was toys, but nothing’s really changed – you play with your new gadgets, try on your new clothes or start your new books.

8. You’ll go for a Boxing Day walk

Sure, it was pretty hard to part from your pyjamas and fluffy socks but you managed it. The cold, fresh air does wonders for your hangover and you convince yourself that the hour stroll has burned off the three helpings of roast dinner and two chocolate Santas.

9. You’ll play a board game

Probably the one and only time of the year (unless you also played one yesterday) when your family crowd around for a game of Scrabble or Articulate, and it almost always ends up with an argument, someone cheating, everyone giving up halfway through (why did you even start Monopoly?).

Unless you’ve chosen Trivial Pursuit – then you discover a family member’s surprising talent for random general knowledge, or how someone knows shockingly little.

10. You’ll nap

You may have slept in until 11am but all that cheese has made you sleepy. And you already know the ending to the films, anyway.

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