I have never been a religious person, so after my ‘lovely’ older brother decided to show off his cleverness by telling me that Santa Claus did not actually exist, my magical world was shattered and I no longer cared for Christmas.

Until I grew up when I actually started to enjoy it again, mainly because it was one of the few times in the year were my (big) family and friends would sit down together, eat for hours, chat and play games.

Although I no longer wait until midnight for Santa to sneak in to my flat and leave my well-deserved presents, I still enjoy sitting around a table and eat, drink, eat, play games, exchange presents in a relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere.

When leaving abroad we do create our own families and share our different cultures and traditions even culinary ones.

This coming Free Food Night at deciBel is a special one since it will fall on Christmas Eve.

A couple of the amateur chefs that have cooked in the past for the classic Tuesday Free Food will come back together to share some of the dishes that they would normally eat back home with their families….and I will be one of them!

As always, the food will be free for any drink purchase and there will be a Christmas tree if you want to put your presents under it for your friends.