How the Internet Has Changed the Face of the Traditional British Christmas

The rise of technology and the introduction of new forms of entertainment made possible by the internet has meant that the traditional British family Christmas is radically different to how it was when today's parents were children.

Gone are the days when the family would all sit down together to watch the Queen's three o'clock speech before spending the evening playing board games waiting to watch some special Christmas film on BBC1.

Nowadays, families are just as likely to spend Christmas day in separate rooms on different devices, enjoying some of the presents they've just received: Xbox games, online games, eBooks, downloaded music, or the latest streamed box set on their new Netflix subscription.

The internet now plays a pivotal role in the new traditional family Christmas.

From ordering your turkey online, to setting up an Amazon Wish list to send to your Grandma (hoping she knows how to buy it for you), to Skype-ing your relatives all across the globe on Christmas morning, the online world now impacts on Christmas like never before.

Christmas Day will see a flurry of posts on social media – selfies showing off Christmas jumpers or greetings sent to friends and relatives around the world.

So what was it really like before the digital age? Keep listening to find out, when I'll try to explain to Oscar, my thirteen-year-old son, what a British Christmas was like before there was an internet.

（Merry Christmas!)