Going crackers for Christmas! Man, 62, has pretended it’s December 25th every day for 33 years – he’s eaten almost 14,000 turkeys and over two million mince pies
A Christmas fanatic has revealed how he’s celebrated the festive event every single day for 33 years.
Andy Park, 62, from Melksham in Wiltshire, has refused to let recent temperatures of up to 36C stop his daily celebrations, instead opening presents with his feet in a paddling pool and cooking his Yuletide dinner on the barbeque.
The self-confessed ‘Mr Christmas’ has followed the tradition since 14 July, 1993, when he decided to cheer himself up after returning home from work on a boiling hot day.
Andy, who repairs washing machines and cookers for a living, said of the sweltering heat that gripped the UK over the summer: ‘It’s been so hot, it’s been unbearable. It’s been crazy – up to 36 degrees here, I believe.
‘But every day is Christmas Day to me and I’ve got to do what I do, no matter what. No matter if it’s freezing cold or boiling up, I still do it.’
Andy’s daily celebrations typically include presents, crackers, a roast dinner with all the trimmings, mince pies and sherry.
Andy Park, 62, from Melksham in Wiltshire, has celebrated Christmas day every single day for 33 years
Andy’s daily celebrations typically include presents, crackers, a roast dinner with all the trimmings, mince pies and sherry
His festive obsession has also cost a fortune, with Andy estimating he has spent around £1 million on Christmas over the past 33 years
His day starts at 8am with four or five mince pies and a glass of sherry, before preparing Christmas dinner and heading to work for a few hours.
At 3pm, he watches the Queens speech – or the King’s, depending on how he feels – before continuing the festivities.
He also buys himself presents every day and writes Christmas cards to himself, although he now delivers them through his own letterbox to avoid paying for stamps.
Despite living the same routine for more than three decades, Andy says he remains just as excited every morning.
He explained: ‘Every morning I wake up, I’m so excited because I know I’ve got a couple of presents to open under the tree.
‘And I just can’t wait to get down the stairs, get some sherry poured out and get a little bit of Christmas pudding, some mince pies out and get stuck into them.’
Andy’s quirky tradition began after he returned from a washing machine delivery on 14 July, 1993.
He said: ‘It was a boiling hot day. I got back home and thought, “there must be something I can do other than what I’m doing now.” I got into the loft, got all the decorations out, the Christmas tree, crackers, party poppers, the lights.
His day starts at 8am with four or five mince pies and a glass of sherry, before preparing Christmas dinner and heading to work for a few hours. At 3pm, he watches the Queens speech – or the King’s, depending on how he feels – before continuing the festivities
Andy has refused to let temperatures of up to 36C stop his daily celebrations over the summer, instead opening presents with his feet in a paddling pool and cooking his Christmas dinner on the barbeque
Andy says he buys himself presents every day and writes Christmas cards to himself, although he now delivers them through his own letterbox to avoid paying for stamps
He found a VHS recording of the Queen’s speech, decorated the house and cooked himself a Christmas dinner of chicken and frozen sprouts.
Andy added: ‘I thought, here we are, this is Christmas Day, on a hot July summer day.’
The following day, he bought himself presents, placed them under the tree and did it all again.
He said: ‘I got to like it really, a hell of a lot. And ever since then, I’ve never looked back.’
His festive obsession has also cost a fortune, with Andy estimating he has spent around £1 million on Christmas over the past 33 years.
He claims to have gone through around 7,500 Christmas crackers and 7,500 party poppers every year, as well as almost 14,000 turkeys, 1.25 million Brussels sprouts and 2.25 million mince pies.
Andy also estimated he has enjoyed around 14,000 bottles of champagne, alongside his daily glass of sherry.
He said: ‘Presents, parties – it does add up a bit. People have said, “You’ve got to watch what you eat, be careful, don’t overdo it,” and all that stuff. But I feel good.’
He claims to have gone through around 7,500 Christmas crackers and 7,500 party poppers every year, as well as almost 14,000 turkeys, 1.25 million Brussels sprouts and 2.25 million mince pies
Andy – also known as ‘Mr Christmas’ – also claims to have enjoyed 14,000 bottles of champagne, alongside his daily glass of sherry
His family has largely accepted his unusual lifestyle, while his grandchildren particularly enjoy visiting because there is always a present waiting for them
However, Andy keeps costs down by buying decorations in the January sales, saying he can get £600 worth for £60.
He said: ‘A lot of people will say, “oh, it’s a waste of time doing that”, but to me, it is Christmas, so I might as well buy them now and get them up, you know?
‘It’s nice. That’s why my decorations in the house all look nice and fresh.’
His family has largely accepted his unusual lifestyle, while his grandchildren particularly enjoy visiting because there is always a present waiting for them.
‘They just let me get on with what I want to do,’ Andy said.
‘The grandkids, they love coming over here; there’s always a present for them under the tree.’
And Andy has another reason to celebrate, with the Great Christmas channel launching on Freeview on 26 August – 121 days before Christmas Day.
He said: ‘I can’t wait for the new Great Christmas channel launching on August 26. Christmas movies right up until January.
‘Can you imagine? I can watch Christmas movies every single day.’
