Frank Wilson has spent every one of his 33 Christmases at home with his mum and dad and believes that, no matter how old you are, or how mature you feel, when it comes to going back home you'll always be a child. Frank's mother still digs out embarrassing decorations he made when he was at school.
Of course, many people would rather spend the festivities with their friends...
"Every year I decide I'm not going home. But I never manage to say it to my mother who rings me up in June to ask me what I'm doing for Christmas."
Erin's mother has moved to Portugal and now sends her an early Christmas present - the money to fly out and visit her. "This year I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd made arrangements to go to a cottage and have a knees up. But she's laid it on thick about how little she sees me now ... I feel scared actually, I don't want her to think I don't love her and I don't want her to be alone."
However joyous the reunion, though, cracks soon begin to appear in the family facade.
"My mum and dad don't like swearing at all and I can't help it sometimes. One Christmas I'd had too many shandies and I swore. My dad went berserk! He put his knife and fork down and said, 'get to your room now!' And I said, 'Dad, I'm 28 and I'm not going to my room!'"
For some people, the annual pilgrimage back home is a real pleasure.
"It's back to being a little girl. Mum make me breakfast in bed and says, 'I've got a stocking for you!' - I'm 35 by the way - and I find myself saying, 'yes, OK I'll have shambled egg for breakfast this morning.' So I really indulge in being a little girl and enjoy being smothered."
Reunions with your siblings aren't always trouble free. Last year was especially stressful for Tim:
"Both my brothers had got partners, and I wasn't seeing anyone at the time. It felt like failure because my brothers had managed to sort themselves out very nicely and were spending Christmas somewhere else. But I hadn't sorted myself out and was therefore at home for Christmas".
