Before you pack up all those holiday decorations do future-you a favour: clean them.

"Is Macca's open on Christmas Day?" This is a question more Aussies ask themselves than you might think. The good news is that there will be plenty of McDonald's stores offering piping hot Big Macs on December 25 and 26 - you can find the nearest available outlet to your location here.

Amazon Australia has a bunch of great sale items in the lead up to Christmas. Here are a few of the best offers in case you're after a few last minute stocking stuffers.

It's Christmas Eve and, hopefully, you'll have finished shopping for all those last minute gifts. But there's still one more task - wrapping those presents. Assuming you have all your paper, tape and ribbon supplies at the ready, you're ready to start the job of covering all those items with some festive wrapping. Here are a few different techniques you can try to get those goodies covered in festive goodness as quickly as possible.

It’s crunch time, people. If you don’t have a gift for someone by now, you’re in trouble. Here are some last minute things you can get that don’t scream, “I got this while waiting in line at Priceline!”

While Christmas is the time for giving, Boxing Day is traditionally the day for buying. There are heaps of sales coming up, with retailer revenue tipped to be the biggest on record. Here are some of the deals that will kick off after Christmas. And a few that are getting an early start.

It gives me no holiday cheer to report that humbug.com has no associations with the holiday season—nor marleywasdead.com, alas, but I’m sure that’ll get swept up if someone ever decides to make another animated version of A Christmas Carol. (Pixar?)

I am all about a holiday ham, particularly when accompanied by a sticky-sweet glaze. The salty, fatty slices of pork taste good without much fussing on your part. Since all spiral-cut hams you’ll find in the store are already cooked, all you have to to do is heat them up.

The key, of course, is not drying it out while doing so.

For those who celebrate Christmas, I’ve come to realise that everyone handles Santa a little differently. In our home, Santa fills the stocking and brings 2-3 gifts. The rest of the gifts come from me and my husband.

We decided to do it this way early on so that we could explain to our son why it was still important to donate and help others in need at Christmastime.

Holiday parties are often more trouble than they’re worth. By the time December’s half over and you’ve survived a sloppy open bar or three, the idea of leaving the house ever again can be pretty unappetizing.

This year, take a cue from the Russians: Stay in and throw a banging dinner party.

I am laughably bad at building gingerbread houses. In fact, the process is so stressful, several members of my family refuse to partake in this holiday activity with me. Beyond aesthetics, my main issue lies in the fact that my houses are always falling down, and that makes me say ugly words, but I've found some tasty reinforcement in the form of Rice Krispies Treats.

We're still a couple of weeks away from Christmas and have you noticed something different from previous years? You can still order stuff online and have it delivered in time for Santa to get it into his sack and bring it down the chimney. What's changed over the year? It seems the arrival of one particular overseas retailer has transformed local retail for the better.

Christmas is here, and that means the chance to huddle around the TV and watch Christmas movies with your kid(s)! But there are so many out there. And most of them are terrible.

We are deep in what may be the most stressful time of the year — and that’s for people who like the holidays. The travel, the expense, the family dynamics: end of the year celebrations can make a Grinch out of anyone. Here’s how you can get into the holiday spirit without being taught a lesson by various ghosts.

It feels kind of incongruous to think of Nazis celebrating Christmas, but adapting the yearly holiday was apparently a key part of the new way of life Hitler and his followers were trying to build. In an attempt to rid Christmas of any Jewish implications, however, it was reinvented with a more Germanic pagan vibe.

I don't remember the moment I stopped believing in Santa, but I remember the utterly perfect way my mum handled it when I finally asked.

My eight-year-old son confided something to me earlier this week: For years, around Christmastime, he’d been looking for his elf.

Worried about packing on the pounds with all the feasting, parties and delicious gifts of the holiday season? I've got some good news for you then: science says holiday weight gain isn't nearly as big a deal as you think it is.

Christmas is one of the biggest times for retail in Austrlaia, with billions of dollars expected to be spent on gifts. But while there are lots of sales on, is there a place for used goods on your Christmas shopping list? Some research suggests many of us would be happy with a high quality or unique second hand item rather than a lower quality brand new item.