Yahoo Lifestyle 'I had to wrap 280 Christmas presents'
While most of us have a family feast on Christmas Day, a small army of volunteers are giving up their day to ensure others are not left on their own.
Margaret Peacock has spent the last 40 Christmases serving up a huge community meal for people who would otherwise spend the day isolated.
"People want to be with their families at Christmas and they don't think about people who are alone," she told BBC News NI.
The Coleraine pensioner tries to provide "a good hot dinner, entertainment and a present for everyone" on 25 December.
Some of the food is donated by local businesses but aside from a small annual subscription, gifts are paid for by Margaret, her family and friends.
"Last year I had to wrap 280 presents," she said.
She starts collecting gifts every January so that all her guests leave "with at least three presents each".
Her Christmas gatherings were inspired by her beloved uncle Jimmy, who became a father figure after she lost her parents.
"Uncle Jimmy took over from my parents," she added, explaining that even in her late teens, she still needed support from a loving older relative.
Jimmy, who was unmarried and lived alone, died 40 years ago.
In tribute to the kind-hearted bachelor, she organised a festive feast for people who had no-one to celebrate with.
"We begged and borrowed the first year," she recalled.
"We stayed up all night that Christmas Eve cooking turkeys and hams."
This year she is hosting about 70 people in Rathain Fold for a full day of feasting.
Her team start cooking before dawn and welcome guests around noon with tea, coffee and biscuits.
A belly-busting four-course lunch is served an hour later, with meats donated by the Quays restaurant, Portrush.
"Last year, there were five different dessert choices, and some of them had the whole five," Margaret laughed.
Live entertainment and bingo are followed by a "high tea" of home baking and Christmas pie in late afternoon, before Santa arrives with individual presents.
"That's the end of the evening, and then the hard cleaning and work begins."
'I put the phone down on Buckingham Palace'
Margaret is grateful that her niece and other volunteers help her keep the celebrations going.
Suffering from fibromyalgia and diabetes, she also needs a knee operation which she has been "putting off to January" due to her busy schedule.
Her decades of voluntary work, both at Christmas and as a director of Fibromyalgia Support Northern Ireland, have been recognised in high places.
In 2022 she was invited to King Charles' coronation, which she initially thought was a scam.
"I put the phone down on the man," she laughed, adding Buckingham palace called back to reassure her it was genuine.
Last year, Margaret received an award from the then prime minister Rishi Sunak, who said her efforts to bring people together "embodies the true spirit of the festive period".
'We want to help out'
In Newry, Indian restaurant owner Gaurav Barot, his wife and children will be serving up free food to anyone who needs a hot meal on Christmas Day.
"We want to give back to the community," he said.
"We got good local support when we opened and we were welcomed really well in town."
His restaurant began trading in August 2023 but two months later it narrowly escaped the Halloween floods which damaged much of central Newry.
Gaurav said he was lucky because he only had to shut for two days, but was "100%" impressed with how local people supported the flood-hit traders.
It inspired him to provide free takeaways last Christmas, and this year he will repeat the gesture, serving about 100 meals from noon onwards.
"A lot of people are struggling with money and we want to help out."
He plans to close at 16:00 GMT to return home for a traditional Christmas celebration with his extended family.
"My wife is originally from Newry," he explains.
"I'm Hindu but my wife is Catholic and our kids are growing up in a mixed religion - Hindu and Catholic.
"My wife has a big family here... so we get together once we finish here and then we have a meal - her family join us as well."
'My kids love the banter'
County Fermanagh cafe manager Glenn Johnson sought permission from his wife and children before he started inviting people to share their family Christmases nine years ago.
"At that time my youngest was 12 and my other two children were 14 and 16," he recalled.
"I had to ask them first because it affects them too, and they were happy to go for it."
The family now spends every Christmas Day serving a community dinner in Ardess Parish Church hall in Kesh.
"Our minister at the time was very much into 'everybody has something to give'," said Mr Johnson.
"And I suppose, I can cook, I can't really do much else. So I thought: 'How could I use my cooking skills to help the church?'"
This Christmas they expect about 30 guests, many of whom attend every year.
"There are people there for different reasons. Some people are on their own, some are couples on their own, their family is away in Australia or somewhere like that," Glenn said.
Originally, he thought of the event as "a life lesson for our children, to set them on a good path to help others".
But now his whole family really look forward to the dinner and getting a "catch-up" with old friends.
"They enjoy it, they love the banter and the chat," Glenn added.
"I think if we didn't do it now people would be disappointed - and we'd be disappointed."
