It's not just the emergency services who work on December 25, people will be working today to help the homeless, drive people to their festive lunches or fix your leaking toilet.
The Huffington Post UK speaks to 10 people who are either working today or have worked to make some aspect of your Christmas possible.
You Can't Have Christmas Without These People
Santa's Grotto staff(01 of10)
Kirsty Ebbsworth has been an elf at Millets Farm in Oxford for five years.
"I take the role really seriously and have worked hard on perfecting the qualities you need - you can't have a down day, you've got to have a constant smile on your face," she said.
I work either in the grotto, bakery or stock room every day from mid November until Christmas Eve. This year we made 40,000 mince pies. We meet hundreds of children and I'm tired at the end of each day - I go to sleep with grotto songs whizzing round in my head but it's the best job in the world, especially when you get to help Santa give out the gifts." (credit:Pawel Libera via Getty Images)
"I take the role really seriously and have worked hard on perfecting the qualities you need - you can't have a down day, you've got to have a constant smile on your face," she said.
I work either in the grotto, bakery or stock room every day from mid November until Christmas Eve. This year we made 40,000 mince pies. We meet hundreds of children and I'm tired at the end of each day - I go to sleep with grotto songs whizzing round in my head but it's the best job in the world, especially when you get to help Santa give out the gifts." (credit:Pawel Libera via Getty Images)
The emergency repair man(02 of10)
Boilers break down on Christmas Day too.
Self-employed plumber and repair man John Bailey has worked on-call for the last 15 years on Christmas Day.
“I’m quite lucky as my kids are all grown up, so my wife and I don’t have anything planned for Christmas day and I’m on call. When people ring me, they’re in trouble and they need help, and they could call at any point with any issue like the oven has broken down and there’s a turkey the size of a small child that needs to be cooked.," he says.
I have a commitment to get them through the day. I don’t charge a call out fee, I charge by the hour.” “The family take it well, because I’ve been doing it for 15 years and they’re used to it. If you have a young family, it’s important make sure they understand why you aren’t there for parts of the day and that it’s a job. I work for myself and you’re not going to turn down a job because it’s Christmas, though the money is not the motivator. I do it so that people’s Christmas day isn’t ruined."
Mr Bailey used to work in catering, often fixing ovens that would break down. He added: "In that area, there’s no such thing as a Saturday or a Sunday or a Bank Holiday. There’s no 9 to 5. It can happen anytime, anywhere, regardless, so it was a natural progression to start working on Christmas Day when I started working for myself.”
Self-employed plumber and repair man John Bailey has worked on-call for the last 15 years on Christmas Day.
“I’m quite lucky as my kids are all grown up, so my wife and I don’t have anything planned for Christmas day and I’m on call. When people ring me, they’re in trouble and they need help, and they could call at any point with any issue like the oven has broken down and there’s a turkey the size of a small child that needs to be cooked.," he says.
I have a commitment to get them through the day. I don’t charge a call out fee, I charge by the hour.” “The family take it well, because I’ve been doing it for 15 years and they’re used to it. If you have a young family, it’s important make sure they understand why you aren’t there for parts of the day and that it’s a job. I work for myself and you’re not going to turn down a job because it’s Christmas, though the money is not the motivator. I do it so that people’s Christmas day isn’t ruined."
Mr Bailey used to work in catering, often fixing ovens that would break down. He added: "In that area, there’s no such thing as a Saturday or a Sunday or a Bank Holiday. There’s no 9 to 5. It can happen anytime, anywhere, regardless, so it was a natural progression to start working on Christmas Day when I started working for myself.”
The charity workers(03 of10)
On Christmas Day, the Gloucestershire charity Gear Projects expects more than 80 homeless people to visit.
Chief executive Darryl Smith said: "This Christmas Day our staff, with the support of volunteers and local faith organisations, will provide a day of warmth, shelter and good company for those who find themselves homeless at Christmas.
"This will include a hot breakfast, Christmas Dinner as well as a hot supper that can be taken away by our service users.
"We are busy all year but due to colder weather and limited daylight during the winter months there is an increase of people using our services."
"We aim to provide a bit of normality and festive cheer to people who are experiencing a difficult time."
But he said it was "a time of uncertainty" for the charity, as it may have to close some key services due to a lack of money next year.
He added: "We hope that we can continue to keep doing the work to help the vulnerable people who rely on us." (credit:Paul Bradbury via Getty Images)
Chief executive Darryl Smith said: "This Christmas Day our staff, with the support of volunteers and local faith organisations, will provide a day of warmth, shelter and good company for those who find themselves homeless at Christmas.
"This will include a hot breakfast, Christmas Dinner as well as a hot supper that can be taken away by our service users.
"We are busy all year but due to colder weather and limited daylight during the winter months there is an increase of people using our services."
"We aim to provide a bit of normality and festive cheer to people who are experiencing a difficult time."
But he said it was "a time of uncertainty" for the charity, as it may have to close some key services due to a lack of money next year.
He added: "We hope that we can continue to keep doing the work to help the vulnerable people who rely on us." (credit:Paul Bradbury via Getty Images)
A+E Staff(04 of10)
Around 70,000 people were admitted to hospital on Christmas Day, 2013.
A+E nurse Sarah Williams will be among those working to keep the hospitals running as normal on December 25, when similar numbers will be turning up.
"My hours remain the same over the festive period, with shifts being 7.45am to 8pm. Things are definitely busier at this time of year, with the cold weather being a major contributor and we see a big increase in alcohol related illness and injuries," she said.
"There's a lot of pressure on staff at this time of year and it can be extremely difficult at times but we still have the Christmas decorations up on the ward to keep us in the festive spirit.
"Otherwise it's business as usual, ultimately the safety and care of the patients is our number one priority." (credit:Sarah Williams)
A+E nurse Sarah Williams will be among those working to keep the hospitals running as normal on December 25, when similar numbers will be turning up.
"My hours remain the same over the festive period, with shifts being 7.45am to 8pm. Things are definitely busier at this time of year, with the cold weather being a major contributor and we see a big increase in alcohol related illness and injuries," she said.
"There's a lot of pressure on staff at this time of year and it can be extremely difficult at times but we still have the Christmas decorations up on the ward to keep us in the festive spirit.
"Otherwise it's business as usual, ultimately the safety and care of the patients is our number one priority." (credit:Sarah Williams)
The butcher who prepared your turkey(05 of10)
Or whichever meat you eat on Christmas Day. These days, well-stocked butchers prepare lots of different meats to suit people's broader tastes.
“It’s not just turkeys people want these days – customers like something a bit different, so we’re preparing lots of multi-bird roasts, goose, partridge. We even do wild boar," says Paula Riley, co-owner of Riley's Butchers in Lancashire.
“The run up to Christmas is always busy for us. In the past we’ve worked until midnight and then come in at 4am the next day.
“We want to make sure our workers enjoy Christmas and aren’t exhausted when the shop shuts on Christmas Eve, so we always take on extra staff just to make things like our pigs in blankets and pork pies."
She added: “We know lots of people who work right through until Christmas hate it and we didn’t want our staff to feel that way. They’re every bit as important as our customers if not more so, so we always make sure they leave the shop ready to go and enjoy Christmas with their families.” (credit:evgenyb via Getty Images)
“It’s not just turkeys people want these days – customers like something a bit different, so we’re preparing lots of multi-bird roasts, goose, partridge. We even do wild boar," says Paula Riley, co-owner of Riley's Butchers in Lancashire.
“The run up to Christmas is always busy for us. In the past we’ve worked until midnight and then come in at 4am the next day.
“We want to make sure our workers enjoy Christmas and aren’t exhausted when the shop shuts on Christmas Eve, so we always take on extra staff just to make things like our pigs in blankets and pork pies."
She added: “We know lots of people who work right through until Christmas hate it and we didn’t want our staff to feel that way. They’re every bit as important as our customers if not more so, so we always make sure they leave the shop ready to go and enjoy Christmas with their families.” (credit:evgenyb via Getty Images)
Taxi drivers(06 of10)
With virtually no public transport in London on December 25, taxi drivers will give up their Christmas to fill the gap.
Justin Peters, the founder of minicab booking app Kabbee said: “With no train services on Christmas and Boxing Day, we owe our drivers a lot, as they take on increased demand from commuters. Around 80% of all the drivers that work on our fleets have given up Christmas Day this year.” (credit:Katie Collins/PA Archive)
Justin Peters, the founder of minicab booking app Kabbee said: “With no train services on Christmas and Boxing Day, we owe our drivers a lot, as they take on increased demand from commuters. Around 80% of all the drivers that work on our fleets have given up Christmas Day this year.” (credit:Katie Collins/PA Archive)
The hospitality industry(07 of10)
More and more people are opting to pay for their Christmas lunch and avoid the stress and washing up and so more and more of people in the hospitality sector will be working that day.
George O'Malley, operations manager at the Best Western Plus in Epping Forest, said: "The most interesting element of the hotel profession is that you’re working in a 24/7, 365 days a year industry. Other sectors within the hospitality industry close for some parts of the Christmas, but as a hotel we remain open throughout the festive period.
"During Christmas the working day tends to be slightly longer than normal but doesn’t contrast greatly to the rest of the year. In fact we tend to have more team members on duty, which makes light work for everyone involved. The team insist on wearing Christmas jumpers and Santa hats.” (credit:Chris Ryan via Getty Images)
George O'Malley, operations manager at the Best Western Plus in Epping Forest, said: "The most interesting element of the hotel profession is that you’re working in a 24/7, 365 days a year industry. Other sectors within the hospitality industry close for some parts of the Christmas, but as a hotel we remain open throughout the festive period.
"During Christmas the working day tends to be slightly longer than normal but doesn’t contrast greatly to the rest of the year. In fact we tend to have more team members on duty, which makes light work for everyone involved. The team insist on wearing Christmas jumpers and Santa hats.” (credit:Chris Ryan via Getty Images)
IT staff(08 of10)
Believe it or not, a fifth of IT workers will be staff on Christmas Day.
One of them is Bryan Hunter, 20,from Glasgow, who is a server support technician for cloud company iomart. He says he'll spend Christmas Day "keeping the internet working". His job is to monitor the servers in the data centres that keep the company's customers’ businesses online and deal with any issues that might arise.
“I’ll be in the data centre to deal with any queries that come up which could be someone’s email going down or a server not working properly," he says. "Thankfully it’s usually a quiet day for ecommerce and online business generally so the number of ‘tickets’ should be about a quarter of what we normally deal with.
“I’ve chosen to work on Christmas Day because quite a few colleagues have children so it’s easier for me to work while they get to spend time with their families.
"There’ll be a couple of us on duty so we’ll get some Christmas music on and get into the spirit. Hopefully there’ll still be some turkey left for me when I get home.” (credit:Baran Özdemir via Getty Images)
One of them is Bryan Hunter, 20,from Glasgow, who is a server support technician for cloud company iomart. He says he'll spend Christmas Day "keeping the internet working". His job is to monitor the servers in the data centres that keep the company's customers’ businesses online and deal with any issues that might arise.
“I’ll be in the data centre to deal with any queries that come up which could be someone’s email going down or a server not working properly," he says. "Thankfully it’s usually a quiet day for ecommerce and online business generally so the number of ‘tickets’ should be about a quarter of what we normally deal with.
“I’ve chosen to work on Christmas Day because quite a few colleagues have children so it’s easier for me to work while they get to spend time with their families.
"There’ll be a couple of us on duty so we’ll get some Christmas music on and get into the spirit. Hopefully there’ll still be some turkey left for me when I get home.” (credit:Baran Özdemir via Getty Images)
Delivery truck drivers(09 of10)
Rachel Garlick, a DHL Supply Chain driver, said: "While others are celebrating, it is still the busiest time for retail and the work that you're doing is important to allow thousands of people have their perfect Christmas.
She added her employers offered "a fantastic atmosphere" and "really showed its appreciation" for their work.
"Shoppers won't think about the hundreds of drivers working hard over Christmas to make theirs special," she said. "Last minute gifts and fresh sprouts wouldn't make it to stores, let alone tables, without drivers like me working this Christmas." (credit:Hannibal Hanschke/DPA)
She added her employers offered "a fantastic atmosphere" and "really showed its appreciation" for their work.
"Shoppers won't think about the hundreds of drivers working hard over Christmas to make theirs special," she said. "Last minute gifts and fresh sprouts wouldn't make it to stores, let alone tables, without drivers like me working this Christmas." (credit:Hannibal Hanschke/DPA)
Christmas tree farm(10 of10)
Tree farms are expeted to sell between six to eight million trees this year, according to the British Tree Growers Association.
One of their members is Julian Morris, who runs a farm in north Shropshire with his wife Emma Morris."We’re very much a family business; my wife Emma runs the Christmas Shop, while my daughters nine-year-old Isabella and six-year-old Eva are involved in entertaining children and wrapping gifts," he said.
He added they were inspired to start this line of work by a 50 foot Christmas tree in their garden.
He added: "We’re just coming to the end of our busiest period of selling trees; we will then tidy up in January and begin preparation for planting again in the Spring, weed control, insect control, then back to preparations for selling trees in December." (credit:Nicola Tree via Getty Images)
One of their members is Julian Morris, who runs a farm in north Shropshire with his wife Emma Morris."We’re very much a family business; my wife Emma runs the Christmas Shop, while my daughters nine-year-old Isabella and six-year-old Eva are involved in entertaining children and wrapping gifts," he said.
He added they were inspired to start this line of work by a 50 foot Christmas tree in their garden.
He added: "We’re just coming to the end of our busiest period of selling trees; we will then tidy up in January and begin preparation for planting again in the Spring, weed control, insect control, then back to preparations for selling trees in December." (credit:Nicola Tree via Getty Images)