Christmasing

1. 1
   verbUS

   Present participle and gerund of Christmas.

   We went Christmasing from house to house, sharing food and songs.

   She spent all of December Christmasing across three different towns.

   Note

   The -ing form of a verb made directly from the holiday's name, and it can carry any of that verb's meanings. With an object it means decorating a place, or, in an obsolete use, bringing someone cheer. Without one it means celebrating, or spending the season somewhere. Don't confuse it with the noun for holiday greenery, which has the same spelling.

   They spent the afternoon Christmasing the front hall with holly and ivy.

   We are Christmasing in the mountains this year.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   Evergreen plants and greenery gathered and used as decorations at Christmas.

   Every December they brought in Christmasing to brighten the cottage.

   The market stalls sold bundles of Christmasing alongside wreaths and candles.

   SimilarChristmas

   Note

   A market word for the season's greenery: Henry Mayhew, writing of London in 1851, puts "Christmasing" in quotation marks and explains it as the holly and mistletoe sold for Christmas sports and decorations. It is a mass noun, so it takes no plural: a cartload of Christmasing, never two Christmasings. The same spelling also serves as the verb's -ing form. A quantity word or determiner in front marks the noun.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2