It's hard to beat a white Christmas. Snow on the ground, a roaring fire, people wrapped up against the cold, and Christmas lights switched on early evening because it's already pitch black by then.

In the southern hemisphere we're well used to a summertime Christmas, but I'm inclined to think that the white variety is probably the 'ultimate'. A few years back I was privileged enough to experience three consecutive wintertime Christmases, although just one of those was white. Some of those scenes are shown below, the first three being real "Christmas card scenes" set in rural England.