As families gather around the table on Christmas Day it is important to remember those still at work.
For staff at a Gorleston hospital, taking time away from family celebrations to help those in need on Christmas Day "can feel like just another normal day" while on shift.
But the team at James Paget University Hospital always ensure that the festive season is met with high spirits from patients and staff.
Senior trauma and orthopaedic sister Sue Pinkney works on the busy Ward 6.
Patients are admitted around the clock and many require surgery for injuries sustained.
"We have 35 beds and one is never empty one longer than 30 minutes," sister Pinkney, 57, said.
"It can be chaotic - especially this time of year.
"Because we are a trauma and orthopaedic ward, we carry on as normal and our surgeons still operate on Christmas Day.
"It can be like a normal day for us. We know patients are waiting in ambulances and others are waiting to go to care homes. We are just waiting in the middle."
However, with staff pulling together, the ward tries to make the most of the festive season for the patients.
"People are still going to theatre and many are still very poorly, but we make it as festive as possible," said sister Pinkney.
"The staff are a little more relaxed and they tend to spend a lot of time with patients. Currently, we still have visitor restrictions, so the days can feel long for those in our care. The staff try to be more of a friendly, reassuring presence.
"The job can clash with family life, especially this time of year. In the past, me and my husband - who is also a nurse - would have to swap childcare responsibilities in the car park.
"But spending time on the ward on Christmas Day remains a lovely experience. It's an honour to be able to continue to look after people even during the festive period."
While on the ward at Christmas, each patient receives a small gift as well as a traditional festive dinner.
In the kitchens, hospital chef Lorette Down will be helping prepare meals for the hundreds of patients who are spending Christmas Day on the wards.
Ms Down will start her Christmas Day shift just before noon. Along with her colleagues, Ms Down will take her place on the conveyor belt where hot meals prepared in the kitchen are plated-up before being dispatched to the wards.
On the lunchtime menu will be the traditional Christmas meal of roast turkey with all the trimmings - with vegetarian options available as well as dishes for patients on restricted diets.
"You feel you are making a contribution to the patients having a Christmas.
"They are in a bed, away from home and have not got their family around them. So it’s nice to be able to give them a hot meal," said Ms Down, who has worked at the James Paget for 20 years.
As soon as lunchtime is over, the chef's attention will turn to the evening meals for patients.
As the late shift chef, it will be her responsibility to ensure these meals are prepared and delivered on time, starting with the soup.
"We pride ourselves on providing nutritious, fresh food to our patients, prepared on site. Even the soup is made from scratch, not from a packet," she said.
While the focus is currently on festive food, Ms Down most enjoys preparing spaghetti bolognese, chicken curries and chicken in a white wine sauce.
"They seem to go down well with patients," she said. "We do get comments back from time-to-time - and patients seem to like them, which is nice."
Chief nurse Paul Morris said: "Once again, our staff will be working hard throughout the Christmas and new year period to provide 24/7 care for patients across the hospital - whether they are in a bed on one of our wards or attending our hospital in an emergency.
"I would like to thank them for their dedication and commitment to our patients, which they demonstrate not just at Christmas but throughout the year."
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