Festive Phrasal Verbs

We are feeling festive here at Intrepid English! How about you? Do you celebrate Christmas? And if so, what are your plans this year? Let us know in the comments, or if you’re a member of Intrepid English, post on our Community page and share with your fellow Intrepid English learners!

Last December, we published a blog post all about Christmas Idioms. You can check that out right here. Today, we are sharing some useful Festive Phrasal Verbs for the Christmas season! Don’t forget to download your free worksheet at the bottom of the blog. In the spirit of the season, why not share the love and share this blog and worksheet with someone who you think would enjoy it!

First off, what is a phrasal verb? You may have read some of our previous blog posts on phrasal verbs, or perhaps you have studied our extensive Figure Out Phrasal Verbs course in the Intrepid English Academy. A phrasal verb is a verb and a preposition. Adding a preposition to the verb changes the meaning of the verb completely.

Check out these Christmas phrasal verbs, and see if you can use them in your English conversations this festive season.

look forward to (the festive season)

When we look forward to a future event, it means we are anticipating it with excitement.

For example: “I am looking forward to watching lots of Christmas movies.”

“We are looking forward to the office Christmas party this Friday.”

Avoid this common mistake! Remember, since this phrase ends in a preposition, we need to follow it with the gerund form of the verb.

What are you looking forward to doing this Christmas season?

meet up (with someone)

The verb ‘meet’ means to encounter a person or animal for the first time. When we ‘meet up’ with people it means that we organise to see them at a social event.

For example: “I am meeting up with my cousin this weekend. I haven’t seen him in person since last Christmas! I am looking forward to it.”

“All of the friends are meeting up at the pub for some drinks and to exchange presents.”

wrap up (presents)

To wrap up describes the action of encasing something. You might wrap up a present for someone you love, or in order to face the cold weather, you may wrap up warm in a big coat or jumper.

For example: “I wrapped up several presents last night. I added the tags and some ribbon, and put them under the tree.”

“If you’re going out in the snow, be sure to wrap up warm and bring a hat and gloves!” 

sing along (to Christmas songs)

When listening to Christmas music or carols, you may want to get into the Christmas spirit by singing along with the lyrics.

For example: “For the last lesson of the year, we sang along to some well-known Christmas carols.”

“At the concert, the singer encouraged the crowd to sing along if they knew the lyrics.”

send out (cards)

If you have friends and family in different parts of the world, you may send out Christmas cards or a Christmas newsletter or email. Young children may also send off a letter to Santa in the North Pole.

For example: “I just need to send out the Christmas newsletter, and then I’ll be signing off for the week.”

“It was a frosty morning, and they walked to the post box to send off the Christmas cards they had written the night before.”

put up (the decorations)

We use the phrasal verb to describe putting something in its place, often on a wall or in a decorative capacity. We put up posters, pictures, mirrors, photographs. At Christmas time, many people put up decorations such as tinsel a Christmas tree or Christmas lights.

For example: “Yesterday we put up the Christmas decorations in the living room while listening to Christmas songs. I’m definitely feeling festive now.”

“Our neighbour is out in front of his house putting up some Christmas lights. I’m excited to see them on later.”

Note: The opposite of this phrasal verb is to ‘take down’. When the festive season is over we take down the decorations.

tuck in (to the food)

You might hear this phrasal verb used at Christmas dinner. To start eating the food is to ‘tuck in’.

For example: “Well, I think everyone has a plate. Merry Christmas everyone, let’s tuck in to this delicious food!”

“On Christmas evening, we watched a cheesy Christmas film on Netflix and tucked in to the Quality Street chocolates.”

hand out (the presents)

To hand out means to distribute something.

For example: “Tomorrow is the last day at the office, so we’ll be handing out the Secret Santa gifts at lunch time.”

“My brother was in charge of reading the names on the presents under the tree and handing them out to everyone.”

Activity

Complete the sentences below using a festive phrasal verb from the list above.

1. Everyone from the office is _______ at a tapas bar on Friday for a Christmas get-together.

2. When the DJ played ‘Come on Eileen’ at the end of the night, everyone was _______ at the top of their lungs.

3. I had to lock the door so my daughter wouldn’t go in my room because her Christmas present is in there and I haven’t _______ it ____ yet.

4. At the end of the show, Santa and the elves _______ presents to the small children in the audience.

5. I’ve been so disorganised this year. It’s mid-December and I haven’t _______ any Christmas cards yet.

6. We have tickets to the pantomime this weekend. I am so excited. I am really _______ it.

7. We bought our Christmas tree a couple of days ago, so this weekend we are going to decorate and also _______ the other decorations around the house.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this festive blog post on Christmas phrasal verbs. Have you wrapped up your presents yet? Have you sent out any cards?  Will you be singing along to any Christmas carols? What are you looking forward to tucking into on Christmas Day? Practise using these phrasal verbs and let us know in the comments!

Don’t forget to download your Christmas Phrasal Verbs worksheet right here!