Polish Christmas Traditions: Wigilia, Food and Sending Gifts to Poland from the UK

A carp, an opłatek and an empty chair at a festive table. Odd mix, isn’t it? Let’s go through Polish Christmas traditions, and how to send your Polish friends holiday wishes after all.

British Christmas smells of turkey and Brussels sprouts. Polish Christmas smells of borscht with little dumplings, fried fish, and the wait for the first star in the sky. You could write a whole book about it, but we at Meest UK will keep it to an article. We’ll tell you what happens on December 24, what’s on the table, what to put in a gift, and how to make sure your parcel gets there without any trouble.

What Is Wigilia and How Is Christmas Celebrated in Poland

Wigilia is the Christmas Eve dinner on December 24. It’s the biggest moment of Polish Christmas. Dinner starts when the first star comes out, and not before. The word comes from Latin and means staying up and waiting, like waiting for an evening to come.

How does Poland celebrate Christmas?

• The day is quiet, and people eat very little. It’s a fasting day, so dinner feels special.
• The table has a white cloth, with a bit of hay under it. Christ was born in a manger.
• Before dinner, everyone shares an opłatek, a thin wafer. Each person breaks off a piece from the next person and wishes them good health and a peaceful year. Many also say sorry for anything that went wrong.
• One place at the table stays empty. It’s for a guest who might turn up, or for someone who can’t be there this year.
• After dinner, people sing carols. At midnight, many go to Midnight Mass, called Pasterka.

Since 2025, December 24 is a day off in Poland, so everyone has time to cook, lay the table, and wait for the star. December 25 and 26 are for family lunches, visits, and rest. Most shops and restaurants are closed because these days are for relaxing, not for parties. So buy whatever you might need a day early.

Traditional Polish Christmas Food and the 12 Wigilia Dishes

What do Polish people eat for Christmas? Mostly fish, mushrooms, and dough dishes with different fillings. Twelve dishes stand for the twelve apostles, and there’s no meat on the table. Of course, people’s views on the holiday dinner are more modern these days, and some may not cook 12 dishes at all and stick to three or four. But we respect the traditions, so here’s a quick look at what is served at Polish Christmas dinner:

• Barszcz z uszkami: red borscht with little mushroom dumplings.
• Pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms.
• Fried carp, the main fish of the evening.
• Herring, served in different ways, from creamy to with onion.
• Mushroom soup, because mushrooms are almost a must on this table.
• Kompot z suszu: a compote of dried pears, plums, and apples.
• Makowiec: a soft poppy seed roll.
• Piernik: gingerbread that smells of cinnamon and ginger.

The list could go on, so here are a few more dishes. Some families make cabbage with peas. Others make noodles with poppy seeds and honey, or carp in jelly, which is served cold. Dumplings with potato and cheese are popular too. In the east of Poland, people often make kutia, a sweet dish of wheat, poppy seeds, honey and nuts. 

Of course, today you can buy plenty of ready-made dishes and treats in supermarkets. So if you’re thinking of sending some British treats to Poland to add to the dinner, read carefully what’s allowed for delivery to Poland, because food, tea, and coffee are on the prohibited list.

Polish Christmas Traditions, Customs, and Gift-Giving

Christmas in Poland starts way before Wigilia. Advent brings four weeks of early morning Masses by candlelight, the first Christmas trees and markets in the town squares. At school, kids put on little plays about the birth of Christ, called jasełka. In Kraków, people build szopki every year, which are models of the nativity scene, and they take it very seriously. Lots of families decorate the tree just before the holiday, and glass baubles, called bombki, often get handed down from grandma to the grandkids.

After dinner, the fun keeps going. The next two days are for family and visits, and groups of carol singers with a star walk from house to house until early February. Schools, offices and parishes hold opłatek gatherings, where everyone shares the wafer and wishes each other well. Polish communities in Britain do this too. In parishes and Saturday schools from London to Glasgow, people break the opłatek together, and it feels a lot like a family evening at home.

Polish Christmas Gifts: Who Brings Them and When

Polish Christmas gifts come in two rounds. The first is on December 6. Saint Nicholas, or Mikołaj, leaves kids small gifts, often in their shoes. The second is on December 24. After dinner, the bigger gifts show up under the tree. Who brings them depends on where you are in Poland: Mikołaj, Gwiazdor (the Star Man), or Dzieciątko (baby Jesus). Kids get a gentle reminder to be good, so they don’t scare the gift-giver away.

Christmas gifts in Poland are for adults too, but nobody goes overboard. The gift doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be thoughtful and fun to open together, because the whole evening is about sitting around one table.

Other Christmas Customs Worth Knowing

While you’re picking a gift, here are a few more things to know about Christmas Eve:

• “Wesołych Świąt” is how people say Merry Christmas in Poland. It’s a ready-made line for a card if you’re planning to put one in with your gift.
• People sing carols, even the ones who say they can’t sing.
• On December 25, the fast is over, and meat comes back, so the table gets heavier, and now you can go wild with meat dishes.
• Nobody rushes off to visit anyone these days, because the main thing is to sit and take your time.

Best Christmas Gifts to Send to Poland from the UK

There are two things to know before choosing a gift. Remember, this is international delivery, so you can't send just anything. First, the list of items banned from delivery to Poland is long, which limits your options. Second, there's the price: parcels sent between individuals worth up to €45 are duty-free. Anything more expensive needs customs clearance in Poland. Check this before choosing a gift. 

How to Choose Christmas Gift for Polish Friends

The easiest way to choose a gift is to think about what the person likes. Here are some gift ideas:

• For book lovers: a book by a British author, a nice photo book about London or Scotland, or a good notebook.
• For Britain fans: a London map puzzle or a board game about Scotland, to bring a bit of Britain into their home.
• For gamers: a board game to play together after dinner.
• For the home: Christmas tree decorations made of wood, paper, or plastic (glass ones can break in transit).
• For sporty friends: exercise bands and a yoga mat.
• For someone who loves cooking: cookie cutters and silicone baking mats. They can make the cookies themselves.
• For kids: building blocks, colouring books and markers, or a picture book.
• For someone who loves old memories: a photo book with pictures of you together.

Kasia from Birmingham is sending her mum in Kraków a London map puzzle, a book and gingerbread cutters. She keeps the parcel value under €45 to avoid customs duty. Her mum gets gifts she can enjoy for a long time, not just eat.

Gifts You Can't Send to Poland

To avoid problems, don't send food, tea, coffee, perfume, cosmetics, jewellery, batteries, plants, medicine or alcohol. These items are on Poland's prohibited list. It's also better not to send cash or documents, as they are not covered by compensation.

Send Christmas Gifts and Parcels from the UK to Poland with Meest

How to send gifts for Christmas to Poland? We’ve taken care of delivery and made everything easy to do online. On the Meest Portal, you enter the sender’s and recipient’s details, describe what’s inside the parcel, pay, and print the barcode. Then you drop off the parcel at one of over 20,000 locations across the UK, including Meest branches and partner locations. If you don't have time to go to a drop-off point, you can book a courier to collect the parcel from your home. Once it’s on its way, you can track the parcel instead of guessing where it is.

Now, a word about delivery times and rules. By air, parcels take up to 5 working days. By road, delivery takes 5–12 working days. During the Christmas season, delivery may take longer, so send your parcels early. Remember a simple guide: for 6 December, send your parcel in mid-November; for Wigilia on 24 December, send it no later than 14 December 2026.

That way, the table will be set, the first star will appear on time, and your parcel will already be under the Christmas tree.

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