As restaurants and hotels vie to attract custom in this joyful season, there are remote areas around the world where even a soft drink would be a treat at this time of year.
One such spot is San Manuel Chaparron in Guatemala where Wiġi Duca of Għaxaq has forged a strong relationship with the villagers.
This is the fifth consecutive year Mr Duca has gone to San Manuel and the second Christmas he will be spending there.
This time round he will stay at the village for 20 days and on Christmas Eve will be cooking pasta accompanied by bottles of cola followed by a slice of water melon.
“The meal feeds about 90 children with most of them running home to share the food with their parents. Last year, there were kids who told me it was their first time they were eating food out of a plate,” Mr Duca points out.
“For 12 years or so I travelled to London to celebrate Christmas there but the simple joy and satisfaction that I got from seeing so many people happy during Christmas last year is beyond comprehension.”
Last year, an ice cream vendor came to the village but nobody had any money to buy, so Mr Duca bought everyone an ice cream.
Since his first visit to the village, Mr Duca has helped raise money to build 56 houses, all bearing nicknames of the people of Għaxaq who contributed €1,164 for every house built.
The houses are managed by the Catholic parish priest and the rent collected is used to build another house.
This year, Mr Duca has raised over €3,700 to keep the school going. This he did with the help of PSD teacher Pierre Tonna and children from St Clare College - San Gwann A, Pembroke, Gżira, the St Julian's primary schools and the Sliema Boys' Secondary School.
“This year, I will be hiring a van and taking about 20 adults to the city of Jalapa for a special treat, buying each a pizza,” Mr Duca says, already seeing the joy on these poor people’s faces.
The former parish priest at San Manuel, Gozitan Fr Anton Grech, has moved to Santa Isabel.
Mr Duca has been getting a lot of backing from private sponsors, from his employers, Group 4s and from the people of Għaxaq.