Am I permitted to accept gifts from my Christian friends from their festivals?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

Muslims must strongly hate disbelief and all of its relevant rituals, which include non-Muslim festivals. This is because every nation has its own festivals, as stated by the Prophet . [Al-Bukhari]  A Muslim, therefore, must beware of participating in the festivals of non-Muslims, since the Quran and Sunnah prohibit it. For further information about this ruling, please see Fatwa 83628.

As for accepting gifts from them during their festivals, it has the same ruling as accepting their gifts at all times - the fact that the occasion is a festival has no effect on the rule. However, the scholars disagreed about the ruling on accepting gifts from non-Muslims. It is permissible for a Muslim to accept a gift from a non-Muslim whom he feels he could bring closer to Islam.

Therefore, it is permissible to take gifts from such friends if you hope they would embrace Islam or you fear harm from them, provided that you resent their disbelief in Allaah.