Christmas behind bars will include a traditional hot lunch and visits from family and friends for about 410 detainees in the ACT this year.
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That's an increase of roughly 80 inmates from Christmas last year as Canberra's surging jail population spilled into a temporary jail at Symonston Correctional Centre and new beds were added to the chronically overcrowded Alexander Maconochie Centre.
ACT Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury said the lunch menu for inmates at both centres on December 25 would feature hot roasted turkey and ham with vegetables.
That festive feast would be topped off with Christmas pudding and custard for dessert.
Dinner for detainees that night will be their normal lunch option of assorted meat and salad rolls with fresh fruit, tea and coffee.
Mr Rattenbury said family and friends could visit detainees on Christmas Day, although prisoners weren't generally allowed external gifts.
"I recognise that Christmas can be a difficult time for detainees and ACT Corrective Services attempts to ensure they have as pleasant a day as possible."
This week every detainee was offered a Christmas pack from either the Salvation Army or Eternity Church.
Volunteers from SHINE for Kids, a charity which supports children with a parent in the criminal justice system, will attend visits on Christmas Day to put together Christmas-themed arts and crafts for youngsters.
In the lead up to Christmas, the jail chaplaincy program has been running religious services for detainees.
The AMC chaplains host ecumenical services in every area of the prison, and there have been dedicated services for Jewish, Muslim and Indigenous detainees.
This year, chaplaincy services will also be offered to inmates being held at the Symonston Correctional Centre.
ACT criminologist David Biles said Christmas could be a difficult time for inmates and prison staff made an effort to offer a special meal and often offered games and activities to alleviate boredom and make the day more pleasant.
"People will miss their close relationships and their children.
"There won't be a Christmas tree and they won't be sitting around having a few drinks with family because of course there's no alcohol in the jail."
Dr Biles said while the AMC's population had increased significantly in the past year, the area devoted to visitors had remained the same, which could mean fewer inmates saw their families or had to spend less time with them.
Preparations for more than 400 inmates this festive season show a significant jump in the prison population since last year, when there were about 330 detainees behind bars in the ACT on Christmas Day.
That was down from 342 inmates on December 25 in 2013.
Prisoner numbers surged to 373 in September this year, putting pressure on the territory's main jail and the temporary 30-bed Symonston overflow facility, which had also reached capacity.
About 30 detainees were moved into a new special care unit for inmates who need help for drug addiction or behavioural problems.
It was designed to ease some of the accommodation pressures by offering more beds and options for separating inmates at the AMC.
The 30-bed unit, opened on September 22, was the first stage of a $54 million expansion project that will boost accommodation at the jail by 110 beds with additional surge capacity. The overall expansion will boost the jail's capacity to 512.
ACTION buses has scheduled a complimentary service between Civic and the Alexander Maconochie Centre on Christmas Day.
Buses are operating on a reduced timetable until January 8 that will affect services to the AMC on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, when the usual Sunday schedule will be in place.
