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I understand that Christmas isn’t great for everyone, and maybe here we have a higher percentage of bah humbug than you might expect from your average crowd. We are swamped with adverts and hammered with the message of peace and goodwill until we want to kill with our bare hands, which is, you know, a little off message.
For survivors, I imagine it’s fraught with difficulty. Families gather, all the things we struggle with get amplified, and we want to retreat and remove ourselves from all the hullabaloo. Some years the wife and I make the effort — we might agree to attend a family gathering, we have been known to stay at a hotel and pick up the tab for a family lunch. (People behave better in public and relax when someone else is paying.)
Often, though, we prefer our own company and pick and choose the bits we want to engage with. We try to avoid the excess of presents, food and drink, and if we’re hosting, we try to spoil and treat people without it becoming an eating competition.
For years we’ve established that shortly after breakfast, it’s best to open a good bottle of chilled champagne and sip it throughout the morning. It ensures the right level of festive feelings and avoids having to drive, use sharp knives, or get into any arguments. (“You know how he gets when he’s had a drink.”) It’s the Christmas equivalent of running with scissors. “He’s been drinking champagne all morning, don’t let him near/give him those/allow him to…” Hey, it works for me.
If you’re on your own, I say go with the specific things you enjoy, no matter what anyone else might think. It’s your Christmas — tailor it to your likes and indulgences. Who’s going to know? Make sure you have plenty of your tipple of choice and your best snack selection.
I love Christmas music. So much so that the wife has imposed a ban on Christmas playlists until December 1st. I have a classical/jazz/carols mix for mellow background setting, a pop/brash/classics playlist for Christmas driving, and a definitive Christmas playlist made up of tracks that make Christmas feel like Christmas. Here’s a handful:
The Raveonettes ~ The Christmas Song
A friend pointed me toward this a few years ago and it instantly became a seasonal staple. Many a Christmas traffic jam has been spent singing along to this.
Smith & Burrows ~ When The Thames Froze
A different friend declared this one of his favourites a few years back, and a load of us jumped on it. It has the right melancholic tone to appeal to the British sardonic approach to Christmas spirit, with a touch of northern brass band for good measure.
Darlene Love ~ All Alone On Christmas
The joyous theme song for Home Alone 2, by one of the voices behind Phil Spector’s Christmas Album.
Wham ~ Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)
The video is a masterclass in how Christmas will look when we win the lottery: snow everywhere, log cabins, friends, drink, and diamonds for everyone.
Diana Krall & Michael Bublé ~ Alone Again Naturally
Not a Christmas song exactly, but it has that sad undertone that fits the season. Originally written by Gilbert O’Sullivan, whose songs haunted the British charts in the 70s. Great lyrics.
Happy Christmas — whatever that means to you.
And that’s it for this year. See you in 2025.
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