Christmas Links #19.

Sabrina Mahfouz on the poetic train journey out of London:
"British-Egyptian playwright, Sabrina Mahfouz observes the journey out of London in poetic verse."

Fight for your right: the "war on Christmas" films nobody needs to see:
"A dubious new genre is centred on characters “saving” the holiday and all its trimmings from scrooges – and the concept of cultural inclusivity."

End of term shows and Christmas extravaganzas:
"Jon Jacob looks back at some children's TV Christmas extravaganza's and considers how they, like the Strictly Come Dancing, are the perfect start to the festive celebrations."

A Backwards Recording Of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas":
"There are plenty of holiday songs which feature lyrics that are a bit backwards, but We Wish You A Merry Christmas isn't one of them."

Enter The Christmas Special Thunderdome:
"Christmas specials: They’ve survived unchanged for decades and still pull absolutely crazy TV viewership."



The Christmas High Street Christmas Food Taste Test:
"In recent years, the run-up to Christmas has become a race between high street supermarkets, shops, and cafes to see who can come up with the most exciting and innovative festive twists on lunchtime food. Knowing our European counterparts tend to look less than favourably upon British cuisine, we asked teams of French and German BuzzFeed employees to try a sample of British high street Christmas food, to see if our winter offerings redeem us in international eyes."

Boston U. student raises $700 for homeless man just before Christmas:
"Blake Smith, a Boston University junior, turned a class assignment into a Christmas gift. His task? “Create a video that persuades people to think about something differently” for a communications course. Smith’s immediate idea was to craft a video showcasing a man he knows as Freddy, a friendly homeless man in Boston’s Kenmore Square."

Christmas chaos in literature, from Emma to Adrian Mole:
"Forget Dickensian happy endings, the real Christmas classics tell stories of fraught family gatherings, orgies of consumption and festivities for one, writes John Mullan."

Watch Hillary Clinton Meet Love Actually in Perfect S.N.L. Christmas Sketch:
"Clinton tries to woo an elector at the last minute."

Twelve of the best Radio Times Christmas covers:
"For 93 years the Radio Times Christmas issue has been as much a part of British seasonal festivities as mince pies and tinsel. ALISTAIR McGOWN pulls out his highlighter pen to select a dozen front covers that tell its story."

Christmas Links #18

A Brief History of Christmas Songs on 6 Music:
"When mince pies appear on supermarket shelves in April, you know Christmas is just around the corner."

The Ugly Christmas Sweater: Still Ugly, but No Longer Ironic:
"Have you seen the Ugly Christmas Sweater suits? They are, literally, suits—matching ties included—that swathe their wearers in head-to-toe Christmas Sweater ugliness. They are, it should go without saying, awesome."

Military Wife Finds Creative Way to Include Deployed Husband in Family Christmas Photo:
"Brandon Sistrunk isn't set to return from his deployment until January, so his wife figured out how to include him in their family Christmas card."

Christmas in Colorado through the years:
"It's finders keepers for boys and Christmas Tree For these two boys Christmas came early and they made the most of it in 1977. Ralph Martinez, 6, left, and Manuel Montoya, 7, carry a small but bushy Christmas tree along 3000 block of Zuni Street. The two boys found the trophy in alley and immediately started the trek home with tree. Ernie Leyba, The Denver Post Library Archive."

Celebrating 65 years of Peanuts:
" This online exhibition is adapted from the full version that was on view in the Museum’s comic strip rotation gallery from August 19, 2015 to January 10, 2016."



Slow Cooker Christmas Spiced Red Cabbage:
"Ever had a cooker crisis on Christmas Day? I think we've all been there haven't we, with too many dishes and too little space. I try and make as much as I can ahead of time these day's - I cook my meat the day before (and the gravy too), pre cook my sprouts, par boil the potatoes and make and cook the stuffing in a loaf tin. It all helps come Christmas morning and this year I've called on my slow cooker for help too."

Lawyer Sues to Stop Christmas Tunes Playing 16 Hours a Day:
"NYC attorney Nick Wilder says he can't take socialite Lisa Maria Falcone's display anymore."

Why is it so hard for Christmas films to pass the Bechdel test?
"Everyone (at least secretly) loves Christmas films, but on closer inspection, it's the least woman-friendly genre there is. Caroline O’Donoghue investigates."

Cate Blanchett Narrates This Lovely Ad About the Different Ways People Celebrate Christmas:
"Everyone celebrates Christmas a little differently. Some people like to throw ugly sweater parties; others like to blow past the season without giving it a second thought. A new campaign from retailer David Jones starring actress Cate Blanchett gives viewers a glimpse into what the holiday brings for people in Australia. You might find it's not so different from your own celebrations."

30 years, 700+ pieces: Annual Christmas display brings family together:
"Most people put up lights and a tree to celebrate Christmas. One man built a miniature village in his basement. Around 1985 Jeff Ziegler got a couple Coca-Cola house figurines from his mom back. He’s not really sure when things took a turn, but two years ago he counted 550 figurine people and over 100 structures. That number has grown and he’s quite frank about not actually knowing where his collection stands today."

Christmas Links #17

Class comes to BBC One:
"The BBC has confirmed thet the Doctor Who spin-off series will be shown on BBC One this January. The first episode can be seen on Monday 9th January at 10.45pm."
[Editor's note: Which used to be about standard for the re-broadcasting of BBC Three programmes back in the analogue days when BBC Three was only on digital. But more recently shows have been in decent slots on BBC Two since (Fleabag etc) and that seemed to be Class's fate. Perhaps the iPlayer numbers haven't been as they expected so they've decided to dump it here instead. If only it had actually been any good ...]

Cinema in Flint opens its doors for first time in more than 40 years:
"The Gaumont Plaza in Flint held its first screening on Friday with a showing of Bridget Jones’ Baby, after months of hard work by its owner to get it open by Christmas time."

Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America:
"Halfway through a recent late lunch at the Trump Grill—the clubby steakhouse in the lobby of Trump Tower that has recently become famous through the incessant media coverage of its namesake landlord, and the many dignitaries traipsing through its marbled hall to kiss his ring—I sensed the initial symptoms of a Trump overdose. Thanks to an unprecedented influx of diners, we were sitting at a wobbly overflow table outside the restaurant, in the middle of a crush of tourists, some of whom were proposing to their partners, or waiting to buy Trump-branded merchandise, or sprinting to the bathroom."

The Worst Films of 2016:
"No room for run-of-the-mill bad movies here. To qualify for our scroll of shame, a movie had to be one of the truly godawful, the inept, the ugly, the offensive, or — no small offense — the deadly boring. Here is Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge’s list of the 10 Worst Films of 2016."

The patriarchy, actually. What our favourite Christmas films mean in 2016:
"From the housing crisis of It’s a Wonderful Life to the white, male hegemony of Love Actually, festive classics now seem more relevant than ever."
[Editor's note: Yes, but Love Actually presents these men, in general, as heroes. They're the protagonists. In no way is it supposed to be satire.]




Which Christmas Food Must Go?
"Do brussels sprouts deserve to stay?"

The making of The Chaos Carol:
"How I managed to compile the 100 most popular Christmas songs into a symphony of joyful chaos."

This woman's hilarious Christmas card with pizza shows the power of true love:
"While we love seeing people’s cute holiday cards of their family, if you’re single it can be a little hard looking at all the things that you don’t have. That’s why this single woman decided to create a holiday card to her one true love: pizza."

Christmas Cupcakes by Nigella:
"These beauties also make a very good alternative to mince pies. I buy the icing ready made and dyed (which is why it isn’t a very convincing colour for holly, let’s be frank) and use cranberries as the holly berries. The cake underneath is somewhere between chocolate and gingerbread. If you’re thinking of taking anything to friends’ houses, may I suggest these?"

Rolling Stones waive their royalties on Jo Cox tribute single:
"Bookmakers William Hill also pledge donate to charity all money staked on the cover of You Can’t Always Get What You Want reaching Christmas No 1."

Christmas Links #16

The Puritans Who Stole Christmas:
"On 8 June 1647 Parliament enacted a law to abolish holy days, including Christmas (although it replaced them with secular days of rest). This legislation made it a criminal offence to celebrate, in any shape or form, the feast of Christmas, and was the latest in a series of attempts by zealously devout Parliamentarians to redefine Christmas as a time for humility instead of lavish celebration."

Campaign begins to counter 'all white' Christmas:
"A new campaign that aims to counter images of an “all white” Christmas is to be launched on Thursday to increase the number of black and ethnic minority families portrayed enjoying the festive period."

Holy shit: Somebody edited 400 versions of A Christmas Carol into one coherent movie:
"YouTuber Heath Waterman has celebrated those many, many iterations of Charles Dickens’ classic by editing 400 of them together into a single, coherent narrative. Questions asked in one rendition are answered by characters in another; one actor’s portrayal of Scrooge might fall from the sky, but a different one will land. Since the beats of the story are so consistent, everything unfolds cleanly."

The Foodism guide to... Christmas feasting:
"Dig yourself out of a festive eating-and-drinking rut with tips from the best in the business. You’ll be rustling up golden quail’s eggs in no time…"

I ate every fast food Christmas lunch in the name of food criticism:
"It’s hard to say when exactly Christmas food specials became a Thing, but in this unbelievable year of 2016, they well and truly are."



The Twelve Monsters of Christmas:
"Christmas isn’t just about a coca-cola marketing gimmick, it has a long and often dark history. Even the kindly St Nick wasn’t always the genial character we think of today. As good needs its evil, here are 12 of the monsters that terrorised the Yule season."

Tragic child's touching Christmas letter found in Dunfermline field triggers community response:
"A CHILD'S Christmas letter to their dad has caused a stir on social media after it was found in a field in Dunfermline attached to a balloon yesterday (Monday)."

Build This Lego Assistant to Take Care of All Your Christmas Cards:
"From shopping, to decorating a Christmas tree, you’ve got enough to deal with this time of year without having to send friends and family a card reminding them of all their holiday responsibilities. So why not dig out your Lego bin and build this Mindstorms assistant that can churn out all your Christmas cards for you?"

Nine budget-friendly Christmas gift ideas:
"Christmas. Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also, without a doubt, the most expensive time of the year too. According to some reports, the average family spends about £800 a year on Christmas. That’s a lot of dosh, especially if you are cash strapped and watching every penny."

19 Foods You Might Find In A Christmas Dinner, Ranked From Worst To Best:
"Note: In order to prevent this list from being 50% meat, I have only included the poultry options. Sorry, ham lovers."

Christmas Links #15

Sugababes ‘Boys’ Finally Leaks, Nearly Four Years Later:
[editor's note: Sob, sob. If only they'd this out instead of Flatline or at least part of a logical release strategy rather than the funeral we otherwise attended. Of course it sounds a bit dated now. It is four years old. But it's an even better expression of how Siobhan's vocal complemented Mutya and Keisha in a way Heidi never really did.]

What We Just Watched: Christmas Special 2016:
"Two earnest men from TV Cream have come together under the flag of peace on Earth and goodwill to all other earnest men. Their purpose? To make each other watch a Christmas-related TV show, of which they’ve had no prior warning. Then they’ll chat about what they’ve seen. Yes, it’s got enough ‘format points’ to make it an actual thing."

Doctors: A Christmas Carol:
"See our cast as you've never seen them before in today's A Christmas Carol. Filmed on one of the hottest weeks in July, we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together."

She’ll give this stranger a hard-to-get NES for Christmas. But she has to find him first.
"Cheyenna Gaughf knows little about the young man who stood in line behind her outside a Virginia Toys “R” Us on a day when the store was offering a chance to buy two of the season’s most in-demand holiday gifts: Hatchimals and Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition."

Mysteries of Father Christmas ‘solved’ by relativity theory:
"The mystery of how Father Christmas can deliver presents to 700 million children in one night, fit down the chimney and arrive without being seen or heard has been ‘solved’ by a physicist at the University of Exeter."



Why you shouldn't give a goat this Christmas:
"If you are looking for a charity gift that really makes a difference, just give cash. While it's nice to imagine tents, water tanks and food parcels being rushed to a far-flung village beset by misfortune this Christmas, it could wind up being of dubious value." [via]

Students remove Shakespeare portrait in English dept., aiming for inclusivity:
"Penn English professor and Department Chair Jed Esty was surprised to find a large portrait of William Shakespeare waiting in his office. A group of students removed the iconic portrait from the walls of Fisher- Bennett Hall and delivered it to Esty’s office after an English Department town hall meeting discussing the election, which took place on Thursday December 1. They replaced it with a photo of Audre Lorde, a black female writer."

How to Keep Your Office Holiday Party From Going Off the Rails:
"The office party can be a chance for co-workers to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate the holidays. Or it can be a memorable event for all the wrong reasons."

Good Grief, It's A Stephen Colbert Christmas Special:
"In this animated holiday classic, Stephen finds out the truth about who won Santa's vote for President."

Hallmark Christmas Movies: How To Make Your Own:
"While watching a Hallmark Christmas movie the other day (don't judge), we realized there is a recipe. The execs at Hallmark must hand this list to all their directors."

Christmas Links #14.

Doctor Who Christmas Countdown:
"With Christmas just a few shopping days' away, and Doctor Who: 'The Return of Doctor Mysterio' lined up for a post-prandial eyeball-feast, James Cooray Smith sizes up the previous Yuletide offerings in his festive episode countdown."

New Yorker Christmas Covers, Then and Now:
"If you need a break from shopping for just the right gift to arrive at just the right time, take a look at these vintage New Yorker covers celebrating the rituals of holidays past: you’ll see that it has never been easy."

Today programme announces all-female Christmas guest editor line-up:
"Radio 4’s Today programme will have an all-female cast of guest editors for the first time over Christmas, when it will also break with tradition by broadcasting a guest-edited programme live from Hull on New Year’s Eve."

Radio.Garden:
"Live, History, Jingles, Stories."

Can You Guess The Christmas Movie From Its Opening Shot?
"‘Tis the season!"



The Real Reason Charles Dickens Wrote A Christmas Carol:
"After a particularly bleak year, millions in the English-speaking world and beyond will seek some comfort by watching a converted miser in a nightshirt, skipping about as light as a feather. “Whoop! Hallo! …What's to-day my fine fellow?”"

‘I cried all the way home': Terminally ill 5-year-old dies in Santa’s arms:
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist and you know they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy."

AC/DC, sledging and booze: dirty deeds to help you cheat at Christmas board games:
"A study reports that playing Highway to Hell could be just the thing to break your opponent’s concentration - but what other tricks will help you win?"

World War On Christmas:
"The planet doesn’t care if you say Happy Holidays."

More Sleigh Bell: A Guide to 2016’s Most Notable Christmas Albums:
"Christmas music can provoke as much strong emotion, or sea-sick ambivalence, as the holidays themselves. Say it’s early December; you’re in a supermarket or bookstore, and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”—or Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” or the Temptations’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”—starts playing. Are you filled with joy, or plunged into a month-long depression? Does the song strike you as pleasantly nostalgic or suffocatingly familiar? Do you love it? Hate it? Love to hate it or hate to love it? Fight or flight? Maybe all of the above?"

Soup Safari #75: Spicy Vegetable at Le Pain Quotidien.

Lunch. £4.80. Le Pain Quotidien, 48-49, Covent Garden, The Market, Covent Garden Piazza, Henrietta St, London WC2E 8RF. Phone: 020 3657 6928. Website.

Christmas Links #13

Love Actually: Watching the Film for the First Time:
"I’ve had it on DVD since forever — I bought pre-owned from the EB Games store I managed back in 2005; I still had the price stickers with the date we took it back in trade inside the case — and I’ve never watched it. I may have watched the beginning, as Bill Nighy trying to sing the lyrics to “Christmas Is All Around” and screwing it up, was familiar to me, but nothing else about the film was."

17 amazing Christmas hacks that will help you through the festive season:
"Follow our crafty tips and tricks for a stress free fortnight."

This AI’s attempt to write a Christmas carol is absolutely bone-chilling:
"Computers are getting smarter, but first they’re stuck in some sort of uncanny valley of intelligence, reassembling normal, everyday objects into increasingly creepy combinations. First came the revelations of Google’s DeepDream technology, which, in learning to “see” objects, “saw” creepy multi-eyed organisms all over the place, turning the world into a half-sentient dog-like mess."

Squirrel Wanted For Stealing 150 Christmas Lights:
"Margaret Rican of Seattle is having a hard time this year, as her Christmas lights keep disappearing. A squirrel has been making off with the bulbs one by one. The brazen thief pulls off his heists right in front of her sometimes, while other capers are recorded from a distance. She uploaded a compilation of his trips to chew off and abscond with the bulbs one by one."

The War on Christmas was settled a long time ago. Christmas won.
"Saying “Happy Holidays” at the mall won’t change that."




Liverpool Biennial’s Momentary Monument raises £1224 for Asylum Link Merseyside:
"This year’s edition of Liverpool Biennial may have come to an end but the most iconic piece of work, and arguably most successful, Lara Favaretto’s ‘Momentary Moment-The Stone’ has this week once again come into focus and proven its longevity."

I’m Still Here:
"I won the Internet on February 24, 2015. My tweet beat out thousands of other funny tweets on Comedy Central’s @Midnight to win their daily “Hashtag War.” The topic was #DogTVShows. Among my dozen or so entries was “Grrrrrrrls.” It was a crowning moment after a year of frequently making it into their top ten. During that time, I’d become known as quite the hashtag game player to my 30,000 followers. Never mind that I had been entertaining folks with my own hashtag games for about four years before @Midnight had even come along. At long last, I had indeed won the Internet."

Christmas advert songs that conquered the charts:
"Anticipating big brands' Christmas ad campaigns has become a festive tradition, with speculation over who'll be soundtracking them kicking off way before the last summer barbecue has stopped sizzling. We look back at tracks that enjoyed the boost of a big TV campaign."

Christmas, Made in China:
"Peter Day visits the Chinese city which makes most of the world's Christmas decorations."

I HAD to go to London to judge a cress competition with TV’s Konnie Huq from Blue Peter.
"I appreciate that this is an unusual move for a person to make, but what you have to understand is that I am not like you people. I am a much-loved commentator and newspaper columnist who appeared on Channel 5 News once."

Christmas Links #12

London pub labelled 'Britain's most festive' on social media:
"A pub's Christmas display has proved a hit on social media with some dubbing it "Britain's most festive pub"."

This Woman Clapped Back To An Anti-Gay Neighbor Using Christmas Lights:
"Jingle all the gay."

At Christmas Cottage, Silver Bells and Sugar Plums Are Available Year Round:
"Even Manhattan’s hard edges soften at holiday time. Twinkle lights outglow fluorescents; sturdy woolen pompom hats replace flimsy knit beanies; marshmallow-speckled hot chocolate competes with black coffee. Christmas Cottage in Midtown Manhattan preserves the cozy parts of the coldest season year-round. The shop, a perpetual Christmas fever dream, has welcomed customers every spring, summer, fall and winter since the late 1990s."

Brooklyn’s Christmas Magic Maker: Lou Nasti and His Wonderful World:
"In East Flatbush, Lou Nasti has been engineering mechanical puppets for decades, adding to the magic of Christmas in Dyker Heights—and around the world."

12 spectacular photos of Christmas in Glasgow from the 1960s to the present day:
"Consider us your ghost of Christmas Past as we take a look back at the city's festive lights from the 1960s up to the present day."



Getting a drone for Christmas? The UN releases its 10 tips on operating it safely:
"The UN has issued some safety advice if you get a drone for Christmas. It says users should learn how to operate it first before flying one."

Doctor Who: I Believe In Father Christmas (Greg Lake version)
"A little seasonal montage I assembled using the seasonal specials from eleven years of the resurrected Doctor Who."

Adopting a broken Christmas tree and calling it “Lucky”:
"Rescuing a broken tree in the back of the shop was just one of those Christmas traditions “you do with kids”, says Lucy Dunn. But, after the events of 2016, it’s become so much more than that."

Take Comfort with Cherry Chocolate Cookies:
"I have been making riffs and renditions of this cookie for as long as I can remember. I think it started a few Christmases ago when I was searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I know that’s subjective, seeing as we all have a different criteria as to what makes the perfect cookie, but for me it’s two things: a soft interior and a crispy edge. I like the contrast. Oh and I like a thickish, buttery cookie."

Students forgo Christmas gifts to help fire victims:
"Fourth-grade students at Johnson Elementary School in Limestone County are passing up Christmas gifts to donate supplies to victims of the Great Smoky Mountains wildfires."

Christmas Links #11

Have a Creepy Little Christmas with These Unsettling Victorian Cards:
"Anthropomorphic cats, murderous frogs, and insects dancing by the moonlight aren’t exactly part of our Christmas card tradition today."

7,000 tonnes of dried fruit: inside the world's largest mince pie factory:
"Mr Kipling factory in Barnsley expects to crank out a record 200m minces pies in the run-up to this Christmas"

Hamlet - Coming in 2017:
Big Finish is excited to announce details for a brand-new audio production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet - starring Alexander Vlahos... Coming in 2017 is a brand new production of Hamlet on audio, from the Big Finish team behind the much acclaimed The Confessions of Dorian Gray."

Dreaming of a White Christmas: ‘Race,’ Christmas, and Children’s Literature:
"One way of measuring the whiteness of Christmas in American or British “culture” is in the holiday section of the children’s bookstore. I went this year and looked at two: the big chain bookstore in the strip mall, and the independent bookstore within walking distance of my house."

Black Mirror: It is time for more diversity and models of all races being seen.
"We are bombarded everyday with flashy advertisement, billboards and television ads that try to inspire us to buy the products that are hitting the market. Something that always bothered me when you see these amazing images that very rarely you ever see a black woman on them. When growing up as a girl I always wondered, why the big brands such as Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Guess and many others rarely seem to use a black model? And if they do, a very small group of black models does make the cut here and there, but that group seems to remain pretty much identical over a long period of time."



Bizarre bids for Christmas Number 1:
"The Killers always get into the Christmas spirit, releasing a festive track pretty much every year. Perhaps the weirdest and most tongue-in-cheek of all is this one from 2009, with Brandon rocking his very best Movember 'tache, getting abducted by a rather disheveled Santa and pleading not to be murdered. Festive."

One Delightfully Clever & Slightly Shakespearean Way to Fight Trolls:
"Award-winning journalist Summer Brennan pulled a social media switcheroo and uploaded her brother’s photo as her Twitter profile pic. The effect it had on her mentions was astounding."

'It is like the town that Christmas forgot'
"Huyton residents speak out about 'joyless' town in 'darkness' as festive decorations fail to appear in the centre."

This Is Where Homeless Children Will Be Sleeping This Christmas:
"This Christmas a record 120,000 children in England will be homeless, and will face the uncertainty and stress of living in temporary accommodation."

Beard Lights Will Turn Your Beard Into A Christmas Tree:
"Forget beard baubles and glitter beards, hipsters are now opting for twinkling fairy lights as the latest way to add an extra festive touch to chin fuzz in 2016’s hottest Christmas trend."

Christmas Links #10

The One Part of 'Love, Actually' We Should All Be Able to Agree is Garbage:
"It’s December 1st, which means it’s time to ignite our month-long Pajiba Civil War about that most divisive of Christmas movies: Love, Actually. Worry not, dear Pajibans, for we have some #content planned for you throughout the month—there may or may not be a Very Serious Discussion post in the wings, except psych, there totally is, and spoiler alert: Andrew Lincoln is a garbage lay. But before the brother-against-brother gnashing of teeth and ripping of hair begins—and it will be bloody, oh, it will be bloody—I am taking this moment to enjoy one last brief, fleeting moment of Love, Actually solidarity. No matter your feelings on the movie itself, even the most diehard Love, Actually supporter (WRONG) must admit: The clothes fucking suck."
[Editor: This heroic person is posting something every day illustrating how rubbish Love Actually is. Example: What is Billy Bob doing to Natalie's head?]

The Northern Soul Podcast: Christmas horror stories:
"On this month’s Northern Soul Podcast, Laura Brown talks to four Northern horror writers about Christmas, ghosts, M.R. James and TV specials. She hears from John Reppion and Leah Moore, a husband and wife team from Liverpool who write comics. They have just published Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, an illustrated comic adapted from stories by M.R. James."

When Greg Lake wrote to the Guardian about 'I Believe in Father Christmas':
"Greg Lake, who has died this week aged 69, wrote a letter to the Guardian in 2005 about his Christmas hit I Believe in Father Christmas, in answer to a reader question about the plot of a movie."

A Helicopter Is Hands Down The Best Way To Transport Christmas Trees:
"It's fast, it's fun and it won't get your ugly Christmas sweater all covered in sap."

The world’s largest Rube Goldberg machine is here to light a damn Christmas tree:
"For decades, there have been competitions to make the most convoluted and impractical Rube Goldberg machines possible, but Guinness has bestowed the current crown on a team from Scandiweb, a Latvian e-commerce company. This record-setting machine takes over four minutes and dozens of ridiculous but delightful steps in order to light a giant Christmas tree in the town of Riga."

Captain Sisko & the DS9 Ensemble sing "Wonderful Deep Space Nine":
"In the grand tradition of Star Trek captains singing holiday standards, for your consideration: "Wonderful Deep Space Nine" sung by Captain Sisko, Major Kira, Constable Odo, Lieutenant Commander Worf, Chief O'Brien, Congenial Barkeep Quark, Plain Simple Garak, and the rest of the Star Trek: DS9 ensemble. Special appearances by Morn, Martok, Moogie, and Vorta Iggy Pop."

A Star Wars PSA by Felicity Jones:
"There’s been a lot of great interviews and insight to come out of the Rogue One junket, but this is by far my favorite."
[editor: seriously amazing, especially the Doctor Who reference.]

How Ink Master Became An Unexpected Lesson in Feminist Strategy:
"AMERICA DIDN’T GET its first woman president this year. That title went to a reality TV star instead. But on reality TV tonight, odds are that America will get its first woman Ink Master—contestants Kelly Doty and Ryan Ashley Malarkey are two of the three finalists. And if it happens, it will very likely be because the women on the show took a hint from the Obama administration."

The 10 Best Undistributed Movies of 2016:
"Not every new movie is lucky enough to find its way to theaters. Here's a look at some of the neglected gems from this year."

Vintage ‘Glass Menagerie’ Performance Will Return to Air:
"“I’m a pretty good detective,” Jane Klain said, but she is no badge-wielding, revolver-packing gumshoe. She is in charge of research services for a museum. The latest product of her sleuthing was playing on a computer on the desk behind her — a 104-minute performance of “The Glass Menagerie” starring Shirley Booth, Hal Holbrook and Barbara Loden that was broadcast 50 years ago. As far as anyone knew, the master videotape was lost."



Happy Endings reunion: Watch the cast read the new script for a 'lost' episode:
"t took a while — 1,275 days, for those who enjoy marking long stretches of time with days instead of months and years. But fans of Happy Endings finally got what they wanted (or the closest thing to it) when the cast of the beloved, gone-too-soon cult comedy reunited at EW PopFest in October to perform a read-through of a spanking-new script."

BBC Genome: Advent Calendar Day 8: Festive Frontispiece:
"Radio Times often commissioned decorative borders for Christmas listings pages, and other artwork, including this evocative full-page snow scene from the 1930 festive issue. It’s not the actual front cover, but a sort of visual frontispiece before the main part of the issue, to help listeners (there weren’t very many viewers in 1930) get in the festive mood. We hope it does the same for you!"

The First Family Looks Incredible in Their Final White House Christmas Card:
"According to tradition, the White House sends out a holiday card to friends, political supporters, and members of the media. This year's greeting is bittersweet because it will be the last one from President Barack Obama after eight years in office."

How Green Is Your Christmas Tree?
"Every year, when comes the time to prepare for the Christmas Holidays, one question seems to come back time and time again: Should one buy a natural or an artificial Christmas tree?"

Check out Britain's deepest Christmas grotto in a Yorkshire coal mine:
"You may never have thought it was a thing, but Britain has a deepest Christmas Grotto – and it’s 140 metres underground."

Aladdin Cast Make Cancer Patient Katie's Christmas Wish Come True:
"14-year-old Katie Wright from Childwall was born with Down’s Syndrome and is a huge panto fan but is unable to go and watch Aladdin which opens tonight as she is currently undergoing gruelling chemotherapy at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. It would be dangerous for Katie to sit in the audience amongst lots of other people due to risk of infection."

Eurovision selection show promoted to BBC Two:
"The BBC has promoted the show that will decide who represents the UK at Eurovision to BBC Two in a live show at the end of January."

Playing Mary was my ‘feminist awakening’:
"Broadcaster Samira Ahmed played a silent Mary in her school Nativity in 1971. She claims, ‘It was a very interesting lesson in how the ultimate woman might be someone who's sitting there being looked at’."

As It Happened: 100 Women Wikipedia add-a-thon:
"'Really important' to get more women involved, says Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales."

17 WTF Amazon Items You Didn’t Know You Wanted For Christmas:
"1. A Jeff Goldblum shower curtain."

Christmas Links #9: Mixtape 2006.

Music You may have noticed in the past couple of days our tribe has been posting selfies of how we look now along with a photo of our faces from ten years ago.  Because I don't have any photographs of myself from back then to hand and the weight loss is so extreme you'd think it was two different people anyway, here's something else which is completely different.

In 2006, each of my Christmas cards, back when I could afford to post them to dozens of people across the world, included a mix cd of music I'd enjoyed that year along with festive favourites.  The equivalent of that now would be to email a Spotify playlist to some people. Or the following.  Ten years on, I've decided to recreate the playlist on this blog for you all to enjoy.

Christmas Links #8

Christmas Campaign To Provide Homeless Women With Hygiene Products:
"In the UK, homeless shelters are provided with funding for items like condoms and razors but not female hygiene products. Despite the UK having struck a deal with the EU to remove the luxury item tax in March, no change in taxation has taken effect. This means that for the thousands of homeless women in the UK, the cost of sanitary products could be at the expense of a meal."

A robin is living at Liverpool Cathedral after arriving in their Christmas tree:
"Liverpool Cathedral has an extra member of the congregation this Christmas - a robin redbreast nesting in their Christmas tree."

Here Comes the Waxworks Royal Family in Christmas Sweaters to Steal Your Soul:
"Madame Tussauds London has decked out their collection of alarming Windsor waxworks in Christmas sweaters, rendering the group somehow even more alarming."

History of "Happy Holidays":
"As something of a history nerd, I decided to investigate the use of the term "Happy Holidays" in US history, especially given some recent controversy over whether it is an appropriate term or not. To me, the answer is obvious: yes, it's appropriate, and so are other more specific greetings like "Merry Christmas". After all, there are a number of holidays celebrated by most Americans during this season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years') as well as those celebrated by sizable minorities such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa."

The 2016 kottke.org Holiday Gift Guide:
"For the past few years, I’ve featured the season’s best gift guides from other sites and pulled out a few things from each that I think you might be interested in. 2016 has been a rough year for some of us, so getting in a festive mood might be asking too much. But my determination to give is off the charts this year, and if you’re feeling similarly, maybe this will help you. Let’s dig in."



Christmas light row as neighbour decries 'tacky' icicles:
"When Alice Hughes attached twinkling lights to her home she thought she would be injecting the street with festive cheer - but instead was accused of bringing down the neighbourhood."

The Gilmore Girls revival gets the opening title sequence we’ve been waiting for:
"ere’s plenty of debate to be had about the Gilmore Girls revival. Is Rory the worst? Why is the “g” in “girls” lowercase in the title? Has Jess somehow become the sanest person in Stars Hollow? But one truth universally acknowledged is that the four Netflix movies were missing the iconic Gilmore Girls theme song. Sung by Carole King and her daughter Louise Goffin, the “Where You Lead I Will Follow” title sequence was a backbone of the original series, and the revival just wasn’t the same without it. Thankfully, the YouTube channel Rose Tyler has fixed Netflix’s oversight and created an opening sequence fit for this new era of Gilmore Girls."

Story of vandalized Christmas decorations has happy ending:
"Sometimes, even the Grinch is sorry for what he did."

Cookie monsters: why your browsing history could mean rip-off prices:
"By collecting data on how desperate we are to buy and how much we can afford to pay, companies are finding sophisticated new ways to squeeze extra cash from unwitting shoppers."

Christmas Party Food:
"Delicious ideas for party nibbles and tipples to try this Christmas, from Bloomsbury."

Christmas Links #7

Bill Nighy on Love Actually and “intensely embarrassing” sex scenes:
"Many Americans were introduced to the disarmingly charming actor Bill Nighy in Richard Curtis’ holiday staple Love Actually. He was playing Billy Mack, a washed-up rocker making a surprising comeback. This is the type of guy who brags about shagging Britney Spears. (Hey, it was 2003.) It turns out Nighy detests doing sex scenes, a fact he learned during his breakout TV role in England, the series The Men’s Room. Though it took him a while, Nighy is now a ubiquitous cinematic presence, popping up all over the place, sometimes in franchise blockbusters, and often in the films of Richard Curtis and Edgar Wright. To that last point, he has the rare distinction of appearing in each film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. Each of his roles he tackles with a glint in his eye and impeccable timing."
[Editor's note: Fortunately Love Actually is barely mentioned and only in connection with Still Crazy. He also has a longish comment about Vincent and the Doctor.]

21 Little Ways You Can Look After Your Mental Health Over Christmas:
"We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us how they look after themselves over the Christmas period. Here are some of their most helpful pieces of advice."

10 of the best Christmas light festivals in the UK:
"From dancing lasers to magical gardens, imaginative light shows are being switched on throughout the land. We preview 10 Christmas spectaculars."

The New Statesman’s ultimate Christmas lunchbreak guide 2016:
"We all know the best thing about the festive season is working all the way up to Christmas Eve, so here’s a list of the best (and worst) high street Christmas lunch food my colleagues and I have painstakingly chewed up and spat out for your delectation."

Your New TV Ruins Movies:
"If you have bought a television recently, or are considering buying one, take heed: your beautiful new flat-panel TV will try very, very hard to make whatever movies you watch on it look not just bad, but aggressively, satanically, puppy-drowningly bad."



This Giant Christmas Tree Suspended in an Ice Cube Isn't What It Seems:
"A cube of ice might not seem like the ideal place for a Christmas tree, but that's where one appears to be in British artist and sculptor Alex Chinneck's latest public artwork Fighting fire with ice cream. The seasonal installation is at Granary Square in Kings Cross, London and the suspended tree is 17' tall and covered in 1,200 lights."

diamond geezer fact checks The Londonist's The Best Bus Routes For Seeing London's Christmas Lights:
"Top website Londonist enjoys nothing better than publishing articles about "London's Best". So far this month we've had London's Best Quizzes, The Best New London Restaurants Opening In November, London's Best Deep Fried Foods, The Best London Vantage Points For Watching Fireworks On Bonfire Night, The Best Beer Festivals In London This November, The Best Sandwiches In South London and London's Best Single Item Restaurants. And then yesterday we got this."

Get a rainbow Christmas tree at this farm in New Jersey:
"You can’t find them on a street corner in NYC, but if you head out to this farm in New Jersey, you can get one of these rad rainbow Christmas trees. At Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm, you could get Douglas firs, blue spruces and fluorescent pink trees."

The Last Holiday Hurrah for British Retail:
"It's the typical run-up to Christmas. The tree's up, the novelty reindeer sweater's come out for its annual airing and retailers are fretting about the amount of money that will flow into their shops."

Watch Fiona Apple Sing Her New Christmas Song "Trump's Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire":
"Fiona Apple has shared a parody of Nat King Cole’s holiday classic “The Christmas Song,” in which she lambasts president-elect Donald Trump, as Paper Magazine points out. “Trump’s nuts roasting on an open fire/as he keeps nipping at his foes,” she sings. “Everybody knows some money and entitlement can help to make the season white/Mothers of color with their kids out of sight will find it hard to sleep at night.” Apple closes the song with, “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. Donald Trump, fuck you.” Watch her sing the full song below."

Christmas Links #6

Hugh Dennis presents the History of the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal:
"Hugh explains how the Christmas Appeal first began."

Somewhat Bigger Than A Christmas Card:
"When people find out about my partner’s diagnosis, after the initial shock and condolences, they usually end a difficult conversation by saying ‘let me know if there is anything I can do to help’. In those first few shell-shocked weeks, all we could was thank people for their offer and say no. Because unless someone happened to have a cure for lung cancer in their back pocket, what could anyone actually do? I was also determined to keep things as normal as possible for our two boys, so I asked friends and colleagues to respect a rule of no cards or gifts. If our house suddenly turned into a florists, (as it was in danger of doing) it would only confuse and alarm my children."

Nine Christmas-related things you (probably) didn’t know about Doctor Who…
"...can you supply the tenth?"

Pyropet - Candle With Skeleton:
"Cute animals shaped candles will reveal their wilder side once lit."

Crooks can guess Visa card details in six seconds by querying lots of websites at once:
"In Does The Online Card Payment Landscape Unwittingly Facilitate Fraud?, a new paper in IEEE Security & Privacy, researchers from the University of Newcastle demonstrate a technique for guessing secruity details for credit-card numbers in six seconds -- attackers spread their guesses out across many websites at once, so no website gets enough bad guesses to lock the card or trigger a fraud detection system."



‘Luke Cage’ Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix:
"Sweet Christmas! “Marvel’s Luke Cage” is officially getting a second season."

An introvert's guide to the office Christmas party:
"The work Christmas party is often a colourful event, from colleagues cosying up under the mistletoe, to your boss performing an impromptu karaoke set – it’s always a rich source of cringeworthy stories and merriment."

There’s only one way to survive volunteering for the Christmas fair:
"The PTA committee is beset with problems and Liz Dashwood has 150 jam jars to fill with sweets and plastic toys. Better crack open the Baileys then…"

‘Little c’ christmas is fine – it is ‘Big C’ Christmas that people fear disappearing:
"Look, I enjoy laughing about “The War on Christmas” as much as anyone. Is anything funnier than knowing that you are annoying someone by wishing them a “Wonderful Winterval”?"

A Muslim-Owned Restaurant Has Invited Homeless People For Christmas Dinner:
"The Muslim-owned Shish Restaurant in Sidcup, southeast London, has said it will provide homeless and elderly people with a free three-course Christmas dinner this year. “No one eats alone on Christmas Day,” it said in a leaflet. “We are here to sit with you.”"

Christmas Links #5

Kiss me, Chromedome: how the Transformers found peace and same-sex partnerships:
"A spin-off comic has shape-shifted the smash ’em up Transformers robots into a world of same-sex partnerships and a leader modelled on Tony Benn."
[Friend of the blog and DWM reviewer Graham Kibble-White writes for The Guardian! -- ed.]

Couple rewrites 'Baby It's Cold Outside' to emphasize importance of consent:
"A couple from Minnesota has re-imagined the classic Christmas song "Baby It's Cold Outside" for a 21st-century audience, changing the song's lyrics to emphasize the importance of consent."

Recipes: from venison meatballs to mulled glögg – food cooked over a birch fire:
"So much Swedish cooking is about fragrance. Since I run a restaurant that doesn’t use gas or electricity, only Scandinavian wood, I appreciate the scent of burning logs and coals as much as I do the sweet caramelising of meat or the nuttiness of melting butter. At home, I often cook outside with birch fires; the smell of wood and spices mingling in the fresh winter air is delicious."

Sight and Sound's Best Films of 2016:
"Time again for our annual international critics’ poll of the year’s top movies. This year we asked 163 critics and curators to name their five best films of the year – and the results are a small triumph for diversity (not to mention a lot of treats still to come to UK cinemas over the next few months). Films directed by women make up the majority of the top five, alongside Barry Jenkins’ gay black coming of age portrait Moonlight in second place."

Christmas Lights Turned on in Bethlehem:
"Hundreds of people gathered in Bethlehem to attend the annual turning on of Christmas tree lights in the West Bank city, marking the start of the Advent season."



BBC One Christmas Advert 2016.
[Fabulously inclusive film about the audience.]

Premature twin family prepare for first Christmas:
"A couple who refused to switch off their baby's life support after her sister died have told how she "never gave up" on her fight for life."

A Grinch stole a Grinch, but fret not, Seattle. Christmas will come:
"I want to highlight a good deed that someone has done this Christmas season."

Record 1,378 Christmas trees at Melton Mowbray festival:
"A Christmas tree festival has again broken its own record for the number of trees in a church."

The Snowflake Trail:
"From 1 December – 3 January Liverpool city centre will be transformed into a festive spectacle by the return of the Snowflake Trail; the city’s very own winter festival of spectacular light and sound that will capture the imagination of young and old alike."

The Lost.

TV Fucks sake. Eight episodes of this woefully middling series (I've come to the conclusion I was initially too kind to Class) and now we're treated to one of the most pat reveals since the cliffhanger ending of the first episode of every old Who story with Dalek in the title. The Weeping Angels. Well, gee. Perhaps its for the best that this "arrival" business hasn't been hinted at for the whole series because then we really might have felt let down.  Then again, I still feel let down even though we were only made aware of it about half an hour before they emerged.  True, it's hard to think of another monster which might have had more currency, the Voord perhaps, but there's something really quite disappointing about having to sit through one of those scenes which is supposed to be some ruddy great revelation and then be reintroduced to a foe which has gone past the point of having made their point.

Who are these governors?  Cyril Nri is obviously not supposed to be reprising his shopkeeper role from The Sarah Jane Adventures, mores the pity, but as it goes so far they are incredibly dull, which means they're not some part of the Faction Paradox or breakaway wing of the Time Lords.  One of the key decisions taken in the Buffyverse has been to not entirely introduce its audience to the senior partners at W R & H, which has kept them deliciously mysterious.  Giving this lot a face and dress sense automatically diminishes them as does their astonishingly cliched if beautifully photographed locale.  In an episode already overstuffed, we're also being asked to care about yet another thing which isn't even in the expositional orbit of most of the main characters other than in a vague sense of the headmistress knowing some things.

Gah.  I'm cross.  Once again, Class fails to tip over into Torchwood's Miracle Day levels of awfulness, settling once again into being, yeah, it's OK.  You're not missing much if you don't watch it, and it has enough decent things in it if you're patient enough, but, shrug.  Rubbish without being downright awful.  The Lost is the epitome of what's been wrong with the whole series.  To repeat:  not enough time given over to making us care about the characters in a series which feels like a much longer stream of episode reduced to just the instalments focused on the main story arc.  Despite the revelation, a show set in the Doctor Who universe which largely ignores the benefits of that.  A lack of clear direction as to what the show is supposed to be having entirely ignored its initial mission statement of being about a group of precarious friends fighting whatever drops through the rifts in time.

Which isn't to say that bits of The Lost aren't just plain mediocre.  The opening teaser montage is frankly godawful, April's sub-Corrs dirge overpowering what should be some huge character beats in a way which suggests that we're watching the truncation of a much longer opening.  The unusual cynical motivating factor of parental murder.  Some of the performance histrionics are incredibly hard to take.  Even taking into the account the fact that people react to grief in different ways, crying simply isn't some actors forte notably when it reaches retching levels, especially when said actors range has otherwise extended to scowls and sarcasm.  The relationship scenes between characters are often rudimentary at best, lacking any sense of wit or reflection of real characters having believable emotions.

Despite the murders, budget limitations simply won't allow for the threat of the Shadow army on the populace to be properly extenuated.  Exactly how far this threat has spread isn't properly extenuated.  We're probably supposed to assume globally but this leads us to wonder why UNIT aren't dealing with all of this, or the remnants of Torchwood or the Attic Team or, well, you get the idea.  Given the level of danger involved, someone would and should have called the Doctor by now and here we are again with the shared universe problem.  It simply doesn't make sense for these teenagers to be left dealing with this threat in the manner with with the Doctor did, our suspension of disbelief unearned and the lack of any reference to him, even in the negative, at this moment, is frankly bizarre.  At least those other series have the good grace to try and explain his absence.

If there are any positives they're because Katherine Kelly has been perfectly cast even though she's now being hampered by a mystical pregnancy.  The all too brief training scenes between Quill and Tanya hint at a series which allows its characters to breath and simply enjoy one another's company, with such things working as a b-plot contrast to whatever the a-plot monster is.  You also can't argue with the show's impressive diversity, with not a single white cis male in sight; at a time when people who look like me even if they're nothing like me are in their racist ascendancy, it's genuinely important to have shows which represent the world as is could and should be and often is rather than pandering to the Caucasian patriarchal norm.  Much as I enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane last night, there's absolutely no reason why any or all of those three characters had to be from the same racial origin.

But none of this is enough.  The writer clearly wants us to be invested in the implications of opening the box and wreaking genocide on the shadows and there was some attempts at foreshadowing the moral dilemma in previous episodes but there's a reason why "Have I the right" works in Genesis.  The Doctor is an extremely moral person being asked to do a horrifying thing.  Here the Prince is essentially fighting against a mountain of selfish reasons not to.  He's already decided he has every right but numerous artificial narrative blocks are what's stopping him.  That makes him less than heroic - the script wants us to empathise with him even though he's generally come across as being a self-indulgent arsehole.  After a while it becomes actively annoying that he keeps delaying the inevitable, a blessed relief when he finally shoots Chekhov's gun.

Similarly we should feel something about the death of April.  But it's a female character suiciding herself so that a male character can do the heroic thing (even if, as we've discussed ...) which along with Quill's pregnancy somewhat undermines the show's otherwise "woke" qualities.  Plus since she is only one of the two younger female leads we have to know that she'll be brought back should the show be recommissioned.  And it's a cue for some more of that distracting histrionic acting.  Then having her resurrected in the body of the actual shadow king, whilst pleasingly bonkers in the Chibnallian sense, will obviously be resolved via some magic or other - transferring herself back into her own body, simply ending up there due to some undiscovered mental trap door or an external intervention.

There's a weird arrogance to all of this.  Class thinks its getting another series doesn't it?  Have they already been recomissioned thanks to the injection of cash from international investors?  BBC America have delayed broadcast which isn't a great sign and apparently the first couple of the episodes of the show didn't reach the top 50 on the iPlayer which means it's being watched by less than 185,000 viewers which given the first one has the Doctor's lengthy cameo, the lead character in what's supposed to be one of the cornerstones of BBC One's schedule over the Christmas and in the new year, something isn't working.  As I've said before, it's either poor advertising, a lack of interest from the people who should be, or the show not being good enough for people to want to recommend it to others.

Class will be on the iPlayer for another eleven months and there's still the television broadcast to come.  Perhaps it will find an audience now that it's entirely available to be binged through.  A second series could potentially be a better prospect.  Perhaps having run off most of the unrelatable backstory now, he'll allow his characters to become more likeable, less ambiguous.  The elements are here and if the intention is to embrace more qualities of the key mythology, that at least could make it feel essential, especially if they have any significance within the main series.  As it stands Class is a failed experiment, a self-defeating rudderless concoction presenting itself as a Doctor Who spin-off which for the most part is nothing of the sort.  Can you imagine if this doesn't get a second series?  What a stupid way to end things.

Christmas Links #4

The experts’ guide to a great British cheeseboard:
"You have to have a cheeseboard at Christmas. It’s the law, along with turkey, sherry and sprouts, even if you don’t like them. But no one expects you to put much effort into it; days before Santa’s due, many of us reach for a supermarket selection. “Stilton?” we say, squinting at the packaging. “Check. Cheddar? Check. Something grey that might be brie? That’ll do.”"

The Last European Christmas: On Brexit, Hodgepodge Dinners, and Finding Your Identity:
"Brought up in Scotland, with an Irish father and Italian mother, I’ve never felt British—“Heinz 57 Varieties” was the family joke. And despite living in England for years, it’s painfully clear I’m not English. The UK’s recent Brexit has left me feeling more out on a limb. Who even am I? For those of us who came up along with the EU these past two decades, and who have long been grateful for England’s vibrant melting-pot heritage, the vote is little short of jaw-dropping."

9 reasons why The Likely Lads made the best Xmas TV special ever:
"The centre piece of BBC 1’s Christmas Eve 1974 line up was a final TV outing for Bob, Terry and Thelma. A typically maudlin special, with some out of place obligatory 70s slapstick, its mostly set in the Fat Ox and Bob’s front room. The aspirations of Thelma and the Elm Lodge Housing Estate clashed yet again with Terry’s insistence that inevitably he was just looking forward, at Christmas time, to the past. He’s waiting for that match on Boxing Day lunchtime (Newcastle v Carlisle) to kick off when normality would return…"

The “perfect” Christmas doesn’t exist – so why are women still expected to provide it?
"I couldn’t help but notice a particular supermarket advert last week – I’m guessing this brand’s Christmas card from fourth-wave feminism got lost in the post. Mum cheerfully picks up the mince pies from the bakery, while gleeful Grandma is dispatched to the vegetable aisle. Later, around a packed family table, cheerful Mum’s still on her feet, carrying in the glazed turkey. And Dad? Well, he’s sat at the head of the table. Passively surveying the feast."

Ten Nightmares Before (And During And After) Christmas:
"Strap yourself in for a rundown of ten Christmas movies you definitely shouldn't be circling in the double Radio Times..."



Amazon users have flooded Donald Trump’s $149 “Make America Great Again” Christmas ornament with bad reviews:
"Despite the bargain price tag and the fact it’s made of brass (and finished in 14 karat gold), it has been getting mostly one-star reviews."

Norman, The Man Who Said That Pesto Is Exotic, Is Back In The “Bake Off” Christmas Special:
"In completely EXCEPTIONAL baking news, it has been announced that Norman, NORMAN, is returning to Bake Off for the Christmas special this year."

All aboard! Christmas trains keep holiday spirit on track:
"Forget sleighs. The ultimate Christmas ride requires a train, with tourist railways across the country adding more specially themed holiday excursions every year. “There’s just a psychological bond between trains and Christmas,” says Jim Wrinn, editor of Trains Magazine, who believes the connection comes from nostalgia for holiday train trips to see family and toy railroads circling a decorated tree. He shares some favorite excursions with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY. Be sure and check ahead before visiting, as many trains sell out."

Live the life of Ralphie with a Christmas stay in the house used in 'A Christmas Story':
"Watching “A Christmas Story” is part of the holiday tradition for many, a visit to the Cleveland house used in the filming of the movie takes it step further but how would you like the opportunity to go all out and go full Ralphie this Christmas Eve? It’s an experience that could be yours for a price."

10 Awesome Christmas Ornaments for U.S. History Buffs:
"What a wonderful variety of ornaments we can get to decorate our Christmas trees! Here is an array of ornaments perfect for any U.S. history buff, whether that someone is yourself or a loved one."

Christmas Links #3

Will Liverpool get a white Christmas? Odds fall as forecasts predict cold snap:
"Winter has definitely arrived, with Liverpool enduring some of the coldest days of 2016 so far over the last few days."

'It shocks people that I refuse to lie': what parents tell their children about Santa:
"Christmas is just around the corner, and with it comes excitement about the arrival of Santa. But academics Christopher Boyle from the UK and Kathy McKay from Australia warned against going too far when it comes to the Father Christmas myth. They said the Santa story can lead children to distrust their parents."

St Andrews Church Corbridge Christmas Tree Festival:
"Including organ recital - Friday 12:30 to 1:30pm"

Christmas at the Medieval Court:
"Though Christmas was very different in the Middle Ages, many of the pastimes and activities that we associate with it would have been familiar to medieval people. Feasting, playing games, singing, drinking around a fire, decorating the house with evergreens, and giving gifts, are just some of the traditions enjoyed in the medieval festive season."

Domino's just gave up on its reindeer pizza delivery plans for Christmas in Japan:
"Those reindeer turned out to be a lot harder to train than Domino's had anticipated. The American pizza company announced on Thursday it was abandoning its plans to use reindeer to deliver pizzas in Japan for Christmas."



BBC Christmas 2016 - Trailer:
"BBC Television invites viewers to celebrate Christmas 2016 in all its glory across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four, with a bountiful array of festive delights from the nation’s favourite shows, alongside all-star names in brand new content especially for the Christmas season including ..."

BBC VT Xmas 1996 - Digital Wonderland:
"And now on to the headline feature! John Birt fans look away now as he gets ripped a new arsehole! Featuring a decent Mission: Impossible and Scooby Doo pastiches amongst its parodies in this multichannel parody of Sky." (thanks Darren)

President Obama sings 'Jingle Bells':
"Obama sang the Christmas carol at the White House tree lighting ceremony."

Supermarket solves 'mince pie gap' problem:
"Supermarket chefs have solved a culinary conundrum which has baffled Christmas cooks for generations … how to remove the ‘air gap’ from a mince pie. The pie’s lid usually rises in the oven, creating a space between the fruity mixture and pastry, which can cause the pie to sink when it’s bitten in to and leave customers deflated. But now Asda’s Innovation Chef Mark Richmond and his team have come up with a solution – and taste-tested more than 750 pies in the process – to close the gap in time for Christmas."

Make your holidays less human with the new Daft Punk ornaments:
"If your Christmases have been missing that slick electronic sheen and awesome talkbox/vocoder tricks of a particularly bangin’ Daft Punk track, then your extremely specific wish may have just been granted thanks to a new batch of holiday-themed Daft Punk merchandise. The band has sold Christmas ornaments in the past, but now they have a new set of miniature helmets that should class up even the crummiest of Christmas trees."

Christmas Links #2

Tinsel and Twitter: New Zealand's secret Santa matches social media strangers:
"The game was launched in 2010 by Hamilton man Sam Elton-Walters, who matched strangers on Twitter to send secret Santa gifts to each other in time for Christmas. Participants would drop hints of their interests and hobbies via tweets – or, more directly, write lists of gifts they would like to receive."

Netflix ‘Sense8’ Confirms Christmas Special Premiere Date:
"It seems so long ago that Sense8 offered any update on Season 2, or at least the Christmas special rumored to tide over fans until 2017. Now, Netflix has stealthily confirmed that new Sense8 content will arrive in late December, just in time for the holidays!"

25 Christmas-Not-Christmas movies for December:
"Everyone loves Christmas movies. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly enough people to justify dedicating an entire channel to them and endlessly looping a few over and over around the holidays. This year though, maybe you'll want to watch something different, something illuminating a different side of the holiday. Not all of the 25 movies below are strictly Christmas Movies, but all of them have something very specific to say about Christmas."

BBC to broadcast behind-the-scenes Nutcracker documentary on Christmas Day 2016:
"BBC Two will broadcast a special 90-minute documentary following the process of staging The Royal Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker on Christmas Day 2016 at 4pm."

Christmas isn’t being banned. But we should play along with those who think it is:
"Why aren’t we allowed to talk about Christmas any more? For that’s the question we’re all asking ourselves, surely, in between ordering the turkey and hanging the Advent calendar."



35 great alternative Christmas songs:
"Bored of ‘Jingle Bells’ and the same god awful Christmas songs every time you walk into a shop or turn on the radio? Find salvation with our pick of 30 Yuletide tracks to sooth ears. First up, it’s Cee-Lo Green and The Muppets."

Beaver walks into Md. store, finds only artificial Christmas trees, and proceeds to trash it:
"In St. Mary’s County, Md., at least one badly behaved beaver is ready for holiday shopping."

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree Elegantly:
"Anyone can throw some lights on a tree, but a beautifully decorated Christmas tree can light up the holiday spirit of everyone who sees it. Make sure your tree looks exquisite and classic by decorating with elegance. You'll need some planning time and a budget for ornaments, and then arrange all the decorations in order."

Five Plot Point Breakdowns: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
"1. INCITING INCIDENT -- In the little town of Whoville, the Whos joyously prepare for Christmas. The Grinch (Boris Karloff), who lives in a snowy mountain cave above Whoville, hates Christmas and wishes there was something he could do to make it stop. (00:03:33)"

Millard woman catches Christmas light thief on camera:
"A real-life Grinch is stealing holiday cheer from a woman's front yard, Millard resident Nicole Albers said."