THEGAYUK

Tag: Christmas

All the latest breaking news on Christmas. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Christmas.

  • EXCLUSIVE | Michael Fish MBE give THEGAYUK his Christmas Weather Report

    Following numerous requests for information on the BIGGEST Christmas question, we speak exclusively with National Treasure Michael Fish MBE for a (ahem) ‘guaranteed’ prediction on if it’ll snow this December 25th?

    It’s an age-old question that us forecasters have battled with for many a year. Will it or won’t it snow on Christmas Day? Of course if I knew the answer to this then I’d be a very rich man by now. If we’re to believe the newspapers each year, then yes ‘Snowmaggeddon’ is coming and we should all bulk buy our port and Stilton now and get ready for hibernation. Sadly it’s very hard to even try to predict until about five days before the event…

    However, never being shy of a challenge, I’ve monitored the instruments in the garden and had the Met Office charts sent over to study and I think I can quite categorically say…

    Don’t worry. A Christmas snowstorm is NOT on the way… [wink].

    To find out more about Michael Fish do visit: www.Michael-Fish.com

  • Top Ten List of Fab Gay Films to Fill a Christmas Stocking

    Here’s our Top Ten List of Fab Films to Fill a Christmas Stocking to suit any (movie) buff boyfriend from Amazon that will still arrive by the 25th if you have still not bought a Christmas gift for ‘him indoors’?

    (more…)

  • Can You Spend Christmas Homo Alone?

    I blame all those bloody Christmas songs. Think of all the ones written about being on your own for the festive season. Okay, now try thinking of one that is not a mournful wrist slasher.

    As I thought.

    Right now I have no plans for Christmas and highly likely to be home alone on the 25th. Frankly it’s not keeping me awake at night and if anything Plan B, taking advantage of one day I don’t have to be somewhere else and attempting to claw back a tiny part of this year’s sleep debt, has a lot of appeal.

    However, tell some people you’re planning a lone Yuletide and watch their eyes widen in horror;

    ”YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!”

    The following mix of horror and faux sympathy is akin to having admitted to contracting a rare, nasty tropical skin condition. Or even worse, being a UKIP supporter.

    The assumption is that despite your protests that it’s all fine and that a solo Christmas is no big deal, you must be putting a brave face on it. Or a confirmed Christmas hater. Not true. At worse it’s an inconvenience; a day off work for sure, but the gym is shut and there is no popping out for a medium Americano and a biscotti at the local generic coffee chain branch should the urge arise.

    And this year I really must remember to buy two days worths of fags on the 24th as trying to find a petrol station that’s open for emergency supplies after running is quite annoying.

    Christmas can be a challenge for the single gay. For myself, the circumstances are my parents are long gone, closest friends are many miles away and other acquaintances are with their own flesh and blood. Or spending it with their current life partners. The very thought of gatecrashing a couple-y Christmas Day makes me queasy. Nobody wants to play gooseberry next to the cranberry jelly.

    I really don’t feel like I’m missing out though. It’s cool to post on Facebook about just how much you despise Christmas (these posts start to appear around late August, judging from my newsfeed) or to witter on about how magical it is. But no one often talks about being ambivalent about it. There are bits I quite like but let’s face facts here, folks; it’s hard work and stressful. We spend much of lives from mid November onwards standing in queues and I can’t say I’m gripped with a burning desire to sweat over vegetable versus turkey timings or feeling duty bound to wear a novelty jumper while silently praying that the inevitable whacky photo can remain my dirty little secret to the grave.

    Occasionally though I do catch myself seeing an ad on telly of a lifestyle porn, picture perfect Christmas and giving pause. Whilst staying at home is my choice, it just might be nice to go somewhere after all. There are the inevitable downsides to a lone 25th at home. For a start, no one to shower you with a mountain of beautifully wrapped gifts. Hey, I’m a homosexual; flashes of shallowness are in my genetic code.

    But then us Home Aloners get wistful comments from pals; ”Oh I wish I was spending Christmas alone; you’re lucky…”. This is the special family time when we remember just why we try to limit contact with the passive aggressive sister in law and the uncle that still smells of dry rot to just once a year. The virtual house arrest of the holidays can be a pretty brutal microscope for personal relationships.

    Many people have said they would like to swap festive seasons with me and would quite happily ditch the relatives and spend it on their lonesome. Really? Because when the day comes and you go for a walk in the afternoon, glimpsing others tucking into lunch or Dads in Santa hats laughing with their kids… That can be the part that stings if you haven’t fully thought the choice through and decided that you can deal with the day alone. Because for all it’s flaws, Christmas can be okay.

    The grass isn’t always (Christmas tree) greener on the other side.

  • GARDEN| Gifts From The Garden

    Christmas – I love it. I love the music, the dark cold nights in the pub with friends, driving for hours to be with family, too much food, way too much drink. It also feels to me like throughout December people are nicer to each other.

    The Christmas spirit definitely exists – Christmas parties, funny jumpers and strategically hung mistletoe all play a part in cheering us up and making us think a little bit more about how we treat our fellow men and women.

    However – (there had to be a but!) my feelings towards giving and receiving of gifts is mixed. Somewhere along the way gift giving has become a bit crass and tacky.

    Before Andy and I began trying to make a living from our smallholding we were as guilty as anyone. We bought horrendous amounts of gifts for friends, friends of friends, close family, distant family, work mates we liked, work colleagues we didn’t, the postman and even our pets. We had no reason to do it – it was just part of Christmas.

    So once we moved and the purse strings became tighter we made a rule – If we can’t afford to buy someone a gift, we don’t.

    For us now Christmas is simpler, It’s about sharing our lives with the people we love. We make (almost) all of our gifts and have a real sense of satisfaction when sharing them with our loved ones.

    Having learnt a lot about keeping poultry we’re raising turkeys to give to our parents.

    We’ve kept our bees happy – so we’ve got honey to give.

    The Polytunnel has given us some great produce to turn into gifts like spiced courgette chutney.

    Our favourites, the pigs, mean we’ve got homemade sausages and pork chops to delight our friends

    Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon is the best way to start your Christmas Day. (We can’t provide the salmon this year – but onwards and upwards!)

    A lot of people have given up their time to help us over the last three years so we’ll be giving out vouchers for a free weekend in the holiday cottage.

    Using the herbs from around the smallholding, these simple oils make great gifts.

    The gifts we’re giving this year are specific to our situation and place – not everyone has the space to raise turkeys! But you could use home grown herbs to make flavoured oils, or use some of your homegrown veg to make chutneys.

    It’s about experiences – everyone has received something they don’t want for Christmas. Something stuffed in a drawer that never sees the light of day. But what if you give them a new taste that changes the way they see food – or take them somewhere they’ve never been.

    The best gift I’ve ever been given is a photocopy of a friend’s favourite recipe. It sounds simple but when I cooked the meal a few months after Christmas (spiced potato cakes with halloumi and pineapple relish – in case you’re wondering!!)) it felt like eating it was the second part of the gift -like my friend had chosen that recipe because they love it and thought I would too. Really special.

    So this year think outside the (money) box. If you give your parents a voucher for a day’s help in the garden, or your sister a promise to help her decorate her lounge or your best friend a note to say you’ll be over in the spring to help them plant up their new flower beds (We’re giving a lot of people that one this year!!) I guarantee you’ll have a healthier wallet in January and lots of things and experiences to look forward to in 2015. Win, win.

     

    So have a great time everyone – be merry, be safe and be present savvy!

     

    See you in the new year x

     

    By Adam Willcox

     

  • Is this the song that will destroy Christmas?

    Television X has announced the launch of the festive single by TVXbabes in a bid to hit the No.1 in the UK music charts this Christmas.

    The original song called ‘Coming For Christmas’ is described as a ‘high-energy, fun and poptastic Christmas contender’ for the coverted number one slot for Christmas day.

    The single, will be officially launched on 1st December with the unveiling of the full video on 27th November on the TVXbabes You Tube channel.

    Artists that currently have their sights set on gaining an elusive Christmas Number 1 slot include: Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas, John Lewis’s Real Love, the X Factor winner and Iron Maiden.

    Sneak a peak at the teaser video here

  • Top 10 Campest Christmas Films Ever

    CHRISTMAS is the campest of all the holidays we celebrate : it’s the season of both joy and sheer excess, and should always be a great deal of fun. To help you have a gay old time we have trailed our extensive Film Library to give you.

    A L’INTÉRIEUR aka Inside. If you are big fan of horror flicks, then this is a real sick Christmas one for you. If this not a genre you like then STOP READING NOW. This exceedingly nasty French movie made in 2009 starts with a baby dying in utero in a car crash. This becomes one total bloody fest as one very pregnant woman attempts to stop a stranger in her manger from cutting her unborn baby out of her tummy before it’s fully cooked. It’s on this list as it is as camp as hell. Literally.

    BUY IT

    A MERRY FRIGGING CHRISTMAS. We’ve included this brand new one even though we haven’t seen it …yet … as its one of the last movies that the late great ROBIN WILLIAMS made. This mad-cap comedy also stars Candace Bergen, Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, and Jeffrey Tambor.BUY IT

    ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS. Santa travels to Orlando to pick his successor before his magic runs out. When he arrives, he just happens to meet Ernest, a bumbling taxi driver who is filled with holiday joy. Ernest drops Santa off so he can meet with the next Santa, Joe Carruthers but forgets Santa’s magic bag in the trunk. This very silly comedy is a great way to just laugh that excessive Christmas Day dinner off.BUY IT

    GO. This is a wonderfully funny action flick that follows several separate storylines on one very strange Christmas in Los Angeles and Vegas. For purposes here it’s worth noting that the most Christmassy of the storylines involves insanely hot Timothy Olyphant as a drug dealer in nothing but sweatpants and a Santa hat who holds Katie Holmes hostage. BUY IT

    GREMLINS. THE star of ”Gremlins” the mogwai is a small, furry, fictitious creature that looks something like a cuddly teddy bear with the ears of a rabbit, a Bambilike nose, eyes as round and deep and dark as glass buttons, a sweet disposition and a physical nature more unstable than hydrogen gas. When Rand gives one to his son Billy (who fervently does not believe in Santa) as Christmas gift, all hell lets loose in their small town. Silly fun.

    BUY IT

    MEET ME IN ST LOUIS. Christmas without Judy Garland would be unthinkable and the best one we think to watch over the holiday is this classic film: one of her very best. After all. MGM promoted this as ‘Technicolor Romance of Gaiety and Song’. Exactly

    MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. The original version 1947 earned this Santa Claus Edmund Glenn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, in a movie that never leaves a dry eye in the house.

    BUY IT

    THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. In Tim Burton’s delightful animated movie Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn’t quite understand the concept. A wee gem of a film.BUY IT

    THE SILENT PARTNER. This camp almost forgotten Canadian gem from 1978 stars Christopher Plummer as a very hammy psychopath Santa Claus whose attempt to rob a Bank is foiled when the timid Teller (a very young Elliot Gould) beats him too it. Also stars an almost unrecognizable John Candy and Suzannah York.BUY IT

    WHITE CHRISTMAS. This list would not be complete with one of the all-time camp Christmas movies that in 1954 Paramount claimed was ‘the most fabulous music and mirth show in motion picture history’. Starring Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye but our favorite track is Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen singing the original version of Sisters.BUY IT

  • Top 12 Tips To Get A Bargain At A Christmas Market

    More people than ever are considering taking a trip to a Christmas market in Europe this year, perhaps buoyed by the current strength of the Pound against the Euro, now offering £1 = 1.2465 Euros compared to £1 = 1.1588 Euros this time last year.

    While some stall holders will take cards, in most instances cash is king, offering opportunities for buyers to barter and haggle. Leading travel money provider ICE – International Currency Exchange is reminding travellers to request low denomination notes when ordering their currency to maximise the chances of some good old fashioned haggling and reduce the risk of theft in busy markets, by taking a pin-protected prepaid currency card.

    Koko Sarkari, COO of ICE said,

    “There are around 100 Christmas Markets in Germany alone, 25 in France, 20 in Belgium and 18 in Italy so there’s no shortage of magical places to visit this November and December. And if you fancy some haggling, you’ll need some cash to show the stall holder you mean business. But don’t be tempted to take all your spending money in cash – that could be asking for trouble. Load some money onto a prepaid currency card such as the ICE Travellers Cashcard and then withdraw what you need at ATMs and to pay for meals out and larger purchases in shops. Unlike a credit card, if a prepaid card is lost or stolen, only the amount on the card is at risk. One of the key benefits of the ICE Travellers Cashcard is that it comes with a free back up card which can be activated through one call to our team.”

     

    Top 12 Haggling Tips

    1. Do your research and shop around – make sure you know the types of crafts and products on offer and what they should cost

     

    2. Understand the exchange rate – make sure you know how much sterling is worth

     

    3. Don’t flash too much cash – take smaller denominations

     

    4. Learn the lingo – it’s much harder to negotiate in a foreign language so try to learn a few choice words – it may help the vendor to warm to you and lower the price

     

    5. Every city has its key take-home souvenir – ask the locals who does the best or cheapest souvenir

     

    6. Set a budget and don’t be tempted to exceed it

     

    7. Don’t haggle too soon

     

    8. Make sure you’re in control of the situation and lead the negotiation

     

    9. Offer half of the stated price as your first bid

     

    10. Stand your ground

     

    11. Get the vendor to include something extra for no additional cost

     

    12. NEVER tell them your budget

  • Tom Daley’s ‘Gay Icon’ Christmas

    Diving champion and Olympic medalist Tom Daley has had a festive Christmas – judging by his Instagram account.

    Rainbows were apparently the theme for the newly out Diver, Tom Daley as he shared his Christmas day on Instagram with his fans and followers.

    Pictures included his brand new rainbow socks and a pressie wrapped with a rainbow – but most revealingly of all – Tom posed in nothing by a ‘gay icon’ apron.

    Apparently the turkey was shocked.

  • 5 Pagan origins of Christmas

    Christmas is a Christian festival, but a lot of its traditions originate from the older pagan festival of Yule. Yule or the Winter Solstice is on 21st December; it is the shortest day and longest night in year. From this point on days will begin to get longer. Pagans come together celebrate the return of the sun or re-birth of the sun God.

    Let’s have a look at 5 Christmas traditions and discover their pagan origins:

    1. The Christmas tree
    The evergreen Christmas tree started with the pagans. They saw evergreen as symbolic of the eternal cycles of nature: birth, life, death and re-birth. The re-birth always being seen as a result of the sun’s return.

    I remember decorating the Christmas tree when I was little. My mum would let me and my brothers decorate one side of the tree and then put that side against the wall. Or she’d let us decorate it and then strategically move all of the decorations to where she wanted them to be, before visitors began to arrive. As we got older, she simply refused to let us decorate the tree at all. Did anybody else’s mum do that, or was it just mine?

    The decorations, like the round baubles in colours of red and yellow and the lights (before electricity candles were used) are all seen by pagans as representations of the sun God.

    2. The Presents
    Pagans gave presents long before Christian’s came along, but on New Years Day rather than at Yule. The presents were often small and symbolic of a blessing for the year ahead.

    Christian’s didn’t start giving presents until relatively recently. In Britain due to poverty and culture, Christmas presents didn’t commonplace until around the Victorian Era. There are records of wealthy people giving presents before then, but it was only some people and these were the upper classes of society.

    3. Father Christmas
    Father Christmas or Santa goes back to the Christian Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift giving to children and for valuing children greatly.

    But what show his pagan roots are the colours of his archetypal dress. When I think of Father Christmas, I think of Miracle of 34th Street. I imagine the scene in which Kris is putting on his suit for the first time. His red suit with white trim, black belt with golden buckle, his black boots and of course his red hat. These colours: red, white and gold are all associated with the pagan sun god, who is believed to be re-born on Yule.

    4. Kissing Under The Mistletoe
    This time of year, mistletoe always seems to find it’s way to the office Christmas party. Hung in some precarious doorway, it can lead to an awkward moment of avoiding eye contact and pretending you’ve not seen it or to a drunken Christmas snog with the hottie from the IT Department.

    Mistletoe’s pagan origins are as a symbol of fertility. Yule was a festival of fertility, by the very nature of it being the festival were the life-giving sun God is re-born. Often pagan’s would give mistletoe to those wanting to conceive.

    5. The Humble Robin
    Every year I receive at least one Christmas card with the humble robin on. His pagan associations come from his striking reddy orange chest, a symbol of the sun and also in his ability to fly. His ability to fly means that he can leave and then return, very much like the sun God.

    There you have it, 5 Christmas Christian traditions that originated from paganism. It’s not just Christmas that has pagan roots, Christian festivals throughout the year have pagan traditions and elements integrated into them.

    Have a great Christmas or Yule, whichever you choose to call it and whatever religious belief system (or not) is.

  • COLUMN | A Message From The Bunker

    As an atheist, vegetarian, teetotal, chocolate hating, childless man with very little family and a job which requires me to work over Christmas often, I don’t really see a lot in it for me to enjoy. I ‘came out’ as a festive hater a few years back and have suffered all the usual labels of Grinch and Scrooge and the tedious Bah Humbug comments.

    Over the course of several years, I gradually sloughed off the habits expected of me. I just didn’t enjoy them and despite what everyone seems to say, none of it is compulsory. Stopping sending cards celebrating something I don’t celebrate, not attending the tense family meal, avoiding the dreary works’ do: all of these actions felt increasingly liberating. I also discovered that amongst my friends there were a huge number of secret Christmas haters.

    Maybe you love it (and good luck to you if you do) but for those who feel like I do, here are my top five tips for avoiding the Yuletide hassle.

    1) Avoid Social Media: Unless you want to see endless ‘selfies’ of sweaty people in too much make-up at works’ parties, photos of uncomfortable looking people at dinner tables, over-dressed trees and endless Instagrammed food pictures, then stay clear. You’ll also avoid the smug updates and the plethora of posts where people complain about how much they have to do.

    2) Avoid the shops: They’ll be packed with amateurs. People who don’t enter a shop from one month to the next descend on the high streets in December and they just don’t understand the etiquette and tend to get underfoot. Shop rage can soon ensue. Plus: all those delightful little things you want to buy are all wedged in a back stockroom to make way for nasty little novelty gifts.

    3) Invest in good headphones: You’ll need these if you have to make a foray into a shop to buy food or more importantly some kind of substance such as nicotine or alcohol to get you through. Unless you really do love Aled Jones and Shakin’ Stevens then your own music is essential to keep you sane whilst you stagger round the booze aisle.

    4) Utilise technology: Unless you want bombarding with tacky perfume ads, images of plastic families eating mountains of food and various mythical weird Utopian delights dreamt up by advertisers then you need to avoid live television. Skipping adverts is what the DVD recorder/box type thing and internet were made for

    5) If it gets too much hide: There’s still a few bunkers left from the last war. Maybe hiding in one of these might help you avoid the yuletide horrors. I have a perfectly lovely one where I’ve draped a few Liberty fabrics and have a delightful Chaise Longue. If you fancy joining me: I have enough dried food to get me through till January. I also have a collection of music that doesn’t include anything by Slade and a pile of books. Just don’t mention the C word to me.

    If you are religious and Christmas is your festival then I really hope you enjoy it. As for the rest of you: whatever it is you think you might be celebrating, I hope you enjoy it too.

  • TOP 5: Chocolate Advent Calendars

    I love Christmas and even more the build up to it.

    What better way to excite yourself silly throughout December than to own a chocolate advent calendar. 24 reasons to get up in the morning. The building excitement as you hit the double figure windows. Then finally the opening of door 24 and knowing this is it, this is the night he’ll visit and spoil me rotten for all my hard work throughout the year. However we’re a long way off yet, so here are my top 5 chocolate advent calendars to help you build the festive cheer this coming December.

    La Maison Du Chocolat: The Advent Calendar

    £48.00 – 24 chocolate boxes.

    This delightful tree shaped calendar decorated with cream and gold numbered boxes hide a collection of holiday chocolates and pralines. My mum will love it even more as it’s the kind of thing she’ll keep to refill herself next year. Top tip, don’t allow her to, she won’t refill with the quality of these delicious chocs!

    www.lamaisonduchocolat.co.uk

    Hotel Chocolat: Truffle for Two Advent Calendar

    £26.00 – 48 truffles

    There’s nothing worse than having your morning choccie pinched by the boyfriend before you’ve had chance to wipe the sleep from your eyes. Well here’s the perfect solution. Behind each window are two mini-dome truffles, one for you and one for him. Of course there’s no law that says you have to share them.

    www.hotelchocolat.com

    Charbonnel et Walker: Christmas Advent Calendar

    £30.00 – 24 chocolates

    A smart classy red box with gold dangling bauble design hides 24 windows to hand-made milk and dark chocolates (non-alcoholic). The trick is to hold off opening all the doors on day one.

    www.charbonnel.co.uk

    Thorntons: The Snowman and the Snowdog Advent Calendar

     

    £5.99 – 28 chocolates

    The cheapest in the bunch and chosen mainly because Christmas isn’t Christmas without watching The Snowman and turning into a blubbering heap on the floor. Well now every morning can be one long emotional mess as you tuck into the milk chocolate treats. Plus there are extra white chocolate snowmen to enjoy and you can have your name iced onto the main window chocolate. It’s what every adult wanted as a child and never got!

    www.thorntons.co.uk

    Drinks by the Dram: Whisky or Gin Advent Calendars

    £149.95 – Whisky, £109.95 – Gin

    For those of you who hate chocolate and feel you need something stronger than a shot of coffee to get out of bed on a cold winters morning, here is the perfect solution. 24 windows each containing 3cl bottles of whisky or gin. These aren’t just your standard wee drops though, these are a selection of the finest tipples from around the world. You can make your own tasting notes throughout the month to find your perfect Christmas plonk. This may be one for opening in the evenings!

    www.masterofmalt.com