Santa still comes to Kent, even to the over-thirties.
With M's family on the 25th ...
... and mine on the 26th. (Dad has the full mob-scene photo here.)

Went to the V&A with my brother after we'd both finished work on Wednesday. Here he is in the Volume exhibition, which was really cool: the LED pillars lit up and made sounds in response to the people walking around in between them.
We also looked around at some other bits of the museum - the Cast Courts are still my favourite - and had a Japanese meal. It was bitter cold, but a very nice evening; we don't often spend time together just the two of us.

Finished work on Friday and getting ready to go away for a couple of days over Christmas (down to Kent to M's family this year, then we'll see mine in London on Boxing Day). I'm also off on the 27th - the BBC give staff one day's extra holiday - but back in on Thursday and Friday to hold the fort solo. It should be very quiet though.

More Yuletide fun - a business-model riposte to hand-wringing about the secularisation of Christmas from the FT (thanks E). Had a good day out on Friday in Canterbury - the cathedral was great, then we had lunch in a very bohemian cafe - I had enormous sardines for mine. Then I saw Picul's play, which was ace. I could get used to these three-day weekends.

M meanwhile had a happy time at home recuperating from another day wrestling with Clio by playing guitars and eating Thai takeaway with his mate Anthony.
On Saturday, wrapped pressies, was visited by Mel, back for the holidays from Tronno. Then we called in at Gunny's to drop off said pressies and briefly gatecrash their 24-person dinner party (and take the official photo) before going to L's in Brixton to give her a mulled-wine flavoured send-off to Nicaragua.

A Blogger Christmas card!

This is my crib that I have had since I was little, which I put out over the weekend. There are also three wise men, but they're not shown in the picture because they are on the opposite side of the room until January 6th. So, wishing friends and family and anyone reading this a merry Christmas, or whichever holiday you may be celebrating, and a happy new year.

Incidentally, I enjoyed this article about "Winterval"/the phony war on Christmas, which phenomenon is all over the British media this year yet again. Reminds me of chimeras like baa baa green sheep and personhole covers - sounds good, gets people foaming at the mouth, lots of easy copy for the it's-political-correctness-gone-mad wing of the press ... and is almost entirely fictitious.

some small reasons to be cheerful:

• my friend Jen's adoption of her son - here he is with me and Shana (his other mum) when they were visiting us last month
• my book going into a second print-run
• the 500th episode of my favourite comic strip
• general Christmassy season of bonhomie and dos, from quiet mince-pies-and-satsumas affairs to big work-sponsored pissknees-ups (this year we're going here)
• the hapaxlegomenon uhtceare, which I learned yesterday and which I have been rather prone to of late - the phenomenon itself is not cheerful, of course, but being able to name it is
• the prospect of seeing friends - Rob, Mel, Sarah, Lizzie - before they head off for the holidays

A day out with Gunny: walking to I Knit to pick out yarn for my birthday present, Borough Market (surprisingly quiet on a Friday afternoon - maybe everyone was just trying to avoid David Cameron, who was apparently on a faux-naturel walkabout), evensong at St Pauls (great way to see the renovations without having to pay - rather uninspiring modern choral setting though), then to a City pub to meet Edge and friends for her birthday drinks.