My Facebook post.
This is a time of stress for me. People will ask me what I want for Christmas, and get upset if I say "nothing". So, here is what I want:
A couple of Saville Row suits, some handmade shirts from Jermyn Street, and hand crafted shoes from a traditional shoemaker. Oh and silk ties. One red, one dark grey. If you can throw in a Jackpot lottery ticket, a big house and an Aston Martin while you're at it…
What? Too much? I suppose Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all People and a rebalancing of the World Economy is out the question then?
See, here's the thing. I like Christmas. I like the shared experience that we have, that Northern European tradition of going "It's cold and dark, and we're on dried food for the next three months. Sod it, let's have a big party." Sure, it's been hijacked over the millennia by various mystics, nutters and men in dresses, insisting it is all about their particular gods/goddesses/bunch of rocks/life force, but that is just the excuse: nights are long and days are cold, and people want to be together.
And that is the point. Take me for example. Yes I wargame, pushing toy soldiers that cost [mumble, mumble] across a table. But for me that isn't the point; no matter how much I might say "I really need some dragoons/panzers/better dice" what I really want from my little lead men is the shared experience- the sitting across a table from a mate, having a beer and a laugh, telling each other stories, and laughing even though it's the tenth time we've told it in the last two years.
It's not about the possessions. It's about the shared experiences they allow.
And that's what I want. You can't buy it. You can't wrap it. You can only give it. It's that shared experience, my sister in law saying something silly, and my brother ragging her on it, the Old Man acting like a silly old fool, the arguments over who had the best card in Apples to Apples. I want my wife not to stress about achieving the unbelievably perfect Christmas, just sit down and enjoy it, because people won't care that you failed to hit 100%, only that you cared enough to do it
I want to know that in the coming year that my friends will be there for me, and for them to know I will be there for them. I want you all to find the man or woman of your dreams, no matter what your gender, sexuality, or even if you're an ex! All I ask is that they are someone who deserves you, and loves you like you love them. (Side note to some of my female friends- No seriously, please stop hooking up with 
s. What do I have to do, interview them myself?)
So stop buying me books I won't read, clothes I won't wear, and … ‘stuff' (Just what the hell am I supposed to do with a lightsabre the size of my thumb?) Just give me the only presents I've really ever wanted for Christmas.
Your time, your company and your friendship.
Thank you
PS. My Birthday, however, is in February
