At this time of year, our thoughts turn to our own homes, which, while perhaps not filled with straw and manure, do often contain small, vulnerable creatures with Messiah complexes — our pets.
Christmas
Christmas without the tradition and religion? Welcome to Vietnam
As a Christmas hater, Tabitha Carvan thought Vietnam would be a perfect place to skip it. Except, every year, come December 1, the whole of Hanoi is instantly festooned with fairy lights, fake snow, and electric Santas playing saxophones.
The festive season of waste?
For many of us Christmas is inherently about excess, family, presents and, importantly, food. And all of this would not be such a bad thing, if so much of it didn’t go to waste, writes Larissa Ocampo.
How to green your dead Christmas tree
Christmas is officially over, the turkey is eaten and all the leftover ham sandwiches eaten. But what to do with the rotting Christmas tree still sitting in a bucket of water in the lounge room? Crikey intern Grace Ryan explains which councils do Christmas tree recycling.
The global festival of Festivus
Seinfeld’s Festivus for the rest of us, a Christmas celebration involving a pole with no decorations, an airing of grievances and feats of physical strength, is no longer just a mock holiday found only on TV screens.
Richardson: a Christmas reflection
One of the things people most welcomed with the return of the old order was the ability to celebrate Christmas again.
Kris Kringle for the Oz pollies
The office Kris Kringle is typically a kringe-worthy affair — but if you think you’ve got it tough, spare a thought for the poor bastards at Capital Hill. But never fear, Crikey intern Alexandra Patrikios is here, armed with gift suggestions for the a few parliamentarian pressies:
Come in Spinner: Bah humbug to the season
If there is anything that arguably demonstrates that the PR stereotype has some validity it is the festive season in general and Christmas in particular.
Daily Proposition: Daily Proposition: plan your Christmas viewing
Nothing says Christmas like Christmas movies. Time to carefully plan your festive feature-length treats, says Matt Smith.
Video of the Day: A very White House Christmas
Yesterday was an important day in the White House: Michelle Obama officially unveiled this year’s “holiday” decorations, including 19 Christmas trees and a giant bow made out of pipe cleaners. Check out this behind-the-scenes look at 97 volunteers, full of Christmas spirit as they deck the halls and hang tinsel in the Oval Office.
Classic Christmas recipes
Roast turkey with pancetta stuffing, Chrissie pud with muscat custard, honey-glazed ham and other Yuletide noms. Sure, it’s 35 degrees outside, but we can dream.
A very Crikey Christmas Carolling
Let’s all raise our candles to sing along to our Crikey Christmas carols, including the classic hits ‘Dickheads We Have Heard On Air’ and ‘Oink To The World’, penned by Mel Campbell and Daniel Zugna.
Send Conroy a lump of coal for Christmas
A new website called The Gift Of Censorship is promising to deliver a bag of coal in a large red sack to Stephen Conroy and for every 1000 complaint letters sent to him through the site.
How the gift card stole Christmas
Once upon a time, people gave each other actual things for Christmas, until retail stores came up with the grand idea of dressing cash up as thoughtfulness and turned it into a multi-billion dollar industry. A looks at the evolution of the gift that says “I care… just not that much.”
Nerd alert: uber-geeky Christmas crafts
Lifehacker has eight dorky (but cool!) DIY projects for the holidays, including an LED Christmas card and a laser light show for your Christmas tree.
The Christmas card the Obamas should have sent
Slate’s Christopher Beam was pretty unimpressed with this year official Obama family holiday card, so he went to the effort of penning them a much better, far more entertaining, version.
A Christmas Carol for Gordon Brown
On Christmas Eve, Gordon Brown is visited at Downing Street by three spirits and the spectre of Tony Blair. Bah, humbug!
What does a genocidal regime’s holiday card look like?
The most ironic Christmas card on Earth, courtesy of the Republic of Sudan.
The great Australian Christmas cake bake-off
Some of the country’s best pastry chefs have battled it out to create the perfect cake for the hot Aussie summer Christmas, with delicious results.
PHOTO GALLERY: ‘Mummy, why does Santa look so weird?’
Check out Huff Po’s collection of ‘Sketchy Santa’ pics. The question has to be asked: Who would let their kids sit on these guy’s laps?
The Slate guide to magazine gift guides
It’s that time of year again: every magazine in the western world issues its official Christmas Gift Guide and we’re all buried in a pile of “must haves” and “hot buys”. Slate cuts through the crap with a guide to this season’s guides.
Merry Christmas from Uncle Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch has sent out a personal Christmas message to his News Corp minions, thanking them for “spreading the message of freedom we all believe in.” Gawker has the full letter.
Who makes Australia’s best mince pie?
The good mince pie can make or break your Christmas, so The Enthusiast road tests six of the best-known Australian brands to find this season’s best.
