Festives 5ives
Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) from Pexels
When I was a kid, my parents went to this evangelical church. Every year at Christmas, my dad would write a quiz called ‘Festive 5ive’ for the church magazine, which would be 5 really hard cryptic questions. It would be things like “SNHN”, which you’d have to guess was ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’.. and so on. Maybe I’ll do that next year, but it felt like no one has the energy for that now. But on the other hand, ‘Festive 5ives’ is such a good title. So here’s my version of ‘Festive 5ives’…
5 things I wish I wasn’t too old for at Christmas
Cadbury’s selection boxes
“Whose dad is Santa this year?” at the school Christmas Fair
Shaking the presents to guess what’s inside
Bringing in Guess Who on the last day of term
Throwing all the Quality Street all over the room (I still do this anyway).
5 things I still don’t know how to do at the end of 2020
Make banana bread
Home-school my child
String out washing my hands for more than 20 seconds
Argue effectively with antivaxxers
“Keep well in these unprecedented times” (ah, shut up!).
5 ways to improve Christmas
Less consumerism.
More Noel Edmonds.
Make Mariah Carey stop.
Trains.
More Noel Edmonds.
5 lazy journalism Christmas Day news stories
The royal family arriving at a church
Queues outside Next for the Boxing Day sales
It’s not a white Christmas anywhere
Saying whatever the Queen is gonna say, before she says it at 3pm.
Something you’ve never heard of being Christmas Number 1
The Snowman
Walking In The Air
“But he’s still got the scarf!”
Flying over Brighton
David Bowie’s alternative intro.
You know that’s not Aled Jones singing, right?
Overrated.
Crackers
Turkey
Michael McIntyre
Home-made Mince Pies (let’s be real)
Organised fun
Underrated.
Stuffing
Noel Edmonds
Cheese boards
Alcohol
Sleep
5 Business books I enjoyed in 2020:
F*ck Being Humble — Stefanie Sword-Williams
You’re about to make a terrible mistake -Olivier Sibony
The Practice — Seth Godin
How to Raise Entrepreneurial Kids — Jodie Cook and Daniel Priestley
Humour Seriously — Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas
The 5 albums I’ve had on repeat this year:
Moses Boyd — Dark Matter
Oscar Jerome — Breathe Deep
Nubya Garcia — Souce
Jamila Woods — LEGACY! LEGACY!
Lianne La Havas — Lianne La Havas
5 things I hope we remember from 2020:
Working from home is productive
Slowing down
Appreciating small things and small wins
We temporarily eliminated homelessness
Kindness
Christmas Movies
It’s a Wonderful Life
Elf
Muppet Christmas Carol
Home Alone
Some old Bond film
5 Tiny Desk Concerts for when your family get too much:
Erykah Badu (Wait for “Green Eyes”!)
5 wishes for your 2021:
Stability in your work
Health for you and those around you
The self-confidence to contribute (the world needs you)
The space and clarity to help you see what matters
The courage to say no to what doesn’t
Question: What are your 5 hopes for 2021?
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