Near the end of a decade, Christmas 2019 will be remembered for its themes of change, growth, and letting go. With such seismic tremors comes certain unease and trepidation. May this Christmas Day be a moment of quelling such doubts and fears, and may it offer comfort and succor for anyone looking for peace. I know a number of people who have lost loved ones this year, some very close to the holidays, and for anyone missing someone, there are no words or exercises that will ease such pain. All we can do is honor and remember those we have lost, taking the lessons they taught and living in the way they would want us to live.
For anyone else who may need a little Christmas spirit, for anyone who may be having a hard time finding their Christmas cheer (and I count myself among both those unhappy camps) I’m going to make a long list of holiday links to remind us of the good and the bad and the beautiful of the holiday season. If we keep on painting Christmas as something pretty, perhaps it will one day turn true. Merry Christmas everyone. See you on the other side…
A Holiday Party ten years in the making.
My favorite Christmas decoration, all humble simplicity.
A shocking holiday card. No way!
Little drummer disappointment.
Holiday pants & revelry.
Christmas sundaes and brotherly love.
Christmas massacre. There was blood.
Run Rudolph, run!
An office Christmas party, the worst kind of party.
Back when we kept Christmas traditions alive.
Don we now our gay apparel. {Now?}
In service of the holiday, a pomegranate sparkler.
The Holiday Stroll: Part One and Part Two.
Classic Mariah Carey Christmas.
Ghosts of Holiday Cards past.
A Madonna holiday Masterpiece.
Rose memories on a banister with pearls.
Family fun for the holidays.
In my arms, a Christmas bear.
Holiday Card 2014: Let it snow, let it blow!
A funny Christmas tree adventure with my brother.
When Christmas goes dark and memories turn sorrowful.
A Christmas candle in the night.
Bringing decorations back to Boston.
This is OUTRAGEOUS!
Holiday Card 2015: Bring me the ax.
The Holiday Stroll 2015: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
The very first Boston Children’s Holiday Hour.
If I gave you diamonds and pearls…
In the Santa hour, I can feel your power.
Silver and gold without all the silver.
A holiday dinner mainstay: the famous Jello-mold.
The world is run by Mrs. Claus.
The Holiday Card 2016: Trigger Warning (for real).
A Christmas carpool with James Corden and Mariah Carey.
The Ilagan Christmas tree tradition, intact in 2016.
The Ilagan twins have always been hams.
Christmas carolers of questionable taste.
Butt-flap booty suit, in red.
How Madonna ties into my holidays.
The 2nd Boston Children’s Holiday Hour.
In the bleak Christmas aftermath.
Naked but for my Christmas balls.
A Christmas song, some might say The Christmas Song.
One of my favorite Christmas memories: a highball with Andy’s Mom.
The Holiday Card 2017: elegance & simplicity.
We didn’t know it then, but this would be our last fully-intact Christmas tree tradition.
A retro holiday punch with extra pizzazz.
The 3rd Boston Children’s Holiday Hour: Part One and Part Two.
In the wake of Christmas children.
Dreams of retail Christmases past.
Tom Daley under the mistletoe.
All the world in a single ornament.
A Holiday Card Recap: Part One and Part Two.
The Holiday Stroll 2018: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
All I wanted for Christmas last year was a fruitcake. (I’m done with them now.)
The year we grew our own Christmas tree. (And why we won’t do it again.)
Beautiful boxes and a glorious gift idea.
The heart of a Christmas tree.
Christmas reality check: sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it really sucks.
A few favorite Christmas movies.
The secret Russian Christmas tea recipe at long last revealed. (Hint: Tang!)
The 4th Boston Children’s Holiday Hour, better known as ‘The Kids Who Saved Christmas’ – Part One & Part Two.
Making a Christmas entrance the only way I know how.
The day after Christmas is often better than the damn day itself.
I’m starting to experience PHSD: Post Holiday Stress Disorder.
A shimmering holiday fragrance mash-up, Tom Ford style.
A Filipino holiday feast for my father.
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Woodstock.
The exquisite irony of sugar and booze this year.
Holiday beauty by the Beekman Boys.
The Holiday Card 2019: let’s get baked!
How to keep the holidays fresh? No, really, I’m asking.
These are but two of my favorite things.
When sadness and loss seep into the Christmas season.
The happy birth of our Holiday Strolls.
I held out such high hopes for this, so you can guess how it turned out.
A mixed bag of Christmas cookies.
The newest holiday tradition: Hambone Holiday Hullabaloo.
Once upon the most wonderful night of the year.
And proof that the Christmas spirit is still alive in the smallest of ways, we end with this year’s Boston Children’s Holiday Hour: Part One and Part Two.
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