Christmas is effectively canceled, I won't be seeing friends or family, and live alone. I often find a midnight service at a church with a good choir, go to a Messiah sing-along, plus a few parties and visiting. Looking for free or affordable virtual events with good music, esp. great choirs, but other musical styles welcome. NPR will surely have some Christmas eve options, looking for more. What foods and treats are people making in small batches to make the holiday special for one or two? thanks.

Vixen was declared the winner of the Reindeer Games today at the North Pole. As bitter cold temperatures descended on an already snowy North Pole the decision was made to end the games a little...

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Santa Claus has expressed a desire to have more tracker elves this year. This is interesting to note because over at SantaTrackers.net  it appears the 39 million mark has been passed, inching ever...

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Special meetings for Santa Trackers have been called for this weekend by North Pole Flight Command. With more than 39 million elves now on the rolls that are tracking-Santa-for-Santa this year Santa...

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Hi, I'm an intermediate piano player* who would like to learn to play Christmas music on the piano. I'm looking for fairly straightforward, but beautiful, versions of the classics, and would like to buy a single book rather than finding versions of each song individually. I'd particularly like to learn "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". What book would you recommend? I'm not looking for something like the Christmas Real Book that just has chords.

It does not have to be a physical book; digital formats are fine.

I would ideally like to be able to get it this year in the US, so would prefer something that is not sold out or difficult to find.

*No idea how to technically describe my skill level, but I can describe it in terms of Beethoven: I learned to play the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata over the summer and found it mildly challenging. I can sightread Fur Elise easily.

It’s a snowy mess at the Reindeer Games this week as organizers rushed events to avoid a premature shut-down of the games. Weather forecasters say a bitter cold front will drop temperatures to...

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Covid numbers and public health orders in my region mean I’ve decided that I’m just not comfortable seeing my 60-something parents for Christmas. My mom is not going to take this well and I have terrible boundaries. How do I navigate this? In the past few weeks I tried to tell my mom over the phone that we weren’t sure if we would visit for Christmas dinner. She just kept changing the subject and insisting that it would be fine because she trusts me to be careful. For a time I was planning to do a 2 week period of more isolation before Christmas so I could feel safe going. But the public health order today said no gatherings until January, and I can’t really quarantine because I live with my partner who still has to go to work. It’s just too stressful for me and I can’t see myself enjoying myself at all.

I’m not really looking for covid advice here because I know what I need to do. I’m just all torn up at the idea of telling my mom we aren’t coming. My mom has always been intensely attached to her children with a fear of abandonment. She has a way of making me feel responsible for her negative emotions so I’ve always been terrified of upsetting her. And I know it will break her heart if we don’t go. She hasn’t been able to see her friends or do any of her usual activities in months so Christmas has been the only thing she’s been looking forward to. She seems to have bought a ton of gifts for me and my partner. I thought about suggesting a gift exchange in my parents backyard but I worry she will be offended by that.

My mom is not stupid or a denialist, she is a smart former nurse who understands the risk of Covid and lives carefully. I think she just has a blind spot when it comes to how much she wants to see her children. It really just breaks my heart to upset her like this.

So yeah. Just need help setting boundaries and navigating a super difficult conversation.

Normally I’m good at Christmas and birthday shopping but this year I’m hitting a roadblock. Trying to spend about $200 combined on something that isn’t a shiny pink and purple plastic toy. I just finished shopping for their cousins. Two cousins got a year-long educational subscription box (request from the parents). Two other cousins got a Nintendo Switch. These two girls... I’m not sure what to get.

Most holidays I tend toward getting books, board games, other gifts that they ask for that aren’t just more and more stuff for the easily-outgrown stuff pile. But since I spent a few hundred on the other little ones, I’d like to get something in the same price range. It would be easy enough to get them 1000 small gifts off their Christmas lists but that would feel a little extra from an auntie and it would be nice to get them something maybe a bit more long-term useful or on a bigger scale.

I considered getting “them” (really, their family) a movie projector so they could project movies very big on their bedroom wall, but I’m not really sure that’s the direction I want to go yet. To give an idea of their interests, they’re into animals, Hot Wheels, gymnastics, soccer and drawing.

I would normally consider an experience-related gift but that’s a bit depressing for this COVID year when they won’t really be able to use it for the foreseeable future. I’ve also considered something like a telescope, but they are kind of more interested in hands on athletics and art type hobbies.

Just kind of blanking overall and would appreciate any suggestions!

My 14-year-old nephew would like a wired headset for Christmas, mostly for Xbox. Specs within Requirements in order of importance

-will be delivered here by xmas (or can get from a store)
-Preferably $100 or less
-over-the-ear
-longevity
-Noise cancelling
-foldable/comes with carrying case
-looks dope (he likes red and blue, but doesn't care if its a "girly" color like purple. Does not like commercial "cool boy" things like flames or dragons or other 'edgy' stuff)

Scrolling through best buy and tiger direct has left me with sooo many options. Hope me!

What is a good board game or similar present to give to a religious, conservative family with six kids? Budget would hopefully less than $50 USD, but willing to go a bit higher for something great. Please help us find a thank you holiday gift for a family that has helped us during the pandemic.

A neighboring household has been occasionally shopping for us, which has been a help since we are strictly self-quarantining because of high risk factors for COVID-19. It's been particularly helpful when they go to the nearest big city Costco and other places.

We want to thank them, but our usual holiday gift basket would be quickly and frustratingly consumed by a family of eight, and we don't think we can financially scale up the gift basket's gourmet sausages and cheese to feed a group that large. Also not sure that toddlers would get the most out of our normal European charcuterie and cheeses. ;)

This family has six children ranging in age from early teen to newborn, so we would sort of like something that all could enjoy. They are conservative, and religious, but don't shun modern technology.

My guess is that Monopoly would be OK, Axis and Allies probably close to crossing the line, and Cards Against Humanity an absolute no-no, if that helps to give you a spectrum to judge by.

Is there a good board game or similar activity you would recommend for a gift? Particularly one of the games from the board game renaissance of recent years? One that is actually fun to play? (So not Monopoly then, also pretty sure they would already have that one.)

Or another gift? Maybe a game for a park visit or outdoor activities. I had fun with croquet as a kid, but is that too much a relic of the past?

Budget would be around $50, but we could potentially go a bit higher for a gift we were certain would be great. Thank you for any advice or help you can offer.

The Reindeer Games are now in a rush to get completed. While Blitzen and Vixen continue their battle for victory there is a race being watched by the Weather Department at North Pole Flight Command....

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More chats have been added to the North Pole Chat Calendar for this week. It is a busy time at the North Pole but Santa has heard loud and clear from our site visitors that they want to have more...

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Santa and St. Nicholas are sometimes thought of the same way. Today is St. Nicholas Day and it is a very important day at the North Pole. St. Nicholas lived many, many years ago. He was a Holy man,...

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North Pole weather can be very unpredictable — except for this year. It has snowed every day here since October 24th – 43 consecutive days! The stuff is piling up here like you...

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Suggestions please for edible treats i can make and gift to my family. Various family allergies make this complicated: treats must be dairy-free, gluten-free, with no soy. My first idea was to make pickles but pickles are not a very Christmassy present. So maybe toffee, but that's so sweet and sticky. Ideas please please.

The Reindeer Games began at the North Pole today and already we have a surprise: Vixen is off to a fast start. Vixen, who has been on Santa’s team for decades, does not traditionally rank well...

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There are lots of reindeer babies at the North Pole. And I mean a lot of them. As you will hear from the North Pole Radio News report from today (in the player below), part of the preparation efforts...

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This is a long shot, but I'm curious: are there any stores (which offer online shopping) that carry products (food or otherwise) from Malta in Canada? I'm gathering possibilities for a Christmas gift. I'm in the US so can't visit in person. Thanks Mefites!

What are your favorite gift guides? Most of the sites I see these days have everything broken down into about 20 different versions of "The Best Gift for the ____ in Your Life," but I prefer lists that are more general and all-emcompassing. Spy has THIS GUIDE, which is the closest thing I've been able to find, but I'd love your suggestions.

Tracking Santa by text is going to be a thing this year. We do not know what makes this year so different. But record numbers of people are signing up to receive texts of Santa news once he launches...

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The first full day of this week has revealed a few minor problems with Operation Merry Christmas. The weather is hampering efforts to get the Reindeer Games going for one. For 40 straight days we...

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The sleigh bells used on Santa’s sleigh have been something of an issue the past several years. The sleigh bells are a very important part of making the sleigh fly. The reindeer listen to the...

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Last night during a chat in the North Pole Chat room Santa was surprised to learn that we had not yet activated Kringle Radio on SantaUpdate.com. I later explained to him that Kringle Radio...

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