(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Ever since I discovered her breakthrough sitcom Miranda, I have loved the whimsy and old-fashioned chatty cheerfulness of comedian/writer/actor Miranda Hart with the sort of enthusiasm that people much younger than me reserve for zeitgeist-heavy K-Pop bands. She embodies all of the fun and silliness of Continue Reading
Christmas 2025
Festive book review: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran
(courtesy NetGalley) Life is full to the brim with traumatic moments. Hardly a surprise there; while most of us head into life all wide-eyes, enthusiastic and bushy-tailed, believing no harm can befoul us and all we will have are sunshine and rainbows, we soon discover life, alas, has other ideas. Continue Reading
It’s beginning to look a lot like the festive season … Christmas ads 2025 round-up
(via Shutterstock) I know there is a significant school of thought that rails against the materialism and rampant consumerism of Christmas. And yes, while I can see it, and it’s valid point as far as it goes, it leaves aside the fact that much of that drives this need to Continue Reading
Festive animated love? Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie
(courtesy IMP Awards) If you only watch one parody of a festive romcom movie this year, and let’s face it, much as I love many of them, the actual films are almost parodies of themselves, then make sure it’s Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie. The Continue Reading
Festive movie review: A Merry Little Ex-Mas
(courtesy IMP Awards) Christmas is the season where love is all around us, and you’ll be happy to know, it’s not just Love, Actually that thinks so. A Merry Little Ex-Mas is also a big believer in the power of the season to change hearts and minds and even wind Continue Reading
Festive book review: It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square by Ali McNamara
(courtesy Hachette Australia) When you think about it, Christmas as a concept and an idea, as opposed to the reality of the season, is full to the tinsel-draped, eggnog-soaked brim with magical realism. It’s in the original Biblical tale – not a diss; I grew up in the church and Continue Reading
Why ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ almost didn’t air − and why it endures (curated article)
(courtesy IMDb) In 2024, the beloved special is streaming on Apple TV+. Stephen Lind, University of Southern California It’s hard to imagine a holiday season without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple – etched into traditions across generations like decorating the tree or sipping hot Continue Reading
Festive movie review: I watched Christmas Karma
(courtesy IMDb) Charles Dickens lives again! Well, not so much the author who long shuffled off this mortal coil and who may yet be haunting people at Christmas to scare them into leading and more selfless lives; rather, in Christmas Karma, by Bend It Like Beckham‘s Gurinder Chadha, we are Continue Reading
Festive book review: All Together for Christmas by Sarah Morgan
(courtesy Harper Collins Publishers Australia) One of the hallmarks of Christmas, and no, we are not talking about the branded festive romcoms, is how wonderful it can often be to gather with family (of the birth and chosen varieties). It’s especially the case when you are live far apart, and Continue Reading
Retro Christmas movie review: Haul Out the Holly
(courtesy IMDb) There’s a strange disconnect that can emerge when you’re consuming festively themed pop culture – for instance, you might be perfectly fine with reading endlessly escapist, coincidence-full rom-com novels but find their Hallmark equivalents to be a Christmassy bridge too far. You know there’s a strange kind of Continue Reading