mid 1990s Xmas: Go to the shops to buy everything you need for Christmas mid 2000s Xmas: Go to the shops to buy everything, except for a few books, CDs and DVDs from Amazon mid 2010s Xmas: Get most of your Christmas stuff online, assuming it ever arrives
mid 1990s Xmas: Send lots of cards to people you communicate with once a year mid 2000s Xmas: Send lots of cards containing a printed round robin letter to keep everyone up to date mid 2010s Xmas: You can no longer afford stamps, but that's OK because everyone's already seen all your photos on Facebook
mid 1990s Xmas: Discover the Christmas Number 1 by listening to the radio mid 2000s Xmas: Select the Christmas Number 1 because you voted for them on X Factor mid 2010s Xmas: Who cares what's Number 1, I've made this playlist of Christmas songs on Spotify
mid 1990s Xmas: Ensure your travel bag is packed with presents for all the family mid 2000s Xmas: Ensure your wheelie suitcase is packed with presents for all the family mid 2010s Xmas: Ensure you've packed all your cables, otherwise your smartphone will die by mid-afternoon
mid 1990s Xmas: Say goodbye to your friends for a few days and travel off to see the family mid 2000s Xmas: Keep in touch with your friends via text message throughout the Christmas break mid 2010s Xmas: Broadcast a blow by blow Christmas commentary via social media
mid 1990s Xmas: Demand to see the Double Issue Radio Times mid 2000s Xmas: Demand to use your parents' PC to check your email mid 2010s Xmas: Demand your host's wifi password the minute you enter their home
mid 1990s Xmas: Watch the same Christmas telly as everyone else mid 2000s Xmas: Watch your festive choice from dozens/hundreds of satellite/digital channels mid 2010s Xmas: Watch whatever you like from a bottomless pit of on-demand goodies
mid 1990s Xmas: Sit grumpily while Gran insists on watching Emmerdale at Christmas mid 2000s Xmas: Sit grumpily while Gran insists on watching Emmerdale at Christmas mid 2010s Xmas: Play Candy Crush whilst simultaneously slagging off Emmerdale on Twitter
mid 1990s Xmas: Vegetate with a box of chocolates and a board game mid 2000s Xmas: Plug the games console into the TV set and let the family join in mid 2010s Xmas: Interact with your own personal screen for individual entertainment
mid 1990s Xmas: Head back to civilisation to discover what everyone else did over Christmas mid 2000s Xmas: Suspect that everyone else had a better time over Christmas than you did mid 2010s Xmas: Know that everyone else had a better time than you did, because they kept telling you, and you never switched off
The evolution of Christmas
