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 2020s Xmas: Get most of your Christmas stuff stolen from your doorstep
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 2020s Xmas: Nobody can afford stamps so Christmas cards are an endangered species
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 2020s Xmas: Everyone knows the Christmas Number 1 because it was released 40 years ago
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 2020s Xmas: Ensure you've packed all your devices else you'll have nothing to keep you occupied
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 2020s Xmas: Livestream your Christmas antics to anyone who'll watch
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 2020s Xmas: Demand your smart speaker plays Christmas music on repeat
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 2020s Xmas: Watch all the good stuff on the subscription services you don't have at home
mid 1990s Xmas: Sit grumpily while Mum 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 2020s Xmas: Ignore Emmerdale, whatever that was, in favour of Rivals on Disney+
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 2020s Xmas: Connect your laptop to the TV and watch whatever the YouTube algorithm suggests
mid 1990s Xmas: Head back to civilisation to discover what everyone else did over Christmas mid 2000s Xmas: Suspect everyone else had a better time than you from their endless text messages mid 2010s Xmas: Know everyone else had a better time than you because they kept sending you photos mid 2020s Xmas: There's nothing to catch up on because you've been FaceTiming constantly, and you never switched off
The evolution of Christmas
