Last year at my house, my partner Susie was away at the exact moment in December when we normally get the tree.
Now there are those who would regard this as a golden opportunity to take back control of Christmas – choose, install and decorate the tree in a quasi-military operation; no discussion, no arguments, no compromises.
I, on the other hand, was wracked by my customary, paralysing indecision.
What if I chose the wrong tree?
What if it wasn’t tall enough or bushy enough?
What if my sparse-but-classy, ribbon-based decorative scheme met with disapproval?
The problem with Christmas is that there are too many choices.
None of them are earth shattering – choosing the wrong tree; giving the wrong present; going to the wrong party – but everyone here knows the way that little choices nag at you. Which song to open a set with? Which catsuit to wear? Which name to go first: Ball/Boe; Boe/Ball? Which belt to wear when you’ve just got three shiny new ones?
Not earth shattering at all, but the trouble with any choice is that when we’ve made a poor decision, small or large, whether it’s a gift we’ve given, a career path we’ve taken, a relationship we’ve spoiled, we begin to lose confidence in our capacity to choose. We feel lost.
Christians believe, though, that there is no wrong choice that can’t somehow be redeemed. In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah speaks to a people who made a catastrophic series of choices, promising that God would provide a road for them on which ‘no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray’.
And for a fool like me, stumbling from one dubious decision to another, constantly stubbing my toe, that’s a comforting thought indeed.
Last year’s tree, in the end, was frankly too short and faintly disappointing. But to my surprise and delight it didn’t matter, because Susie was happy I’d just done it. Even with a stumpy tree the house was Christmassy.
The thing is, one choice, good or bad, is never the end of the journey. We swallow our folly, get back on the road and then, as the gentlemen from Cwmaman once wisely put it, we have a nice day.
That’s my tree up top, and the whole classy outdoor lighting arrangement.
This Friday was less weird and more fun, to be honest. It needed to be, since the day before was the General Election, when the UK made its most disastrous choice since the EU referendum. The guests were Stereophonics, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Jason Derulo and the mighty Anthony Joshua. Here they all are.
