Can't stop the dance on Christmas Eve

 

It might have been decades ago, but I still remember the torture of Christmas Eve as a kid. All you want to do is get stuck into your presents, and you had to wait all the way till the morning. So you'd go to bed early, so that it would seem to come faster, but your little heart would be beating so hard it would keep you agonizingly awake.

We never had a lot of proper Christmas traditions, other than the regular family gathering at Uncle Charley and Aunty Shirley's place. But we're starting a new one this year with the kids - the Christmas Eve dance party.

We do have regular dance parties, many night before bedtimes. Everyone picks a song and we dance like idiots, because if you can't dance like an idiot with two toddlers, when can you?

Still, a willingness to let them find their own music mean the little ones are developing their own tastes, and it's always an utter joy to give them what they want.

We have largely kept them away from music made specifically for kids - there are still no Wiggles around here, (although their Tame Impala cover was aces) - and the four-year-old has already been through several favouites, including a heavy Jarvis Cocker/Phoebe Bridgers, and a relatively long lasting addiction to the Gorillaz.

They both still love the guitar rock of the 2000s, prime-era White Stripes are always a hit, and the number one song for the 2-year-old is undoubtedly Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand's tribute to Enemy At The Gate, although the video does feature a lot of punching that is getting some unfortunate imitation.

Britpop in general is also a winner, short, angular slices of fried pop like Parklife and Connection get some movement and while I never intentionally steered the kids in this direction, but I am chuffed beyond words to see the toddlers regularly get down to Common People (another video with two punching is causing some issues, but honest, we're working on it).

So that's our Christmas Eve sorted, for tonight and all the Christmas Eves to come. Tire them out as much as possible with pop music, keep their minds off those enticing presents, and Christma sDay will be here before they know it.