Improving Tim's daughter's Christmas

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I'm a big fan of the podcast Cautionary Tales by 'undercover economist' Tim Harford. In one episode, Tim tells us that his daughter prefers Halloween to Christmas because Halloween is more about community coming together, while Christmas is just for the family.

This made me feel rather sad, but the good news for Tim's daughter is that this doesn't have to be the case. If Tim's family would like to go to a carol service - or a carol singing event - they'll get plenty of that community feel.

Of course, Tim and family may well be amongst the majority of Brits, according to the latest census results, who aren't Christians. And that's fine. If they were on holiday in an exotic location, they wouldn't avoid the local culture because they don't share the locals' beliefs. Similarly, it's entirely possible to enjoy the atmosphere and community spirit of a carol service without having any belief. And singing those tunes that are still familiar to most is a boost to the spirit.

So, Tim (and anyone else going bah humbug about Christmas) try out your local carol singing opportunities. For carol services, the best option is probably the A Church Near You website - put in your location, choose a local church (ideally one you can walk to, both because it feels good and most church car parks get overloaded for carol services) and you'll see their Christmas events almost certainly including a carol service. In my neighbourhood of North Swindon, it's happening at St Andrew's on 18 December with two carol services: 10am for children and 6.30pm for the more traditional version.

If you prefer to do it al fresco, many locations have outdoor carol singing events. Here we've got the Big North Swindon Carol Singalong on 21 December (raising money for the Swindon Night Shelter, so doubly community minded). It's under the tree at the Orbital Centre at 6.30pm. This kind of thing is slightly harder to pin down as there's no central website, but there could be info on your local parish council website or social media.

So if you're moaning about Christmas being too commercialised, want some community spirit or just fancy a good sing, head for the carols this Christmas.

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