It Aint Going to Be Easy Elton John
Last year, he was the face of the John Lewis Christmas advert; this year, his much-anticipated autobiography, Me hits the shelves. In a GH exclusive, Sir Elton John writes about how he celebrates Christmas – and reveals the best gift he's ever received...
Stepping into Christmas
Over the years, I've definitely run the full gamut of Christmas experiences, from incredible to terrible. I've spent wonderful Christmases holidaying in Barbados, surrounded by friends and colleagues, helpfully rousing them from their beds every morning by playing a disco version of the old 1920s song Baby Face at top volume.
I've spent dismal ones at home with my late mother and stepfather, indulging in the good old British seasonal pastime of having a blazing family row, followed by that other great tradition: sitting with your relations in an icy, miserable silence, wishing you hadn't invited them.
At one emotional extreme, there was the year I planned to spend Christmas alone with my then-boyfriend. I spent a lot of time meticulously planning a romantic few days, buying presents and arranging food, while waiting for him to fly into Britain from LA.
But my plans hit a slight hitch when he decided he wasn't actually gay and ran off with an air stewardess. Not that he told me: he just vanished! His plane arrived, he wasn't on it and I never heard from him again. So much for my romantic Christmas.
The birth of Zachary
At the other extreme, there was Christmas 2010, when our first son, Zachary, was born. He was due on 21 December, but finally made a belated appearance at 2.30am on Christmas Day.
My husband David [Furnish] and I were desperate to keep the birth a secret: the last thing we wanted was a whole media circus erupting around it.
When we built a nursery at our apartment in LA, we made sure every item of furniture turned up disguised in wrapping paper, so it looked like Christmas presents were being delivered.
When the call came that our surrogate mother had gone into labour, I went to the hospital in disguise, in case there were any photographers lurking about.
As it turned out, the place was absolutely deserted. No one usually wants to have a baby at Christmas: they either have an induction or caesarean so they're not in hospital over the holidays. So there wasn't a soul around: just us, and then Zachary.
New Traditions
We knew the minute he was born that our lives had changed for ever. And so had Christmas: as any parent knows, once you have children, the festive season changes so completely that it's hard to remember what it was like before.
When it was just me and David, it used to be low-key and grown-up: we'd watch a film on Christmas Eve and have friends over for lunch the next day, or go to Venice, which is wonderful at that time of year.
Now, it's all about Zachary and his little brother Elijah, although our friend Sandy often visits; she and her late partner Ingrid were the boys' godparents.
It's about making your own family traditions, some of which are the same as those I remember as a kid: turkey with all the trimmings, cold cuts and Branston pickle on Boxing Day, paper hats and balloons.
Zachary and Elijah are still young enough to be totally, 100% behind the idea of Santa. There's a disused red postbox in the woods by our house in Windsor that's become the magical postbox where letters to Father Christmas are posted in mid-December.
On Christmas Eve, we read The Night Before Christmas together, and we watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, which David saw every year when he was growing up in Canada and I love because it has such a beautiful soundtrack, by a jazz pianist called Vince Guaraldi.
They put out hot chocolate for Santa and sprinkle reindeer food in the garden. Then we put them to bed and things turn completely frantic.
We wrap presents and try to work out the right combination of things to put in their stockings that'll hopefully keep them amused in their room for a couple of hours if they wake up at 4am, as they invariably do: The Beano Annual and The Official Watford FC Annual, some Lego, some pencils to colour with.
We rake up the reindeer food and David drinks the hot chocolate. We listen to a CD of carols sung by The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which adds at least a vague air of calm to proceedings.
Teaching the true meaning of Christmas
The first couple of years we had kids, they were deluged with presents. Not from us, as we're quite strict: other than the stockings, they get three or four gifts each. It means I have to rein in my love of buying presents – I've always loved giving people gifts more than I love receiving them – but it's for the best.
It was other people who wanted to spoil them: friends and fans. It was very touching, but also ridiculous: the year after Zachary was born, there was so much stuff we had to buy two trees to fit it all around and the present opening went on for what felt like weeks.
It just seemed a bit obscene. So we wrote back to everyone, thanking them, but telling them we had set up a charitable fund to support work for children with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and asked them to make a donation to that instead.
I know I have a reputation for extravagance – that's well deserved! – but Christmas is not about that now. It's about magic and creating memories, and magic and memories are two things you can't buy.
BUY NOW Me (Pan Macmillan) by Elton John
At Sir Elton's request, GH has made a donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
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Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a29889091/elton-john-family-christmas-traditions/
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