Ah, Christmas. As well as all the festive tidings and heaps of presents, for people of my age group there is the inevitable Christmas Eve dash home to the parents, for a week of stuffing your face with cheese, cake and Pringles which you didn’t pay for. Woo, mid twenties!

Sadly, though, for me and Tom this year it’s slightly complicated. Our car took a turn for the worst a couple of weeks ago and we are just a bit too poor from buying all those Christmas presents to fix it, so this year it’s going to have to be a mad dash on a train. As much as I love getting the train in normal circumstances, I am preparing myself for the worst on Christmas Eve, and so have compiled this handy go-to guide to keep you from boredom and/or madness on the journey home.

Pack a knapsack filled with things to prevent you losing your mind and take you away to your own happy place – a notebook for writing things or potential blog ideas, a sketchbook and pens, a mini paint set, play doh… whatever tickles your fancy. Get lost in your own little world and forget everyone else’s festive stress. Alternatively, transport yourself into a Christmas wonderland by making a festive playlist. Ain’t nothing like bopping away, humming along to Jona Lewie and the Pogues to get you in the festive spirit. Make sure you’ve got some snacks in that backpack – you don’t want a sugar slump in a carriage full of people.

The obvious option is of course to read a book. I’m currently still battling through Game of Thrones – it’s not that it’s a bad book, in fact it’s a pretty amazing book, but I’m a really slow reader, and I kind of already know what’s going to happen. If you’ve got the attention span of a child, like myself (hey, don’t worry, it’s nothing to be ashamed of), then another option are short clips and films on some variety of portable device or tablet. My iPad mini is never too far away on a long journey, and he’s served me well over these last couple of years.

An excellent choice for both entertainment and short attention spans are Channel 4’s series of Shorts, available on 4oD. These little bite-sized nuggets of joy are perfect for this kind of situation – being only a few minutes long you can fill your boots on whatever takes your fancy, plus you’re sure to not miss your stop from not paying attention. My personal favourite are the ‘Two Players‘ clips – different faces from the world of gaming and comedy kicking back and playing a video game or two. It’s like Gogglebox, but for gaming nerds. Awesome!

It being the festive season and all – they’ve only gone and made some Christmas Specials! Seriously, if you are a hardcore gamer, an over-the-shoulder player like me, or even if you just want a giggle then check it out. My favourite is from indie game creator Mike Bithell and Charlie McDonell which I’ve posted below – I have no idea what that narwhal game is, but it looks amazing!

[just a word of warning, most of the Two Players clips are definitely NSFW – this one below is a-ok though :)]

Other gems from the Shorts line up also include Taxi Gags, where a series of comedians share their jokes, stories, rants and confessions all in the space of a cab journey, and Craic Addicts, two Irish chaps who found fame on the internet, picking apart the best and worst current cultural phenomenon. As previously mentioned, these clips are all pretty close to the knuckle, but they sure are guaranteed to make you giggle.

I’ll most definitely be charging up my iPad to the max before stepping on any trains this Christmas – I think it’s the only thing guaranteed to make me forget all the commuter stress and put a smile on my face!

{images 1 and 3 via Unsplash}
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