Guild Wars: Wintersday 2010

Ah look, its the non-denominational secular holiday man! Here he comes in his generic multi-faith red suit, with his non-threatening possibly Sikh inspired white beard. He's come to hand out inoffensive non-specific winter-themed gifts! Hooray! Merry Christma... I mean, Yay for Wintersday!

Guild Wars' Christmas is always an amusing time, ANet try so hard to please everyone that you get odd uncanny valley Christmas cliches cropping up left right and centre: Elder Skruug, Grenches, Jingle Bears etc etc. Far from finding this attempt to side-step the normal PC problems galling, I actually find it quite quaint, perhaps its my rose-tinted view of the GW universe.

Looking forward to Christmas this year - in and out of game - in Guild Wars they are bringing Melandru (Goddess of Nature) and Balthazar (God of War) into the mix to join Grenth (God of Death) and Dwayna (Goddess of Life) in the Wintersday celebrations. Unfortunately, I'm missing the finale which takes place over New Year, as I'll be up in the Lake District - my friends parents own a hotel up there and its a great place for a New Year's Eve party!

In the real world, it's mine and the Mrs' first Christmas outside of our family nests and although it will be a little weird, I can't wait! Our tree is up, I've made mulled wine, wrapped the presents and spent all my savings (my girlfriend had the excellent idea to be born JUST after Christmas, meaning I have to buy her presents x2). So, its going to be a scant Christmas, what with the monetary constraints, but we'll have fun, I'm sure! To top this off, we got Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood the other day, shes dead into it; even to the point where if she can't find her glasses she will sit inches away from the telly, see below: