Have Yourself a Gothic Little Christmas…

gothic-christmas-addams-family-morticia

There’s no escaping it, so we may as well accept the inevitable – Christmas is coming (click here for mooky Christmas tips). It’s everywhere – on our televisions, on the decorations in the streets, and in the look of panic on the faces of shoppers who have left it all until the last minute (and I deal with a lot of those).

With the general consensus being that the Christmas period and Christmas Day need to look exactly like what we see in the advertisements, how do we celebrate Christmas (or Yule) in a more gothic way? Here are a few of my own ideas…

 1. Start by watching The Nightmare Before Christmas

IF you’re anything like me, you’ll have seen this film a zillion times already but nonetheless, it’s great for getting you into the Christmas mood. The songs, the lights, the horrific perversion of Christmas – you can even take decorating tips from the residents of Halloween Town! When you’re not watching Jack et al, you can replace jingle-jangle Christmas tunes with Nightmare Revisited, featuring covers of the Nightmare Before Christmas songs by the likes of Amy Lee and Manson.

 2. Follow up by reading appropriate Christmas literature

For those of you who like amazing art to go with your tales, The Yattering And Jack is a hugely entertaining graphic novel by the master of horror that is Clive Barker. It takes place during the festive period and involves a battle of wits between a demon and a painfully average man, so it’s a nice escape from the traditional Christmas tales.

Neil Gaiman reads A Christmas Carol…

If you prefer something more traditional, A Christmas Carol is a well-known Victorian story that boasts terrifying ghosts and a timeless moral – what’s not to love?

You can even let Neil Gaiman read you the whole of A Christmas Carol… courtesy of the New York Publick Library!

3. Set up a bewitchingly beautiful tree

gothic-dark-christmas-tree

I myself opted for a black tree this year, and decorated it with tinsel that had little skulls over it (granted, it was Halloween tinsel, but it works for Christmas trees all the same). If you want to get creative, get some cheap baubles and cover them with any fabric you want. Black sequins, zebra stripes – let your imagination guide you!

And finally…

4. Berry red, blood red

Don’t forget the red wine to go with your Christmas roast (or nut roast). Here’s to an undreary, delicious Dark Christmas!

More Gothic Christmas ideas on Mookychick: