Seriously, in LA that’s a question: When will it begin to look a lot like Christmas.  Truth be told it doesn’t.  Sure you’ll get Rodeo Drive decked out in all its 90210 glory and The Grove will be the same, even a few other Malls.  But, the truth is, LA is not the American city to visit to recreate Christmas from the movies.  I know, isn’t it ironic?

Instead, Christmas is some neighbourhoods with some lights out (or on as the case may be), a few “festive few” going all out.  But on the whole you can spend most of December wondering where on earth the “holiday spirit” has gone.

And we can’t blame the fact that Christmas is only “Christmas” for half of LA. I mean, it’s the same in New York and you can’t get more “Christmas” than there right?

And, let’s face it, the greater majority of my Jewish friends “celebrate” Christmas so it’s not that either.

So what is it about LA that Christmas seems like just another day?

It might well be that life continues as normal.  It’s not all shut up like it is in Europe or Australia. I could be forgiven for thinking I still live in China.

New Year’s Eve

And New Year’s Eve here is a little flat too.  It’s definitely not the pomp and ceremony and fireworks extravaganza that it is in Australia.  Let’s face it, for the big hoo-ha that is New York in Times Square for New Year you’re only going to see a ball drop.  A ball drop peoples.

Ubering for “holiday” parties

There is one constant and that’s the “holiday party”. Being LA this year’s parties were apparently very toned down; fortunately I went to a few fun ones!

I’ve had two uber drivers with huge claims to fame. My latest one picked my accent straight away:

“Australian”.

“Yes I am, well done.” (They don’t often pick it right!)

“I went to Australia in 1983, had a great time. I was on tour with my boyfriend at the time.”

“Ok, fun,” I said. “I hope you managed to see the sights.”

“Yeah my boyfriend loved Australia so he always makes sure we got downtime.”

“Oh nice, he’d been before?”

“Oh yeah, he’s a really famous rockstar … David Bowie?”

“Oh right, OK.”

“Yeah, we toured Japan first then went to Australia, it was a wild time.”

OK stop. You’re driving an Uber and you went on tour with David Bowie. That’s serious stuff. I hope she’s all there as she’s responsible for getting me safely from A to B.

I mean all the dates and info seemed to make sense. Could it be?

Then she starts giving me advice on acting and building up an IMDB profile. OK …

Sadly our trip came to an end. Five stars to you Diane. What an entertaining trip. Say hi to David for me.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to you all. I’m sure you won’t hear from me til the new year so take care out there. And I hope you get an uber driver with some fun stories to tell.

xx It Started in LA xx