Sideswipe: December 24: Don't worry Christmas is almost over

Don't worry girls, Christmas is nearly done with! Thirteen-month-old twins Eleanor, left, and Emily Williams not enjoying their time with Santa.

Brings a lump to your throat
Julie writes: "Thought I would share a conversation I had with my 6-year-old son when I played the Santa card to improve his behaviour.
Mum: If you're not careful Santa will be bringing you a lump of coal
Owen: Coal? Like in Minecraft?
Mum: There's coal in Minecraft?
Owen: Yes to make torches ... I could take it to school for show and tell ..."

Phone firm made good call after typhoon
"We all seem to thrive on stories of poor service and the negative aspects of companies. Especially at this time of the year it's heartening to hear of the positive stories. We had family members holidaying in a beach-front hotel when the recent typhoon struck in the Philippines. I made many calls to Foreign Affairs here in New Zealand and tried in vain to make contact with the NZ Embassy in Manila as I hadn't heard anything from them for nearly 24 hours. Not having access to a land-line at the time I had to use my cellphone. Imagine my delight when I received a text from Vodafone saying that they had deducted from my account the cost of the calls to the Philippines and hoped that my loved ones were safe (they were). Thank you Vodafone. A wonderful gesture."

Doesn't always pay to be kind
Woman walks into grocery-deli on Milton Rd, Mt Eden. Hands a plastic bag to assistant and asks for it to be put into rubbish bin. Assistant agrees and woman leaves store. But wait, the rubbish feels warm and it smells. It's doggie doodoos. Assistant looks up to see woman continuing her walk up Milton Rd, with her pooch.

Prank perfection

Spot of green tea, wait ... orange, no ... red
On the subject of multi-tasking drivers, Frances writes: "A few years ago at the lights in Mt Wellington, I looked over at the car next to me only to see the elderly lady driver pick up a very large china teapot from next to her and proceed to pour herself a cup of tea to drink at the lights."

Greeks behind festive X factor
Who put the "X" in Xmas? According to BoingBoing.net, it was the Greeks. "X is how you write "Christ" in Greek and writers (including people who transcribed the Bible) have been using 'X' as a convenient abbreviation of that since at least the 3rd and 4th centuries."

Picture this: Student Christmas tree...

News: Mind your Christmas desserts; thief nicks pavlova...

Picture this #2: Improvised nativity scene...

Video: This video imagines what Christmas morning would be shot by various notable filmmakers.

Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz.