Stag dos vs. Christmas.

Nothing does well when compared to Christmas. Christmas is the ideal time of fun and relaxation, family bliss and contentment, good food and good cheer. And yet, of course, Christmas is not perfect for anyone, and not even fun for lots of people. The imagined role of Christmas as a sacred, untouchable time of year (heaven forbid anyone is accused of "ruining Christmas") becomes its downfall, as it is inevitably unreachable. Weddings present a similar problem, as does the humble "stag do".

The whole point of the stag do seems to be lost sometimes in the percieved desirability of excess. A stag do without strippers is a second rate night. The very idea of a stag do without alcohol is unthinkable. And yet, the point of the occasion is not simply to live up to tradition, surely. The idea is to give the groom one last night of freedom before the chains of marriage lock around him, but the point, it seems to me, is to counterbalance the future life with his chosen partner by reminding him of all the things he should not forget about his other friends. As with Christmas, weddings, and, indeed, all other experiences in life, getting caught up in what tradition tells us things "should" be like is likely to end in disappointment, whereas looking for the experience we want to have, and choosing the best route to it, seems to me far more rewarding and fulfulling.

That was pretty rambly, and I apologise - I'm writing it late at night because I'll not be around on Saturday. I'll have no internet, because I'll be on a stag do, with no strippers, no clubbing and no debauchery: just a group of friends having a day together and celebrating as one of their number takes the next step forward in their life, and hoping to remind him that getting married does not mean the end of all other relationships.

Vegas strippers posted: 4