The only Christmas present I can think to give you is The Nutcracker performed by the Royal Ballet at London's Royal Opera House in 2009. The Guardian presents a full-length film of the production (in two parts) on its website, free, gratis and yes, on "the House". Running on the website for a week from 19 December,catch it quick if you want to be enchanted and transported to the land of the sugar plum fairy. Absolutely magical. Here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/video/2012/dec/19/royal-ballet-live-nutcracker-one-video
I was lucky enough recently to be at a concert featuring The Nutcracker by the young Docklands Sinfonia Orchestra at St. Anne's Limehouse, a magnificent Hawksmoor church in London's East End. Under the baton of the talented and imaginative Spencer Downs, it wasn't just any performance however because it was illustrated in time to the music on a big screen by celebrated and much-loved children's author James Mayhew. See his report of it and my tribute to him here.
