This is the final episode of The Future With Friends for the year, and Simon Waller is joined by Steph Clarke—returning to the podcast as the very first guest and therefore self-appointed (and largely uncontested) holder of “best friend” status.

It’s also a slightly different format. Rather than exploring a single future, Simon and Steph arrive armed with duelling scenarios—each having written their own version of the future of Christmas set in 2051ish. Using scenario thinking, humour, and just enough provocation, they imagine how one of our most entrenched rituals might evolve—and what that says about us.

Steph imagines a future where Christmas shifts to July, shaped by supermarkets, consumer behaviour, and a society increasingly disconnected from seasonal traditions. Simon counters with a darker scenario, where Christmas is gradually co-opted by a political movement, stripped of shared meaning and repurposed as a tool for influence.

Together, these competing futures surface deeper questions about consumerism, power, community, and the role of rituals in a diverse society. As befits the final episode of the year, the conversation meanders into reflections on connection, festive tourism, humour, and why asking better questions matters more than ever.

At its core, this episode isn’t really about Christmas at all. It’s about how we imagine the future, the stories we tell ourselves, and how those stories shape what we choose to protect, change, or let go of.