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My INSANELY Productive Christmas Day

2020-12-26 (said on 2020-12-25 — implied: date said in the video; uploaded 1 day later) · Vlog or day in the life · Ali · recording, 6:11 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Relationships and personal life (also: Tools, apps and tech) · mode: Playful and ironic

In a tongue-in-cheek "productive" Christmas Day vlog, Ali and his housemate Sheen, kept in Cambridge by the new Tier 4 rules, spend the day with their friends Jake and Molly: lunch, a photo shoot, a walk, an escape-room board game, "water pong" and Articulate, before full lockdown from Boxing Day.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Christmas morning: lie-in, skincare, the YouTube plaque as a mirror, coffee in the Clever Dripper, pizza breakfast and journaling

  • ★ On Christmas morning Ali sleeps in past his 7.30 alarm until 10, then uses a CeraVe moisturiser and a La Roche eye cream in his skincare routine. — 00:00:00
  • ★ Ali, filmed without his glasses, says he is debating whether to get contact lenses or even laser eye surgery and asks viewers for their view. — 00:00:29
  • ★ Ali brews his morning coffee in a Clever Dripper with a three-minute timer. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Ali's morning journaling on his MacBook Pro asks what he is grateful for and what he is looking forward to (and, he jokes, why he does not yet have a wife). — 00:00:58 · MacBook

00:01:27 — No presents, so he unboxes what he bought himself: the reMarkable 2 and Ugmonk desk accessories

  • ★★ With no presents from anyone, Ali unboxes things he bought himself: the new reMarkable 2 tablet and Ugmonk desk accessories (the Gatherer, two coasters and three small notebooks). — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Ali says "enjoy the journey", printed on his new Ugmonk coasters, is one of the quotes he lives by. — 00:01:56

00:02:10 — Christmas lunch at Jake and Molly's under the Tier 4 rules: photo shoot, homemade meal, a walk and Sheen's red velvet cake

  • ★★ Ali and his friends meant to go home to their families for Christmas 2020, but the new Tier 4 lockdown rules kept them in Cambridge; allowed to mix with one other household until Boxing Day, they gathered at Jake and Molly's. — 00:02:26 · Cambridge, Molly Hunt

00:03:42 — Board games: a single-use escape-room game, water pong, Articulate, Silent Night and a kebab at home

  • ★★ On Christmas evening the four friends play a new single-use escape-room board game, "water pong" (Ali and Sheen lose to Jake and Molly) and a practice round of Articulate, their favourite board game from university. — 00:03:42 · Molly Hunt

00:05:45 — Full Tier 4 lockdown in Cambridge from tomorrow, and the sign-off

  • ★★ With Cambridge going into full Tier 4 lockdown from Boxing Day 2020, Ali expects not to see anyone at all for at least a few weeks. (hedged) — 00:05:45 · Cambridge

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Asked whether the Clever Dripper shows he watches James Hoffmann, Ali replies that James Hoffmann sent it to him. — creator comment

Humor (dominant)

  • A minimalist who wants every item to serve several purposes, Ali uses his award as a mirror — 00:00:29

    “i'm using my 1 million subscribers youtube plaque as my mirror”

  • His morning journaling asks what he is grateful for and looking forward to — 00:00:58

    “and why I don't yet have a wife. This helps me prepare for my next phone call with mother.”

  • The Christmas tree is back in its netting and nobody bought him a gift — 00:01:27

    “I also realise that I'm on Santa's naughty list because no one got me any presents.”

  • The group spends ages on a Christmas photo shoot, as he did with university friends — 00:02:26

    “This is the sort of thing I used to do with my friends at university which is perhaps why I had so few of them”

  • He "helps" with lunch by filming over everyone's shoulders — 00:02:55

    “it's these sorts of sacrifices you have to make when you're an award-winning internet content creator.”

  • Most people played beer pong at school or university, but Ali was always busy — 00:04:40

    “I'm sure they intended to invite me to these parties, but they just forgot. Every time.”

  • After a pizza breakfast and a huge lunch, they finish the night at home — 00:05:09

    “we order some kebab takeaway to really round off this day of healthy eating.”

Threads in this video

  • restate · Should you journal, and how? — Ali's morning journaling on his MacBook Pro asks what he is grateful for and what he is looking forward to (and, he jokes, why he does not yet have a wife). (00:00:58)

Mentioned

Central: Jake Tobin · Molly Hunt · Sheen

Also: Organizations: CeraVe · La Roche-Posay · Ugmonk

Places: Cambridge

Products: Allure Homme · Articulate · Clever Dripper · Gatherer · MacBook · reMarkable 2

Only in the description or credits: James Hoffmann

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