Whenever Doctor Who does Christmas stories the ones I often prefer are those that go the dark route like The Chimes of Midnight or Death in Blackpool while still keeping some of that Christmas cheer we all love. When Doctor Who focuses more on the lighthearted aspect of Christmas, the best approach is often the short and sweet route such as their Christmas Short Trips books. This is why I mostly can't get into the Modern Who Christmas specials because trying to keep that goofy over the top Christmas vibe for an hour just drives me nuts. Christmas Truce is an example of fun but silly Doctor Who Christmas done right as UNIT throws a Christmas party attended by a scientist who turns out to be the Master in disguise whose purpose was simply to share a drink with the Doctor and chat about old times for one night only. Much like the title and the setup of these two arch enemies sharing a laugh and a friendly chat on Christmas, it echoes the famous Christmas Truce of WWI and shows just how powerful Christmas can be. How even the fiercest of enemies can put aside their differences and come together to banish the cold and the dark. The Christmas Short Trips make for a great read around the holiday season. Just a shame they're so bloody expensive to get nowadays!

Our second UNIT Christmas Party in the Treasury, this is a really fun romp. Though everyone came together the year before for a fun party, this time nobody is quite feeling the spirits, and the Doctor and Brigadier find themselves at odds with each other. Meanwhile, a VIP is coming to visit UNIT.

The twist to all this I could see coming as it was being revealed, but it is still good fun. The Doctor has a really touching moment with the VIP and it reminds me of where these characters were and their future together. I don't want to get into spoilers too much, although my recommendations will probably give it away, but it is nice, solid character work we don't often get with the characters in question. It makes sense that Terrance Dicks wrote this as it has a certain sense of authority to it - where the author clearly has a sense of all things Doctor Who.