In the run-up to the big day, we have asked three guest writers from York to sum up "what Christmas means to me". EDDIE VEE gets the bauble rolling.

HALLO and merry Christmas to you all. My name is Eddie Vee, known to many of you as an Elvis tribute act and personality DJ, as well as the Loony candidate for York, tarot card reader "G", and "the fat bloke that looks like Peter Kay"!

What is Christmas like for me?

In a word chaos! Much of the daytime is spent by the telephone waiting for bookings and confirmations. The best fun is quoting prices for people: "£500 for a 45-minute show plus encore" is standard for most shows.

Usually the reply is "Fine - can I book you now, do you need a deposit?" But you also get "Well, it's only a little do. Could you do it for £100 and a few beers?"

People tend to forget that the show is not just the hour or so you see of the performer, but also the travelling to and from the venue, the setting up and taking down of equipment and the preparation of the show beforehand.

While the wife deals with the minor parts of Christmas such as decorations, the tree, buying presents, getting the turkey and trimmings, washing up, etc I have to make sure my CDs are up to date, the Elvis costumes are clean and, more importantly, that all the "gear" is working. It is very important that everything goes right because, during December, I shall be appearing before more than 12,000 people. Anything from a hotel room of 30 or 40 people, to a conference hall holding more than a 1,000.

I normally leave home around 6pm and I am usually set up and ready to go by 7.30pm. If it is an Elvis show I tend to spend the first part of the evening at a champagne reception meeting and greeting the guests dressed suitably in gold lam.

I then disappear to the bar while they dine, and then come back dressed typically in white jump-suit and perform an hour of classic Elvis hits.

Later, while I sign autographs and pose for photos, my trusty roadie Rob packs the gear away and, with luck, we are home for just after midnight.

If it is a disco its a case of playing those "classic" Christmas songs while people are dining then geeing them into action and making sure they dance their socks off until the early hours. Then I try to take apart the disco and light show so it can be picked up and taken to the next venue the following day.

I am usually crawling into bed about 3am after a disco night.

The one thing I have noticed - especially about hotel dinners this year - is that people seem very loath to leave a tip for the waiters and waitresses.

These people work very hard (mainly for a minimum rate) to make sure the guests' evening goes without a hitch so please don't forget that a little reward goes a long way at this time of year.

Christmas Eve can be very hectic, so you can imagine that come Christmas Day the last thing I want to do is drag myself out of bed at 6am to look at the kids opening their presents.

However, you would be wrong because nothing gives me greater pleasure, although by 9am I am usually tucked up back in bed to catch up on some valuable sleep until the wife lets me know that dinner is ready.

Then after dinner its back on the sofa to sleep/watch James Bond.

This year, after so many TV appearances and because of greater demand, I have played far more corporate functions and private parties, and appeared in very few public houses. But, for those who like a free show, I will be singing live at the Bay Horse at Stamford Bridge on December 27.

So if you can prise yourself out of your comfy chairs and escape from Only Fools And Horses for a couple of hours, get yourself there. It kicks off about 8.30pm.

After the hectic month that is December, Jane - "the wife" - and my two girls-Charlotte and April will be hoping to get a day out followed by a meal in some suitable hostelry. Then we get some quality time of our own. We will probably be surrounded by the army of entertainers and hotel staff who, like us, celebrate their Christmas every January!

For more details or to contact Eddie Vee for your event check out his website at www.eddie-vee.com

Updated: 09:06 Monday, December 22, 2003