Queer Fear & Holiday Anxiety
Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt
The holidays are sold to us as a glittery, heartwarming, hot-cocoasoaked dream –but for so many queer people, the reality is closer to “festive stress test.” Between navigating family dynamics, juggling an overstuffed social calendar, and feeling the financial squeeze of gifts, travel, and events, the season can stir up fear and insecurity instead of comfort and joy.
Going home for the holidays may mean stepping back into environments that don’t fully see or support who we are. Staying here for the holidays might mean feeling left out, stretched thin, or emotionally overloaded by the whirlwind of queer events, office parties, and friend gatherings. And hidden beneath the sparkle of holiday lights is a very real pressure to spend –sometimes more than we have – to show up, give back, or not feel like the one person who isn’t doing enough.
If this resonates with you: you’re not alone. Queer holiday anxiety is real, it’s valid, and it deserves compassion – especially from yourself. Here are a few tips to help you feel more grounded and supported this season.
1. Set Boundaries Before You Travel (or Don’t Travel)
Before going home, check in with yourself: What’s okay for me this year? What isn’t? Maybe that means limiting the length of your visit, staying with a friend instead of family, or letting someone know certain topics are off-limits. Boundaries aren’t barriers — they’re safety rails.
2. Build Your “Chosen Family Plan”
If home isn’t where you feel seen, create moments with the people who do. Plan a dinner, a virtual hang, a low-key movie night, or even a text check-in with your chosen family. Knowing you have support — even from afar — can keep you grounded when things feel tense.
3. Give Yourself Permission to Say No
Not every holiday party, drag brunch, fundraiser, or cookie swap needs your RSVP.
You don’t have to earn your place in the community by being everywhere. Say yes to what nourishes you — and guilt-free no’s to anything that drains you.
4. Create a Realistic Budget (and Stick to It)
The pressure to spend big can feel intense, especially in LGBTQ+ spaces where giving and celebration are such huge cultural touchpoints.
Set a budget for gifts, events, travel, and extras. Then protect it. A thoughtful handwritten card or a homemade treat often means more than something expensive.
5. Ground Yourself in Rituals That Feel Good
Calm doesn’t come from avoiding stress — it comes from creating balance.
Think small: morning tea, a daily walk, 10 minutes of meditation, a favorite playlist, a warm bath, journaling, or reading. Rituals interrupt the chaos and help you return to yourself.
6. Remember: Your Feelings Are Valid (and Shared)
Holiday anxiety doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful — it means you’re human. Talk to someone you trust about what you’re experiencing. Chances are they’ve felt something similar, and naming it out loud can soften the heaviness.
For many of us, the holidays are complicated — but they don’t have to be overwhelming. You deserve a season that feels safe, warm, and authentically yours. Whether that means going home, staying put, celebrating big, or keeping it quiet, choose the version that protects your peace.
On Mekahel Celebrates a Hoe-y Christmas
By Kevin Wirth
For On Mekahel, A Hoe-y Christmas is more than just a collection of songs. It’s a celebration of queer joy and chosen family. “I grew up in Israel, where we didn’t celebrate Christmas,” he explains. “But I always loved the decorations and the lights. When I met my husband, Christmas became part of my life, too. Our first Christmas together was one of the most magical moments of my life, and I wanted to share that warmth with all of my fans this holiday season.”
While the title and tone are undeniably cheeky, Mekahel says the albums comes straight from the heart. “It is a love letter to the holidays,” he says. He explains more.
If you could describe A Hoe-y Christmas in three words to someone who hasn’t heard it yet, what would they be?
Sexy because the whole EP has this sultry, playful energy running through every track. Warm because I
poured my heart and natural warmth into these songs. Cozy because A Hoe-y Christmas is all about that feeling of being cuddled up with good vibes and holiday spirit all around you.
What inspired you to create the album?
I wanted to create an experience for people who love Christmas and the holidays but from a different perspective than the wholesome, familyoriented one we’re used to. I wanted the songs to feel festive and familiar, but with a sexy twist. Something a little less traditional, a little wild, and definitely fun.
You’ve included a mix of originals and reimagined holiday standards like “Hoe-y Night” and “Hark the Herald Who?”. How did you decide which classics to twist and make your own?
I chose my favorite traditional holiday songs and simply added a little of me to them. For example, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” has always been one of my favorites, but coming from a culture where I didn’t grow up with these songs, I used to wonder: who’s Harold? So I decided to explore that in a playful way. And “Silent Night” is such a beautiful song full of spirit, but I turned it into “Hoe-y Night” because that felt a little more like me; still warm, but cheekier.
Your version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” brings a queer, soulful warmth to a timeless favorite.
I sang it exactly the way I’ve always sung it. I wanted to keep it authentic to how I naturally perform it. Our pianist, Ark, followed the melody the way I’ve always done it, and we recorded it raw and soulful.
“Under the Blanket” sounds like it could
be the perfect cozy (or steamy!) winter anthem. What’s the story behind it?
That one was written entirely by my husband, Dave, who writes most of my music with me. I only gave him the title, because that’s exactly where I want to be with him during the holidays. The song really captures one of our winter traditions. Every year, we go up to our cabin with our puppies and spend a few days, just the two of us. No work, no distractions, just snow, a fireplace, and each other under the blanket.
The humor in A Hoe-y Christmas really stands out, but so does its heart. How did you strike the balance between campy fun and genuine holiday emotion?
The whole EP is full of emotion. I wanted every song to flow naturally into the next, creating a cozy little journey. Between the traditional covers and the originals, everything came from a place of love.
On Mekahel’s holiday album, A Hoe-y Christmas, released on November 14, and is available everywhere you stream your favorite music.
Wicked For Good
A Spellbinding, Emotional Finale Bound for Awards Glory
Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt
With Wicked: For Good, director Jon M. Chu delivers a triumphant, deeply affecting conclusion to the two-part cinematic event that redefined what a Broadway adaptation could be. If last year’s Wicked surprised audiences and critics with its emotional intelligence, dazzling spectacle, and box-office dominance, then this final chapter cements the duology as a modern classic—and quite possibly the crowning achievement in the careers of its two luminous leads, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Where the first film swept us up in the magic and wonder of Oz, Wicked: For Good immerses us in the heartbreak, consequences, and powerful humanity behind the myth. Picking up with Elphaba and Glinda estranged, the film wastes no time cutting into the emotional heart of their story. Their once-inseparable bond—fractured by truth, ambition, and fear—now becomes the
central tension of the narrative. And it is here that Erivo and Grande deliver performances so raw, so emotionally devastating, and so beautifully calibrated that it is hard not to wonder: Will Oscar voters be able to resist?
Cynthia Erivo, already an Academy Award–nominated powerhouse, brings an aching vulnerability to Elphaba that transcends even her celebrated stage work. In exile and branded the Wicked Witch of the West, Erivo’s Elphaba is fierce, wounded, and heroic in equal measure. Her fight for Oz’s silenced Animals and her desperation to reveal the Wizard’s lies create some of the film’s most gripping moments. Every frame she occupies feels charged with intensity. Her voice—rich, soaring, heartbreaking— turns each musical number into an emotional thunderstorm.
Ariana Grande, too, delivers the finest
performance of her career. Her Glinda is no longer the bubbly ingénue of Part One, but a woman forced to reckon with her choices, her privilege, and her loneliness amid fame. Grande mines the character’s contradictions with remarkable nuance: the glamorous public figure who lives for applause, and the private soul mourning the loss of her dearest friend. Her scenes under Madame Morrible’s manipulation, masterfully portrayed by Michelle Yeoh, hit especially hard. And when Grande sings, her crystalline vocals carry both the weight of regret and sparks of optimism.
The chemistry between Erivo and Grande— electric in the first film—evolves here into something deeper, more complicated, and utterly compelling. Their emotional final scenes together are among the most affecting in the entire saga, and it’s almost impossible not to shed a tear. The film’s central message—that love, empathy, and understanding can transform destinies— feels richer and more urgent than ever.
while Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard remains as sinister as ever.
Visually, Wicked: For Good is a marvel. Chu’s direction is sweeping yet intimate, the production design lush and immersive, and the musical sequences thrillingly staged. Stephen Schwartz’s music, paired with the sweeping score by John Powell, elevates both the spectacle and the emotional beats with impeccable precision.
Though the film is filled with magic, music, and spectacle, it’s the emotional core—the cost of truth, the pain of separation, and the courage to see one another fully—that lingers long after the credits roll.
As award season approaches, it’s impossible not to imagine Wicked: For Good making a major impact. The first film earned 10 Oscar nominations and two wins, and with this finale’s deeper emotional resonance and powerhouse performances, it’s not unreasonable to ask: Could Oscars be waiting for Cynthia Erivo or Ariana Grande? Their work here is that extraordinary— career-defining, even history-making.
The supporting cast continues to shine: Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero undergoes a poignant transformation; Ethan Slater’s Boq finds surprising emotional texture; and Marissa Bode brings emotional weight to Nessarose’s tragic arc. Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James offer delightful bursts of comedy as Glinda’s devoted entourage,
With its combination of cinematic wonder, emotional depth, and unforgettable performances, Wicked: For Good is not just a worthy finale—it is a soaring, spellbinding masterpiece destined to enchant audiences (and awards voters) for good.
BARS & CLUBS MIDTOWN
BLAKE’S ON THE PARK blakesontheparkatlanta.com 227 10th St NE
BULLDOGS 893 Peachtree St NE
FRIENDS NEIGHBORHOOD BAR friendsonponce-atl. com
736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
MY SISTER’S ROOM mysistersroom.com 66 12th St NE
X MIDTOWN xmidtown.com 990 Piedmont Ave NE
THE T modeltatlanta.com 465 Boulevard SE
CHESHIRE
HERETIC hereticatlanta.com 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road
BJ ROOSTERS bjroosters.com 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
WESTSIDE
MARQUETTE 868 Joseph E. Boone Blvd NW
840ATL 840 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd
ATLANTA EAGLE 1492 Piedmont Ave NE
FELIX’S 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
MIXX mixxatlanta.com 1492 Piedmont Ave NE
OSCAR’S oscarsatlanta.com 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
WOOFS woofsatlanta.com 494 Plasters Ave NE
TRIPPS fb: tripps-bar 1931 Piedmont Cir NE
EAST ATLANTA, GRANT PARK & EDGEWOOD
MARY’S marysatlanta.com 1287 Glenwood Ave SE
SISTER LOUISA’S CHURCH sisterlouisaschurch. com 466 Edgewood Ave SE LORE ATLANTA loreatl.com 466 Edgewood Ave loreatl.com
DINING
MIDTOWN
CASA ALMENARA 991 Piedmont Ave NE casa-almenara.com
OLIVE BISTRO olivebistro.com 1050 Juniper St NE #4
LA HACIENDA lahaciendamidtown. com
900 Monroe Dr NE
TUK TUK THAI FOOD LOFT TUKTUKATL.COM 1745 Peachtree Rd NW
DEKALB
LIPS ATLANTA atldragshow.com 3011 Buford Hwy NE
RETAIL MIDTOWN BOY NEXT DOOR MENSWEAR boynextdoormenswear.com 1000 Piedmont Ave NE, Ste A
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BARKING LEATHER AFTER DARK barkingleather.com 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
GCB & PLEASURES brushstrokesatlanta. com
URBAN BODY FITNESS
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CHESHIRE
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SPAS/BATHS ADULT
FLEX SPA exspas.com 76 4th St NW
SOUTHERN NIGHTS VIDEO 2205 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
ANSLEY
1510-D Piedmont Ave. NE
Photos by: Russ Youngblood
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Not to be dramatic, but the sun se ing at 5 pm now has ruined my life.
Ask me anything. I’m equally clueless on most topics.
Did it hurt? When you heard yourself woooo in a concert video you recorded?
Two truths and a lie? Oh, you mean a regular conversation.
Must be nice to go out “for a few drinks”. I usually go out and ruin my life.
When someone is like ugh sorry, my hair is greasy, it’s like thanks for apologizing – we were all thinking about it, and it’s making me sick.
Was already at my breaking, and then I had to use the authenticator app.
If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that nothing beats a Jet 2 holiday.
