Up on the London Stadium's big screens before kick-off were multiple West Ham players mocked up to look like Santa Clauses. The game was to guess who was who behind the white beards.
On the pitch, there was no need to throw a disguise over Troy Deeney as the Watford captain played the role of the villainous Grinch to perfection. You just know he loves the hatred, too.
Deeney scored, sprinted towards the home fans, tried to do a knee slide, failed as he bounced off the turf, got up, punched the corner flag out of the ground and laughed hysterically.