…and Eastender’s Phil Mitchell is scheduled to turn them on at the weekend, I begin to despair how the Christmas period now seems to run for well over 6 weeks, regardless of any thoughts I have on the meaning of the celebration being totally forgotten. Every year I fight a losing fight to not put the tree up until the 2nd or third week in December, every year the shops seem to start it sooner. Within a week of writing this I’ll cheerfully want to murder Noddy “IT’S CHRISTMAS!!” Holder with a heavy blunt instrument.
The funny thing is, the kids favourite Christmas book is Richard Scarry’s excellent The Night Before The Night Before Christmas. Mr Frumble, the accident prone but ever so helpful pig is a fond favourite of ours, and his adventures as a Santa’s helper (and a stand in for Santa Bear himself) are a particular favourite. Why is that funny? Well through a series of Frumble related mishaps, Santa Bear goes out a day early to deliver his presents, not on the night before Christmas but on the night before the night before Christmas. No bugger in Busytown has finished putting up their Christmas decorations, and this was broadly the tradition; it was even considered unlucky to bring evergreens in doors before Christmas Eve.