…..Well, the first reason is, I’m a bit bored today. It’s Sunday, and I have no Sky or Netflix due to Virgin Media being down in our area. I’m not moaning too much, it was over 3 years ago when this last happened, so I can’t really grumble. Though I am a bit peeved that I can’t carry on watching the truly addictive latest series of The Crown, which I was planning to binge watch this weekend.

Secondly, and this isn’t directly related I appreciate, we have no running water. Burst pipe in the road this morning spouting nasty looking yellow water, means we can’t even have a cup of tea. And no, I am not taking the water out of last nights hot water bottle as Andy suggested. Normally I don’t drink much water, but knowing I can’t have a cup of tea is making me want one, so I need a reason to distract myself.

No visiting of relatives going on today either obviously, due to our lockdown situation, so I have decided, it’s time to drag that tree out of the attic and get all the decorations up. I won’t be able to decorate it as I usually do whilst listening to MTV Christmas hits, so The Muppet Christmas Carol on dvd will just have to do. And we do have iced mince pies. I LOVE iced mince pies.

Anyway, I digress. The real reason that I am putting the decorations up early is because I feel like we all need an extra bit of light and cheer. I know that in the past there has been a lot of angst about when you SHOULD put the decorations up. Usually I wait til the first weekend of December, but I do know people who think that as soon as Bonfire night is over, it’s open season for Christmas. Others seem to think you should wait til Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve?? I always think that is completely crazy! What’s the point of all that hassle to get everything up, only to take it down again a few days later. Each to his or her own, I guess.

So, Andy got me the tree down from the attic and I commandeered my son Alfie to help me get all the branches in the right order. So you can guess it is not a real tree, but I have had it since 2007, so it’s climate friendly.

The lights are always a challenge, but as Chief Decorator I can delegate, so Alfie sat down in a corner to try and untangle them. I set to unpacking the baubles and, as usual, get all nostalgic as I find ones I had completely forgotten we had, and others bringing back a host of memories of Christmas’s past.

Within an hour the tree is up, and and I am admiring my, (OK mine and Alfie’s), handiwork. It really is a beautiful sight though I say it myself, and it reminds me of the light of hope and positivity, which is much needed at the moment.

Christmas is a festival which is not slap bang in the middle of winter by accident. Christmas is a beacon, showing us that we are half way out of the dark and half way to Spring. This Christmas, as we look back on a year that has been one of the worst in memory, let’s put our decorations up early, and remind ourselves that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

So this Christmas, let every Christmas decoration, candle and star reminds us that the light is coming back, hope is here, and the darkness cannot overcome. I will leave you with this quote from Dr Who which was always a family traditional Christmas Day watch when the children were younger.

“On every world, wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact mid-point, everybody stops and turns and hugs. As if to say, “Well done. Well done, everyone! We’re halfway out of the dark.”