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It feels like it won’t be long before we’re having to shoo wasps off our Christmas cake, with Yuletide kicking in somewhere around late August.

Part of the problem is that retailers move from one key shopping period to the next, so as soon as the unsold Halloween pumpkins start to rot, it’s out with the Christmas cards and shower gel gift sets.

If you fall into a turkey-fuelled Christmas-dinner torpor and wake months later, don’t rely on the TV ads to tell you what time of year it is – promos for the latest must-have festive toys start sprouting up between kids cartoons anytime from September.

We all need a bit of festive cheer after the year we've had to endure...

Which is probably no bad thin,g as it will take you at least four months to save up to be able to afford them.

In our house, we’ve always started Christmas a little later than most, as our son has his birthday in December.

It’s a bit of a naff time to have your birthday if I’m honest – personally, I blame the parents – but we didn’t want him getting ideas above his station thinking the tree, lights and tinsel had been rolled out specially, just for him.

This year though, I’ve welcomed the early arrival of the festivities with open arms.

In years gone by, the idea of stringing up your Christmas lights in the first week in November would have had people rolling their eyes and tutting.

In 2020, however, it feels like a wholly appropriate response to a year that has been decidedly light on cheer - festive or otherwise.

We could all do with some light relief at the moment and seeing the streets starting to twinkle with decorations is the very least that we deserve after the last six months we’ve been through.

Personally, I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas lights and prefer plain, elegant, simple white lights. But this year, I even approve of those households who go all out with the festive decs, turning their homes into something out of Close Encounters, and who clearly have bought shares in electrictiy-generating companies.

Since much of the year has been cancelled, we may as well go all in for Crimbo. Yes it’s early, but who cares: Merry Christmas!

Let’s start the Christmas celebrations right now!