UK Ferry Tickets

Last week, I walked into a Queen’s hotel in Chester and there, to greet me, suspended high above reception, was a 6ft plastic Father Christmas.

Amazed, I said to the receptionist: “Crikey, it’s ages until Christmas, isn’t it?” to which the reply was: “Oh, he’s been up there for several weeks.”

I’m reluctant to criticise the Queen’s hotel, because the staff were lovely and I was upgraded to an excellent room but, really, do we need Christmas in the autumn?

Hotels, you would imagine, only do things that their customers want, so perhaps people have been furiously filling in their questionnaires demanding Santa appears several months earlier than planned.

I’ve never liked Christmas and I think it’s pathetic that we start celebrating it so early. Have we got so little in our lives that we need to desperately start looking forward to the festive season so early in the year?

And what, exactly, are we looking forward to? A day spent with distant relatives that you’ve got nothing in common with and the prospect of receiving another pair of socks from auntie?

The main bonus is that we get time off work to go on holiday.

What’s your view of Christmas?

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006