LUKE MARSDEN: It’s not too early for Christmas!

After a grim 18 months of Covid, people are ready for the festive season already

In fact, I have a confession to make. Christmas came very early for me this year in the form of August bank holiday weekend.

The sun was still shining, the outside temp very warm, but I was forced by my Xmas-obsessed friend to play Christmas-themed Monopoly while listening to a special curated Xmas Spotify playlist. For many this would be hell on earth, for me it almost seemed normal. My friend talks about Christmas all year round; she even takes a week off work to decorate her tree on the first week of November.

Can we at least get passed Hallowe’en? The answer is “no.” At Tesco Wigan the other week I spotted some overpriced mince pies, so I will say it again, Merry Christmas.

I suppose after the past 18 months we’ve had, is there really any harm in celebrating the festive season early? I wouldn’t like to see Christmas decorations being put up on my street anytime soon, nor would I wish for it to snow. But perhaps we could all do a little better and force ourselves to embrace that Christmas cheer. I won’t be wishing my neighbours a Merry Christmas, but I do have a bottle of mulled wine left over from last year that I may crack open this weekend.

We’ll only be weeks away from the Wigan Xmas Lights Switch On, an event I’ve hosted multiple times.

Once our town centre lights are on and the fake snow is falling on the crowd, it’s definitive that Christmas will have arrived. In case you’re wondering, I was the turkey character playing Christmas Monopoly, I thought being a snowman was a step too far. I know, bah humbug!

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