Bah Humbug (maybe not?)

This week’s Dispatches and Detours is full of bah humbug, because Christmas in November is really not my thing. Before I sound like the Grinch, I should point out that I love Christmas — just not six weeks early. If I start now, I’m completely over it by the time it actually arrives.

For me, the festive season — and that delicious sense of anticipation — begins on 20th December, when I put up the decorations with the help of a glass of something suitably merry. They come down on 3rd January, no later, delayed only by my birthday on the 2nd, when (fingers crossed) I have better things to do.

Local supermarkets are already bursting with tinsel and glitter, which I can easily ignore. What’s harder to escape is the fake cheerfulness of UK radio and TV. Heart Radio UK officially launched Christmas today (12th November) with back-to-back Mariah Carey, Wham!, and Michael Bublé. My heart sank. I’m already tired of Dawn French and Tom Kerridge flogging M&S food — which, let’s be honest, probably sells itself. The John Lewis ad is something of a mystery; this year’s effort doesn’t come close to Buster the Boxer on the trampoline. For the next few weeks, I’ll be sticking to Spotify and Netflix, blissfully ad-free.

As an expat, though, if you want a traditional (albeit hot and sunny) Christmas, you can’t exactly stick your head in the golden Mauritian sand and ignore it all until the last minute. Supplies have been arriving from all over the world for weeks for our neighbourly Christmas Day lunch, and our host has today sent out the Secret Santa draw.

I should probably confess that I created a WhatsApp group back in October to coordinate shopping and cooking across the three households hosting lunch. And — full disclosure — I also booked a catamaran for a festive day out on Christmas Eve… back in April.

So perhaps I protest too much about Christmas coming early. Or maybe I’m just missing having a few projects to manage.