When I first gave up Christmas, I was so anti-everything-even-slightly-resembling-the-C-word that it was a lot of effort. I blogged about it a lot, I made rules, I set up a website, I wrote articles and guidelines about how to avoid the festive season. It was exhausting and a lot of it made me very angry.

Everyone has to have a cause, I guess.

Now, with the benefit of several years experience, I have realised what the cause really is. I’m not anti-Christmas. I just want everyone to do what they want to do.

I was trying to explain this to some friends a week or so ago, and it really hit me when I said that exact phrase. “It’s not about avoiding everything Christmas. It’s not about refusing to pull a cracker or denying myself the joy of singing cheesy Christmas songs. It’s about not having to do something just because society expects you to, just because that is what everyone else is doing. I want everyone to do what they want to do, and enjoy themselves.”

It was quite a refreshing feeling, realising that it wasn’t a battle, it was actually the exact opposite. Wanting peace on earth to all men. Or something like that, anyway.

So, bring on the mince pies, and the ever-present Slade song, because Christmas is your time, and it’s about spending it the way you want to. (You might prefer to skip the Slade.)