“There’s a little bit of Christmas in the air”.

This song lyric has become like an ear worm this week. A new favourite Christmas song that I cannot get enough of. Work is flying over with Christmas songs and gingerbread.

And this week there really is a little bit of Christmas in the air, as the government confirm Christmas is back on the cards: three households can mix indoors and stay overnight across a 5-day window, if they form a ‘Christmas bubble’. With the news a Christmas wish is coming true for everyone young and old. An opportunity to see in person our nearest and dearest we have been apart from for so long.

So, while this won’t be like past years, with December filled with our wider family and friends, we will be able to share the joy of Christmas with loved ones. For my fiancé and I, the announcement means we can make plans to see both sets of parents for some family Christmas traditions.

Yet, our Christmas to do list is growing and with December arriving next week I am starting to feel the Christmas stress. This year planning has become essential to pulling off Christmas, last minute just isn’t going to work this year.

The post is always delayed at Christmas. And this year is set to put more strain on the postal service, as we all look to send gifts we would have given in person. We also have the added pressure of Christmas time birthdays in our family, with my cousin’s little ones birthday falling on Christmas itself. So, we make a start on the birthday cards, gifts and international cards, it’s all go! But as Lady and I head to the post office, what I am sure will be one of many, the Christmas stress is melting away and with it my ear worm is back. “There’s a little bit of Christmas in the air”.