Tinny remakes of remakes of the worst Christmas songs ever blare out from shop after shop, the hams are too big or too small and the turkeys have all gone. Welcome to another Christmas.
Conventional wisdom and astronomy tell us it is a year since the last one. But who really believes that?
It seems only yesterday you were waving goodbye to the relations, up to your ears in dirty plates and pots and pans, and trying to mend gifts which lasted just a few hours before they broke.
It doesn’t have to be like this. Sure, there is a lot of pressure from retailers to buy, buy, buy.
And there is also pressure from families, especially ones with children, to "make them happy" by giving them as many presents as possible.
But the fact big outlets try to outdo each other every year in terms of how early they put up their Christmas decorations should be a giant clue that their version, and vision, of Christmas is purely commercial rather than altruistic or caring.
Take the pressure off. It’s almost too late for this Christmas now, but how about next year?
The retailers would hate it, of course, and the vicious paradox here is that, in these tricky economic times, they deserve to be supported to a certain extent so they can in turn pay staff, who might just be a member of your own family.
The huge irony about Christmas — whether or not you believe in its religious aspect — is it is meant to be about exactly the opposite to emptying your wallet. It should be about goodwill, charity, caring for your neighbours and spending happy hours in the company of your family and friends.
The quality or quantity of gifts should not come into it at all.
Our new prime minister has attempted, and failed, to empathise with those who will be doing it hard this Christmas.
Wearing his Santa hat, the church-going Christopher Luxon says he understands it will be tough for some. He then adopts his Scrooge persona and scraps the Fair Pay Agreements Act, a cynical move which will make it even harder for many of those families.
So let’s have a sneak peek at what’s under the coalition’s Christmas tree this year.
Unwrap Mr Luxon’s present and there’s a gift voucher to learn sincerity and awareness.
And what’s this? A pack of cigarettes.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis gets a counting set and a calculator, and a family movie pass with free popcorn, which she said hinted was out of her reach but, with National’s tax cuts, would become a reality. Fortunately, there are no sausages in sight, but she does get a pack of smokes.
For Transport Minister Simeon Brown, there’s a week’s bike hire to ride the narrow, crowded streets of Wellington and an Intercity ticket to travel from Dunedin to the capital by bus and ferry.
And a stopwatch so he can time the trip. Oh, and a pack of cigarettes.
Wait, there’s something else. An envelope. It’s a cheque! Much excitement. Oh, wait, it’s actually a reality check.
While the country we call home might seem in turmoil this Christmas, look overseas at some of the awful things happening there.
There’s not much joy in the lives of people in war-torn Ukraine and Gaza, or in quake-hit China and grieving Prague.
Fortunately, we don’t have to live in a place where sudden death can be meted out so suddenly, shockingly and unfairly as in Gaza especially.
New Zealand does have problems, but that brutal war puts many things in perspective.
This year, look around and make someone else’s Christmas the best they’ve ever had. Merry Christmas to you all.
