“I’m going all out this year. So turn up the Mariah. Pass me a mince pie. Maybe I have lost the plot but, hey, it’s the end of 2020!” writes “Mummy” columnist KATE MEIKLE.  

So this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear ones

The old and the young…

THE late, great John Lennon’s prophetic war protest-Christmas song “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” always gives me a lump in the throat. 

Never more than this year. 

We have never more wanted to turn the last page on a year than 2020 and as our goal of kissing goodbye the “bin-fire” of a year nears closer, feelings of desperation, exhaustion and a desire to find meaning and lessons learnt from this year emerge. 

Our experiences are diverse, but this year, we have all experienced worry for our loved ones near and far, worry for our children, our community and ourselves. 

There may be a silver lining, but at the moment ending 2020 seems an accomplishment enough. 

And besides, it’s Christmas and what do we all need this time round? 

A bloody brilliant one. 

I’m going all out this year. So turn up the Mariah. Pass me a mince pie. Maybe I have lost the plot but, hey, it’s the end of 2020!  

The Christmas tree has been up for weeks. I have dismissed the critics who chided me for breaking the “only-in-December” rule and went out early this time. I upgraded the lights and tree skirt, and my new shiny wreath on the front door that I’ve had snaffled away in the garage since October, looks fantastic. 

I’ve started on the Christmas movies, too. Thanks to all the streaming options, there’s a plethora of fantastically terrible Christmas movies, full of cheese. You can have romance, switching of twins, opulent winter Christmas scenes, marriage proposals from princes in disguise living in random fictitious kingdoms such as Montenaro. Don’t forget about Kurt Russell as The Best Santa. Perfect festive fluff. 

I’ve locked in the gifts. This year I pledged to not shop for gifts in December so I went hard early and I’ve pretty much nailed that one, too. Christmas lunch is taken care of with kilos of prawns and plenty of bubbles. 

It might sound over the top, but at the heart of my silliness of the season is actually the burning desire to connect with those I love. The treadmill of 2020 is about to finally slow me down for a short holiday and I can’t wait. 

I don’t expect life to magically change at the stroke of midnight on the first of January, and it’s frankly still painful to think back and reflect on the year that was, so instead I’m ready for some real joy. 

Thankfully for me, joy is right in front of me, in the shape of the two most precious little humans – my son and daughter – who keep me both sane and drive me insane in good measure. 

They are ready for the magic of Santa, the fun of the summer holidays and they deserve it all. Parenting doesn’t stop, I have often lamented, but more than ever I can’t wait to spend precious downtime with those I love. 

And that is what Christmas is all about.