You miserable old git.

I hear it so often these days I’m getting used to the tag and don’t even question it any more.

But, when the latest accusation flew my way I was having none of it. I don’t care what anyone says, Christmas in October is plain bloody stupid.

I took the rare opportunity to visit a pub and, lo and behold, there was a fully decked Christmas tree with presents around it and that particularly repetitive, totally predictable, festive music playing on a loop.

Now, I’m prepared to accept picking up the tree and chucking it into the car park is probably not the best way to express my displeasure, but it certainly got the message across. A number of the regulars definitely saw the funny side.

Of course I realise pubs and restaurants hate this early Yuletide nonsense as much as the rest of us and are only going along with it because they need to benefit from early bookings. But, I believe a line needs to be drawn and we should all take responsibility for keeping the season at least a little bit special.

I always do all my shopping on December 24, it’s just a tradition I like to maintain, although I know others will insist upon being better prepared.

However, that desperately painful American nonsense we have to endure at Halloween is still nearly a full month away, so surely it’s fair enough to insist we get through that before going all holly and ivy?

It’s not that I mind Christmas, or Halloween, it’s just the extent to which they’ve both been over-commercialised. In the case of Christmas the greed has reached such appalling levels this once lovely, joyous celebration has been stretched across four months.

In the case of Halloween, everything bad about America has been adopted and packaged into one date of the year. I don’t want to moan on too much as I accept, in the grand scheme of things, if this is the worst I’ve got to worry about I’m a lucky man.

But, perhaps I should consider starting a campaign. And anyway, just because one year I had to shop for my wife at the late-night garage, it was still a great surprise and both the tow rope and jump leads have been very useful.

Do you get annoyed by seeing signs of Christmas so early in the year or do you love the festive season starting earlier and earlier? Add your comments below.