It’s Christmas Time!

Well, not quite. But when I walked into Tesco the other day and was confronted with a huge display of mince pies I had to think twice about what month it was. I do appreciate that some people like to eat mince pies year round, (I would quite like to have access to mulled wine year round,) but it’s a little jarring to be confronted by seasonal displays at the grocery store, months before that crazy month of December. But when I saw people piling boxes of them into their trolleys, I became concerned….is there some shortage of festive treats in this country which causes people to hoard items containing sugar and warming spices?

I don’t really know why I care so much, I don’t like mince pies anyway.

All of this musing over the early onset of December did get me thinking about the seasonal shows that work their way into the West End. Ballets are always popular and there’s nothing more visually magical or iconic than The Nutcracker which is once again being performed by English National Ballet for a limited time at the Coliseum.

Equally iconic is the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, which usually pops up in one form or another. This year, the Arts Theatre is host to Scrooge’s humbug in an enchanting, feel-good musical version of everyone’s favourite Christmas tale.

Christmas shows usually span all age groups, catering to just about every demographic. For the very young, The Snowman is coming back to the Peacock Theatre, and is unique in that it’s probably the only show to allow admission for toddlers.

And for the adult oriented, The Rat Pack Christmas is a great night out, combining Christmas carols with the legendary hits from the 1950’s and 60’s.

Even though I walked to work this morning in short sleeves, I can sense the festive season is bearing down on us. Those who are smart will plan early…..only 3 months left to stock up on pies. Happy October.