View from V2 Radio – Fake snow in June and Santa on the telly in September: Has Christmas Lost Its Calendar? – By Peter Phillips - Weekend Presenter, V2 Radio

In the middle of summer, a reel popped up on my social media feed. It was totally at random—though how random versus the algorithm picking content is a whole different article. It featured American actress Danica McKellar, a seasoned star of ‘Hallmark’ style Christmas movies.

She was sharing tricks of the trade on how to stay cool while dressed in thick winter jumpers on a blazing hot summer’s day. To beat the heat on an outdoor set festooned with fake snow, crews apparently rely on ice packs in pockets, industrial air-con units, and buckets of cold water for the actors' feet. All this effort goes into filming yet another story about a random Prince or childhood sweetheart falling in love in a remote US town that is either cut off by snow or struggling to save a Christmas pageant.

The sheer number of these movies—albeit with the exact same plot—is staggering. Yet people clearly love them. Flick through your TV guide right now and you will find multiple channels showing feel-good festive stories 24 hours a day. Even more surprising is that some of them flipped to seasonal programming back in September.

Christmas is definitely getting earlier.

Away from the TV channels and the constant soundtrack of Shakin' Stevens and Slade in the shops, I’ve noticed more households getting festive the moment the Halloween pumpkins start to rot. I suspect this trend began in the long, dark autumn of 2020. Stuck in-and-out of lockdown, people had little else to do other than put up the lights early to spread some joy in November.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, Christmas never used to start so early. I recall we used to get the decorations from the loft around the second weekend of December. We would spend an entire afternoon testing the fairy lights, inevitably leading to a frantic dash to Barleys - the local hardware shop in Middleton-on-Sea - for spare bulbs or that magical, white-tipped ‘fuse’ bulb. In our house, this also meant erecting the fake tree. Forget the realistic modern versions—ours was a tall, silver tinsel affair. Very 70s, and very gaudy.

Now, as we head towards the end of November, it finally feels like the right time to start celebrating. Over the next few weeks, V2 Radio will once again be helping to light up the South. We are attending the Christmas light switch-ons in Littlehampton on Saturday 21st November, Bognor Regis on Saturday 28th November, and Midhurst on Friday 4th December.

Why not pop down, say hello, and maybe bring along a donation for our Christmas Toy Appeal? It’ll make you feel properly festive—and afterwards, you can head home to enjoy a well-earned mulled wine!

Listen to V2 Radio on DAB in Sussex and Hampshire, download the V2 Radio app, or listen on your smart speaker.