Christmas is my favourite time of year. I'm not religious, so I have no guilt in admitting that, for me, the entire Christmas period represents nothing but a commercialised excuse to eat, drink and be merry. It is also the only time of year when I get to see my extended family, and one of the few occasions when I find my parents, my brothers and myself all under the same roof. I love Advent calendars as much as the next chocolate addict, but the reason I get excited about Christmas has nothing to do with counting down the days to the 25th, rather it is in anticipation of the four days of blissful family time.

The festivities begin with the first seasonal advertisements. I must admit that this year has been an exceptionally poor show, but I am happy relying indefinitely on a YouTube clip of 'For Gifts You Can't Wait to Give' from John Lewis’s 2011 Christmas campaign for my annual dose of emotionally manipulative advertising. A week or two later, the Christmas songs come into play. From Band Aid to Mariah Carey to Shakin' Stevens' Merry Christmas Everyone, my festive playlist is loud, proud, and blasting on constant repeat. 

Next come the decorations. I am one of those annoying people who gets extremely excited about Christmas very early, and the fact that we have leave Cambridge in early December spurred my preparation into overdrive. Unfortunately, our staircase decorations had to assume a modesty befitting the fire-safety regulations, but there was nothing to stop me from saturating my bedroom in tinsel, holly wreaths and paper-chains. 

During most of the year I pretend to regulate how many toxins I pump into my body, but as November draws to a close I stop caring about sugar content and calories and descend into a gastronomic bliss of potato gratin, pigs-in-blankets and brandy cream. Amongst the gingerbread, Tunis cake and mince pies, supermarkets also start selling 'mulled wine sachets' in the form of teabags full of spices and sugar. The idea is that you warm the bags in standard red wine, but since I belong to that unfortunate minority of Cambridge students who can't tolerate the taste of wine, I use apple juice to create a festive warmer that has the added bonus of being both cheaper and more socially acceptable to drink during the day. 

A quick perusal of such festive films as Love Actually (another reason to love Christmas) will showcase the phenomenon known as 'Christmas Spirit'. This is the idea that 'because it's Christmas' is a significant inspiration for acts of kindness or generosity around this time. This is another thing I love about Christmas – it may be clichéd, but people really are more generous at this time of year. Charity Christmas shows and events raise millions every year, and during this season there are hundreds of different campaigns to provide food, shelter and other facilities to people suffering nationally and abroad. 

I realise that the commercialised version of Christmas to which I subscribe has negative aspects like waste production and over-indulgence, but these are overwhelmingly outweighed by the delight. Having a holiday to look forward to keeps the majority of us sane during the year, and a designated period of annual goodwill can only be a good thing. The best thing about a commercialised Christmas is its inclusivity – the traditions of decorations, good food and Christmas songs no longer hold any deeper meaning for many people, and as such are open to be enjoyed by all.