I hope you’re sitting back comfortably and enjoying the Christmas season. You may well have eaten your own bodyweight in turkey, Christmas pudding and even Brussels sprouts (well, I like them) but there’s always room for a little more. 

It is, after all, the time of year when just about every form of excess is excusable. 

So you’re allowed a little more food than normal, a glass of wine, and a few plates of sticky dessert. 
After all, that New Year resolution to go running or even go to the gym is firmly in place. And you’d never break a resolution, right? 

It is one of the great traditions of the festive season that we go through this annual square-dance about promising one thing and delivering another. At the very moment we are consuming more calories than at any other time of the year, we tend to dwell on the pressing need to lose weight and get fit. 

Hyperbole? Not really. The average Brit consumes 7,000 calories on Christmas Day; by 2pm, we’ve probably already gone past the recommended daily allowance. 

And before you shout killjoy at me then let me cheerfully confess I was right there in the eating trenches with everyone else - roast potatoes, turkey, Christmas pudding, and seconds. Christmas lunch is my single favourite meal in the world. 

In fact, there are lots of aspects to this time of the year that fall into my list of favourites - not just the best meal, but also the best (let's be honest - only) time to see a pantomime, a great time to get everyone together to play a potentially ill-tempered board game and, of course, that time to sit round and a watch a film most of you have seen before. 

There was a supposedly comprehensive list presented to me at work the other day listing the greatest Christmas movies ever made. It was broken into two categories - namely the films that had done the best, even allowing for inflation, at the box office and, secondly, the films that had been voted the best by movie fans. 

So let’s deal with pounds and dollars first. The Christmas film that has done the best at the box office is Home Alone, which has taken $864m, miles clear of second-placed The Grinch, with A Christmas Carol rolling along in third position. But what was voted the best film? 

Take a moment to make your own decision. Think of all those festive films you’ve seen over the years and decide. Something classic like Miracle on 34th Street, or a kids’ favourite like the Muppets’ Christmas Carol. Or else a modern comedy, like Elf or even Nativity? Or else did you go for It’s a Wonderful Life, which just about everyone thinks is the best Christmas film. 

Course you did. And you’d be right, of course, because you simply cannot beat Jimmy Stewart and the story of how the world is a much better place simply because you’re in it. 

Except, er, according to this survey, you're not right. Because allegedly our all-time favourite festive film is - Home Alone. What? That can’t be right. Amusing maybe, entertaining I’ll confess, but how could that possibly have won? And yet 20 per cent of people say it’s the best, ahead of the Muppets on 14 per cent, poor old Jimmy Stewart’s Wonderful Life on 13 per cent and Elf on 11 per cent. 

Well, I didn’t vote for this. 

And, frankly, bearing in mind fifth place went to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, I’m worried about the people who did put their name to this. 

I complained about this on the radio and was promptly my hoisted by own petard. After a few minutes I cheerfully agreed with the person who nominated Planes, Trains and Automobiles as the finest Christmas film. Except, as just about the entire nation texted in to point out, it’s about Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Few things, let me tell you, are more chastening than making what you think to be a rather clever point on national radio only to have to correct yourself a few minutes later. 

But the point remains. Home Alone is not, will not, cannot and must not go down as humanity’s favourite Christmas film. 

For one thing it’s just not that great a film, for another it made Macauley Culkin famous, and we all know that was a mistake, and for a third it just isn’t sufficiently festive. You don’t curl up on the sofa to watch Home Alone, let along the sequel (actually not that bad) or the sequel’s sequel (actually really bad).

I would much rather watch Nativity, the Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooged, White Christmas or, for that matter, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Or certainly It’s a Wonderful Life. Or that Thunderbirds episode when they’re all wearing Christmas jumpers. 

But actually I’d rather be doing something away from the telly. Yes, I like Christmas programmes as much as anyone else and am always happy to see the Doctor Who Christmas special pop up. 

But really this is the time for games of Scrabble, charades, a chat about the past year and even a bit of a walk and some fresh air.

If the weather’s halfway decent we’ll be making an annual trek over to the gorgeous woods at Black Park today. 

They do playgrounds, nature, water, muddy walks and lovely hot chocolate. And best of all - there’s no need for batteries, wi-fi or a set of instructions. It’s another one to add to the list of all-time favourites. 

AS someone who gets up just before 4am every day for work, I know all about the weird effects of doing anti-social hours.  Over the years I’ve worked on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and I can tell you it’s no great fun to be working away while everyone else, including your family, is trying to get on with the big day in your absence. 

Which is why we owe a big debt of thanks to all the people who are working over this festive season to keep the country ticking over - train drivers, power station engineers, shop workers and even those emergency repairmen. 

But most of all, let’s raise a toast to the emergency services and health staff and try to make their life as quiet as possible. 

New Year’s Eve might be many people’s excuse for a giant drinking session, but that very attitude often makes it a pretty miserable affair for policemen, hospital workers and ambulance staff. 

For the most part, their stoicism is an absolute wonder. 

So that’s who I’m going to raise a toast towards on the final night of 2014 - to those who are working in our area to keep the peace and preserve our health. We are grateful - honest.