Advent Begins: Countdown to Christmas – 1 December 2011

ETERNAL FLAME_Christmas still seems a long way off.

Unbelievably, it’s the first day of the last month of the year, which means that Christmas is just around the corner. As ever, we’ve an Advent candle and a chocolate Advent calendar in the kitchen, and my 22-year-old brother Matthew has his own Lego calendar in his room.

NEVER TOO OLD_My 22-year-old brother will be excitedly counting down the days to 25 December with a Lego model each day.

This first part of the month is traditionally filled with Christmas concerts, with a shift towards the singing of carols (often by romantic candlelight) as the number of days-to-go reduces to single-figures. For me, though, there’s still a huge amount of schoolwork to do, with multiple controlled assessments to complete and mock-exams in most subjects in the last week of term. As for Christmas shopping? It hasn’t even crossed my mind!

Andrew Burdett

Andrew Burdett is a twenty-something from Maidenhead in Berkshire, working for ITV News.