We need a date when it's time to start Christmas...

On a busy day working from home it is easy to be unaware of what is going on throughout the rest of the house.

- Mike Hill

The sound of Christmas music drifting through the house should have been a clue.

And the uncharacteristic smell of gingerbread baking in the oven.

But with December only being a few hours old there was no reason to think that just a couple of rooms away the Christmas tree was being put up.

This came as a surprise, not least as recently as the day before - when it was still November - it had been noted, with some surprise, that lights had started to appear across the neighbourhood.