The ‘Save Christmas’ season starts earlier every year.

The first bit of tinsel for sale in the shop. A random window decorated with lights. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas’ on the radio. These used to be the signs of the Christmas season starting before I was ready for it. My response was usually ‘Seriously? Already? It’s not even Halloween yet.’ This year, the first sign of the Holiday season were the headlines asserting Boris Johnson was determined to ‘Save Christmas!’

I read these headlines with a touch of deja vu. Wasn’t he on a crusade to Save Christmas last year? Last year, it was a ‘Home Alone’ situation, In that we weren’t allowed to gather the family together lest we kill Grandma with our Covid laden hugs. This year, it’s the sequel no one wanted, but the enemy is not the pandemic, it’s the supply chain. Although, according to BoJo, the enemy is definitely still the pandemic, and nothing to do with Brexit, no matter what anyone says.

Let’s address that little factoid first. The problem is definitely Brexit. Many, most of the HGV drivers who operated in the UK held European passports. With Britain leaving the EU, living in the UK, passing in and out of the UK became exponentially more difficult. So they left, taking their essential skills and HGV licences with them, leaving the UK short 100,000 HGV drivers. As much as BoJo wants to blame Covid for the shortfall, of the 137,000 covid related deaths in the UK, I doubt they included 100,000 hauliers.

So It’s definitely a Brexit thing. While he won’t admit it’s a Brexit thing, BoJo did offer visas to EU hauliers, at first just for 3 months, but when that was met with absolute disinterest, he made them longer term. And received 127 applications. The Problem is still a Problem.

So How much danger is Christmas in? It’s generally a pretty resilient season, surviving wars, natural disasters, and a multitude of bad movies and songs. They’ve already started listing the potential shortages. Petrol and fuel are still an issue, but the army is delivering that around the country so we should be ok there. There is a problem with the supply CO2. It’s needed for food storage, as well as Fizzy drinks and bubbles in beer. A deal has apparently been worked out, so supermarkets can still keep food chilled. People who need a beer to get through Christmas dinner with their families may be advised to switch to whiskey.

We’re looking at a shortage of wrapping paper, bows and boxes, which is fine as we’re also looking at a shortage of toys and playstations, so fewer presents to wrap.If your kid does need that one amazing gift, buy it now. Of course, then you run the risk of them changing their minds.

More worrying is the food supply. We’re likely to be short on turkeys, and the multitude of pig products, because there is no cheap EU labour to work in the abattoirs, and brits won’t go near those jobs. Farmers are already culling the pigs. All that Bacon, going to waste. No pigs-in-blankets this year.

While the government is still telling people not to panic buy, retailers are telling people to get it when you see it, we can’t guarantee future supply. I’ve already bought my turkey. I’m not sure how well pigs-in-blankets fare in the freezer.

There is also likely to be a shortage of Chocolate, which is too upsetting to contemplate.

Last year BoJo went on about saving Christmas, but in the end he had to lockdown hard over the holidays. This year, he still won’t be able to ‘Save Christmas’ because he won’t admit that Brexit is the problem. But perhaps it’s not up to him to save Christmas.

After a crap 2020, and more of the same in 2021, maybe this is the year for ‘True Meaning Of Christmas’. All those Christmas movies finally getting the message across. It’s not about the gifts, or the meal, or the birth of some dude 2000 odd years ago. Even the Grinch figured that out. “It came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.”

Christmas is about the people you spend it with. This year, more than ever, we can appreciate the simple joy of their being in our lives. This Christmas, lets make it about Presence, not presents.