[EDITOR’S NOTE] Are you ready for the merriment of Christmas?

South Africa creates its own brand of holiday cheer – that of good times, good food and good people.

Dear Reader – There are only five editions left, including this one, of the Newcastle Advertiser for 2019. It begs the question – where has the year gone?! Some weeks feel like an entire year is crammed into a single deadline day, while others drag on for what feels like half a century.

The Newcastle Advertiser journalists are currently submerged in local news and are working towards two exciting big projects – the Newcastle Today 2019 magazine and our Black Friday feature.

While Black Friday has really taken off these past few years, going shopping these days has become somewhat startling. Stores around the country have started advertising Christmas deals and the ubiquitous holiday tunes have left me with an earworm of note!

The holiday season is, for the most part, magical. Citizens forget the stressors of everyday life and concentrate on giving back to their communities, reuniting with family and friends and taking some well-deserved downtime.

While we may not be able to indulge in the standard ‘White Christmas’ popularised the world over, South Africa creates its own brand of holiday cheer – that of good times, good food and good people.

The sunny disposition of the summer months invokes memories of day trips to hot beaches, road-tripping to the cities and long, lazy nights filled with laughter and merriment.

But before the holiday season begins in earnest, there is still a good few weeks left to enjoy your favourite weekly newspaper! This week I want to know: do you think it’s too early for Christmas decorations to be out in full force?