Go on then, reluctantly and with great sadness, it’s time to concede that Christmas is here. While the supermarkets made that decision some time ago – some even during the build-up to Halloween – and the julebryg came out at the beginning of the month, it’s clear the modern world wants the festive season to start before Advent and December 1.

So this is my compromise: it ain’t Christmas until the Tivoli cash register rings. This year they’re going for the Russian-Scandinavian look, which roughly translated means that after doing the Russian Christmas last year, they’ve made do with what was in storage: some nisser, a façade of the Kremlin and some fake Swedish forest cabins.  

So to enter into the festive spirit, we’re running the first of our Christmas Select Shopping columns, which this week looks at the best markets out there – or, at any rate, the most durable. Next week, look out for our selection of the best student-run arty markets, a seriously good option to find a one-off present for that special somebody. Or if you have an eye for an investment, it’s a chance to buy the work of a star of the future.  

Like Queen Margrethe, for example – I wonder how much her art is actually worth, particularly now she is the set designer for Tivoli’s production of The Nutcracker (in the newspaper in early December a full review).

The cliché “No Christmas is complete without” is one we probably overuse, and to be fair, I seem to have managed pretty well without seeing it (if managing well is being the Grinch), but this really is a great chance to introduce some culture to your kids. They might hate it, and they’ll probably fall asleep if you go on a weeknight, but at least you tried.

So here’s to the festive season, a period so long it’s with us for over 50 days a year now. I don’t wish it could be Christmas every (seventh) day, but what am I going to do? Kill Santa and barbecue his reindeer? Establish a totalitarian regime and ban the colour red? Tax people for saying hyggeligt and skål.

Now there’s an idea.