By the time you read this, Christmas will be just about upon us after weeks of build-up, adverts since September and aisles of green and gold.

But is it really Christmas if you haven’t shouted ‘it’s behind you’ at a man in a dress and spotty bloomers?

I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs to find something to fill that dead time between Christmas and New Year, when real time is suspended and one day blends into the next. Thank God for the Christmas TV guides else I’d totally lose my grip on reality!

In addition to a couple of Christmas walks on Dartmoor to blow the cobwebs away (which have strangely become less popular with the young people in our house), I love nothing more than a bit of culture at Christmas.

This year as last, there are some really good productions in our local theatres worthy of a visit.

Top of my list is A Christmas Carol, performed by Le Navet Bete at Exeter Northcott Theatre. If you’ve not seen them before, Le Navet Bete are masters of comedy and always find a clever way of staging their productions. There are still some seats left for their performances up to January 1.

Slightly further afield, if a traditional Panto is more your bag, Cinderella is on at The Princess Theatre, Torquay and Aladdin starring Joe Pasquale is at The Theatre Royal in Plymouth.

Panto is guaranteed to deliver some good old family entertainment for all ages and even if you’re not a regular theatregoer it’s a great afternoon or evening out getting the kids away from their screens!

For little ones, Exeter Northcott also has a lovely show with music and puppets aimed at the over 3’s- What the Ladybird Heard. It runs until January 2.

There are also some treats to be had in our cinema over the festive period- a great time to catch up on those releases you didn’t have time to see while you were panicking about Christmas presents!

I’m particularly looking forward to the new Matrix- who doesn’t love a bit of Keanu Reeves, and of course Spiderman: No Way Home has just been released too.

Don’t forget to support our local Scott Cinemas when you can; if you’re on a budget, maybe make use of saver Mondays when all tickets are either £4.30 (standard) or £5.30 (premium).

Whatever you do over this Christmas period, I wish you all a peaceful time and a Happy New Year when it arrives.