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We’ve all got different ‘triggers’ for when ‘Christmas’ officially begins. For many, it’s probably when the Supermarkets start displaying their Christmas lines! But that’s obscenely early isn’t it these days? So how about…

…that first Christmas meal? (this year, my first one was about three weeks ago! 😋😃)

…or when the John Lewis Christmas TV Ad first appears? (a ‘return to form’ this year for JL? Maybe!)

…or receiving your first Christmas Card? 🙄.

Anyway, back to Christmas TV. The real big event for me (and this ritual goes back years!) is when the Christmas double-issues of TV Times and Radio Times first go on sale. Normally, that’s around the first or second week in December, and I always try and pick them up as soon as they’re out! This year, I was quick off the mark, and down to the local Tesco to pick up this year’s editions just after 9.30. For the first time, they were difficult to find! I can recall when they used to have them on pallet-boards because of their popularity… Hhhmmmm! 🤔

I think my fascination (read that as ‘obsession’) with these two publications is a throwback to my childhood in the 60s and 70s, when Dad used to bring them home after finishing work for Christmas. As a family, we loved Christmas (of course!) but more especially, we all loved Christmas TV and therefore Christmas Day (especially) did revolve around what was on the telly! 😮

Picking what to watch was easy! Back then, there was no remote control, so Dad’s choice normally ‘won’, but that didn’t cause any issues, as TV was more family-friendly back then, wasn’t it — The Generation Game at Christmas anyone? That suited us, but the ‘Queen’s Speech’, not so much (c’mon, we were teenagers!) 👍. To add to the fun in those days, there was no Sky TV, and so there was frequent positioning and re-positioning of the TV aerial to ensure the best possible pic! 👍

With these oversized publications taking pride of place in the lounge, our first job bin December was to painstakingly search through the schedules, taking it in turns to circle our favourite programmes. Fast-forward to 2025, and it’s much the same now — except we can also download the digital versions to our various devices. Progress ehh!? …then again, maybe not! ☹️

The Christmas Double Issues (2025)

These days, both publications have a massive page count, mainly because they both list more-or-less the same information. Why’s that? Well, for my younger readers here, back in the ‘Stone Age’ (up until 1990) RT listed only the BBC stuff (including the radio) whilst TVT covered just the commercial channels. These days, in the now ‘gazillion-channels/satellites/streaming TV era’, you have both publications running into hundreds of pages. 😊. Prices are slightly up on last year where the Radio Times fills 292 pages, whilst the TV Times comes in at 228!

So, just like back-in-the-day all that’s left to do now is to plough through them both, highlighter pen at the ready, and our Christmas TV preparations are sorted! 👍

Ghosts of Christmas (Covers) Past – 2010-2024…

🎅🎅
Merry Christmas everyone!