Not that that's anything strange. Lots of people have long been telling me how to do things better. So anyway, here's my tips for a good enough December.

OPEN your door, your kitchen and your heart to all kinds of people. Don't go overboard. Spend some money on some prawns, a ham, or the best cheese you can find. Settle for a few bags of salad mix from the supermarket. Sit people down and talk.

Or order pizza, throw the kids outside with a cricket bat and some wet tennis balls and tell them not to bother you until the sun goes down. Hang some fairy lights and sit outside and drink champagne. Listen to Michael Buble Christmas songs.

December is all about going home. When school finishes, when you head back from university, where you drive hours to the small town you once lived, I still feel somewhat melancholy when I see the lights strung across Summer Street.

I’VE been taking (forcing, in recent years) my children to do this since they were babies. Every year since 2001 one or both of them, sometimes me, have sat on the big guy's lap and been enveloped in something Christmasy.

I've loved it since they've been somewhat surly teenagers. Whinging and complaining all the way to the store. I've told them for as long as they're under my roof we'll do a Santa pic. I'm sure they can't wait to leave.

We all know Christmas is just a day, but waiting in line we all begin to think about the magic of it a little more, believe that that magic still might exist, that here's a day, just to enjoy.

TAKE any moment you can this coming month to be outside. Get wet. Feel the sun on your skin. Put a blanket on the grass and spend time looking at the clouds. Or the stars. If there's one thing to take from 2017 it's that nature rejuvenates you.

Drive to the coast, or the mountains, or a park on the other side of town. Encourage the kids to climb trees. Pick flowers. Plant vegetables. Grow vegetables. Eat vegetables. Head to a swimming place.

When you take the rubbish out late at night, or are bringing in the washing, or taking the dog out for one final pee, stop, and look up at the sky and be reminded that no matter what your troubles the sun is more than likely to come up tomorrow and the stars will shine just as brightly.

WE don't really matter. Well we do, but you know what I mean. Remember this time last year? How did what you served for Christmas lunch, or what you bought your mother in law for a present, or whether or not the kids stayed up too late, really affect your year. Not much at all I suspect.

Don't feel bad if you eat sausages and salad three nights a week. Don't worry if you haven't sent cards to everyone in your contact book. Don't stress over buying presents for everyone you think you should.

Just say thanks. Make some time for them. What matters is getting to January in a better place, a better mindset, with a happier heart and a clear head. Be kind.