(To the tune of "My favourite things"... Julie Andrews eat your heart out...)

Yes, the good old holiday season is upon us and the office is full of "Ho-ho-ho". (In Christmas fairyland-world, that would indicate the long-awaited arrival of Santa. In my world, it's actually my colleague's ceaseless sneezing). The other thing that is upon us London-dwellers (Did I hear someone shout "bottom dwellers"? Supposed to be the season of good cheer, you know!) is the joy of being squeezed in very tightly against other commuters with flu / a hangover / a bit of spinach between their teeth and breath to match.

It is now officially "Office Party" time, and for the next four weeks, my carriage will be full of distinctly odd-looking people. In the morning, they'll be a strange ashen colour, and asleep. And in the evening, they'll be a strange green colour, and asleep. At least, I hope they'll be asleep because they're no fun when they're awake and in that state.

I am missing this year's knees-up as I have tickets for the theatre, darlings, and so I won't be boogying on down with my office pals at the nearby hotel. But I will be joining in the various office and departmental tea parties that go around this place like bush fire during a California August. Weight Watchers needn't think they'll be seeing anything of me until the New Year.

Nearly all my e-mail traffic during December is from neighbouring offices having 11am / 3.30pm socials, with mince pies and cups of tea. So much more civilised than actually doing any work.

Then there's Secret Santa. I know you may think it's a struggle to find just the right gift for £5 - but spare a thought for us London types! Try buying something in the capital for £5 and you'll be lucky to end up with a large coffee and a Danish. Come to think of it, though, not a bad gift...

I have found a site that is enormous fun and a great source of stocking fillers / Secret Santa type pressies at hawkinsbazaar.co.uk, so if you are in dire need of some chattering false teeth or an indoor kite, this is your place.

The cake eating and present buying actually starts pretty early in my office as I share space with two Muslims (one Sunni and one Shia), and we all have a Jewish American boss. So by the time we have arrived at Eid to celebrate the end of Ramadan, we are into Thanksgiving, and then Hanukkah and then Christmas. When we come back in January, our Buddhist colleague will be celebrating his New Year and then it will down to Chinatown the following month for more New Year celebrations.

Just visible on the horizon, of course, are the New Year Resolutions. I am working from the same list I drew up when I was 14: be a nicer person, be on time, improve handwriting.

But I do find it enormously encouraging when workmates reach their goals. One office pal has lost the small-ish amount of weight that was preventing her from running as well as she would have liked, and she has just completed a 10 kilometer race and secured her place in the London Marathon. Go girl!

I think 10 kilometers is further than I really want to run at the moment, but I feel I should really update my Resolutions list... How about: be a nicer person, be on time, and use spellchecker? Yup, that should do it.

Even if you don't celebrate anything particular at this time of year, I hope that you are enjoying any bright, crisp winter days that come your way, and exploiting any and every opportunity to wear tinsel during working hours.

Here's to a fabulous 2005!