I can't wait for Christmas to be over.

Yes, I know, that's hardly the attitude, especially for a Post Editor writing the Editorial for the Christmas issue. I've tried and tried to summon up enough festive spirit to write a cheerful festive Editorial, but I'm afraid it's just not working. You're just going to have to put up with a little Scroogeness for a few more paragraphs.

You see, my family and I are hoteliers in Torquay. I'll let you add your own Fawlty Towers joke at the end of that sentence, and I'm willing to bet you a bottle of myrrh that I've heard it before. Christmas is a busy time, as you'd imagine, and we work right through until after New Year dispensing our festive spirit to paying guests. We don't have time to give each other presents or have a beer together, so we have our Christmas early – this year, it's on this coming Saturday, the 22nd. It's always a good day – Nan cooks a big dinner and all the kids run around screaming – but I can't help but feel that something is lost just because we're not having it on the same day as everyone else. Add in the fact that we've been doing pre-Christmas tours for seven weeks now and have had fourteen Christmas Days already, and you'll appreciate that when the real thing arrives, there's nothing much left for us to celebrate. We're all festived-out.

That's not to say I have no seasonal memories to speak of. A couple of years ago, my goddaughter and I stood on the car park and blinked at the snow on Christmas Day, and I told her to remember the moment because it never – ever – snows in Torquay. Last year, I proposed to my partner in front of nearly 200 guests, friends and family members on New Year's Eve. In general, though, it's a tough slog through to January, when with much relief we close the doors for a fortnight and we get a little break.

This year is a little bit different, because I've been editing the Post. In spite of myself, I couldn't help but feel a little pang of Christmassy spirit creeping in as I went through the submissions. Adding all the little pictures to the Front Page made me feel oddly like I was putting up Christmas decorations – I really wanted it to look nice for when all the lovely readers arrived. I have to admit, dear readers, that I almost had a mince pie. In fact, I had a glass of port and a bit of cheese, which probably counts. So thanks very much to everyone for sending in their submissions; if you can put me in a festive mood, I don't know what the people who wear Christmas socks and holly earrings are going to think of all this!

The Christmas issue is a real cracker, if you'll pardon the pun. When we first talked about it, I suggested that we make it a kind of a bonus issue featuring just our competition entrants. I thought we'd have maybe eight or nine articles as we've had in previous years, and even suggested we call it 'The Post's Christmas Pull-Out Supplement'. Look below and you'll see how wrong I was; with a full 16 entrants and some festive 'frivolities' - Shazz's word, not mine - it really has become a memorable issue. I want to make a special mention for the author of 'Santa's Poem', OliviaAshmore, whose Mum submitted her poem on her behalf - welcome to h2g2, Olivia, and please keep your poetry coming!

All the articles in this issue, barring the Festive Fun, Cartoons and Announcements, are entrants in our Christmas competitions. Please use the email links at the bottom of each article to vote for your favourite. You can vote once in each category, but not for your own entries. In the event of a tie, the Post Team will have the deciding vote. There's no excuse for you this time, as our first issue of 2008 isn't until January 17th, so you have until the 14th to vote and get your submissions in for the next issue. We've also found some great cartoons from the archives to keep you smiling until the New Year hangovers have worn off.

On a more personal note, I'd just like to say a huge 'hello' to my little brother Ed, who is working in the US this year and for the first time won't be with us at all over the festive period. I know you pop in to check on me once in a while, Ed, so I just wanted to let you know that we miss you, think about you every day and can't wait to see you in the spring. I'll be raising a few jars to you, don't worry!

Finally, huge love and hugs to Shazz, B'Elana and lil for all their hard work putting this issue together in the absence of EMR – I know I always say this, but it really wouldn't have been possible without them. They've worked so hard on this issue, partly thanks to the whims of the slavemaster general here, and they all deserve huge stacks of presents come Christmas morn. EMR herself will be back with us just as soon as she's helped Santa out with his deliveries. A busy girl, that one...