A festive survival tip …

Want another mince pie?

Thought not.

Just a side note, delicious as they are, they do have other uses.

Next time you get caught with a garrulous guest who’s rather too fond of their own voice, pop a plate of homemade mince pies into the microwave for a few minutes before offering them one.

With any luck, they won’t be able to speak for a fortnight.

I know that’s going to put me on the naughty step again, but sometimes, needs must.

Another joy of Christmas was the many repeats on telly.

Some people find great pleasure in moaning about them, but many love them, and Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to take your pick on these dark, cold winter nights.

The reason the TV companies roll them out year after year is that they’ve got a lot of airtime to fill, but they also know that they do pull in the viewers.

Which brings me back to something in a similar vein, closer to home.

It’s at this time of year that customers often get in touch wanting help to freshen up what they think is tired, old marketing collateral.

It may seem so to them, but what they don’t appreciate is that not everyone saw it the first time around.

And just because the owners have seen it a thousand times doesn’t mean everyone else has.

And once we start digging a little deeper, the story gets even more interesting because many of these seemingly tired, old brochures and leaflets actually worked rather well.

The moral in the story is not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Yes, a little tweak here or tightening up there may be all that’s needed.

Starting afresh in an attempt to reinvent the wheel just because you’ve seen it dozens of times is not always necessary.

If you’d like to bounce a few ideas around or just use me as a sounding board, you know where to find me.

And, before I go, a very Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all.

Alec