I'm going to say this once and once only - and I'm only doing so now because I'm protected by the cloak of anonymity.

I love Christmas. That's right, I love it.

Not a particularly controversial statement I admit. But you've got to understand, I've spent a lot of time and effort cultivating my reputation as the cynical hack, so this is going to do absolutely nothing for my credibility.

Really, I should be the ultimate grinch. Normally, I'm the smartest of smart arses, the grumpiest of grumps and an insufferable wind-up merchant to boot. If sarcasm truly is the lowest form of humour then most of my jokes belong locked in the basement.

But for some reason, Christmas reveals my soft centre.

Before we go on though, let me make a couple of things clear.

First of all, I hate Christmas music. I hate all the sickly sweet, utterly banal festive tunes that we have pumped directly into our ears from all angles at this time of year.

I even hate The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York". Best Christmas song ever is it? Oh, well thanks for letting me know but if I wanted to hear a drunken moron with few teeth and even fewer braincells wailing at me then I'd go and stand outside one of Sale's less salubrious hostelries at kicking out time on a Friday night.

Secondly, I hate Christmas decorations. The tree doesn't bother me but it's those bloody lights that people seem compelled to drape all over their homes, like some demented festive lighthouse.

Rather than keeping ships away from the rocks, they'll make sure you avoid the idiots inside, which can only be a good thing I suppose.

What I actually like about Christmas - and it's something that is often lost altogether nowadays - is the sense of family and togetherness.

Oh, actually, hang on there. The food's the best part of Christmas, then family, or is it food, then drink, then family.

Anyway, it's great that this time of year means you actually get a chance to sit down with your loved ones and spend some time with them rather than rushed moments we usually afford when we stop to get off the rollercoaster we call life.

I can suffer through all the nonsense in the build up to Christmas - the telly adverts with Z-list celebrities, the lights, the tacky gimmicks - just for that moment on Christmas day when you sit down with a glass of wine and tuck into the culinary delights before you.

I suppose I'm a bit of a mummy's boy and I can think of nothing better than her cooking. A Christmas feast, therefore, is the highlight of my year.

Aside from stuffing myself, I actually do enjoy the giving of presents as well.

Nowadays I'm not too bothered about what Santa's brought me, those days are long gone. Although, a 32-inch flatscreen TV would be very well received if anyone's feeling particularly generous.

I really do enjoy buying gifts for others, putting thought into what they'd enjoy and then watching the look on their face as they open it.

I've never been one to just buy people any old tat, I think my dad would strangle me anyway if I handed him a pair of socks or a woolly jumper.

I'm not like this at any other time of the year, usually it takes 10 men with powertools to prise open my wallet, but there's something about this time of year that brings out my hidden generosity.

Maybe I've been infected by the Christmas spirit, I don't know. Whatever it is, I can guarantee you I'll be back to my normal self come 2008.