Start 2013 with a realistic, sensible goal. People often work in extremes. Horrible Christmas, impeccable New Year. Be patient, implement change gradually.

How big was YOUR Christmas lunch? Mine was the perfect pocket-sized offering - complete with mince pie - courtesy of a Middle Eastern airline, who were suitably as immune to the charms of a Christmas bauble as they were an Albert Square knees-up. This is what happened when I went in search of the festive spirit, at 30,000 feet.

Traditional turkey dinners remind many of us of special Christmas moments when we were young. But maybe the most important memories are the ones we haven't made yet.

My enthusiasm is in no way hampered by the fact that I am Muslim, for I do not believe that by choosing to partake in a national festival, I am in any way compromising my personal beliefs. And I am not alone in this opinion. All across the land, posters for halal turkeys in butchers' shops in Muslim-populated areas such as Southall, Leicester and Birmingham stand testament to the significance Muslims place on this day.