Christmas is going,
The goose has made us fat
And the pennies you put in the old man's hat
All went straight into the liquor store cash register.

Well, I bet you're glad all that Christmas and New Year celebrating is finally over, I know I am. I had to sit through five separate Christmas dinners, which meant five separate plates of dead animal: deer, goose, turkey and cow, not mention mouse (very funny, Silke, ha ha). The British eat Brussels sprouts with their Yuletide feast, whereas the Germans prefer huge portions of steaming red cabbage (Rotkohl). A German friend who detests sprouts (Rosenkohl - rose cabbage), calls them "Furzenkohl" (fart cabbage). I wonder why?

I'm not so happy to say goodbye to 2011. It was an exciting and eventful year, as you can see by skimming through previous Cheshire Cat Blogs.

Let's hope 2012 brings just as much fun. Right now though, everybody at My Favourite Planet HQ is stuck in the winter doldrums, quietly groaning at the piles of things-to-do. As we all know, the first thing to put on your to-do list is: "Make a to-do list". So far, we've got as far as taking down the decorations from the office party, changing the wall calendar, sharpening a few pencils, doodling in the margins and making some coffee. Displacement inactivity.

During the year's first team meeting, somebody (guess who?) opined that humans and cats are genetically programmed to hibernate, and therefore we would all be better off staying well under the duvet until at least March. This option, as you would expect, has been vetoed by the editor. Which leaves us staring out of the window, trying to dream up some scintillating ideas for what he likes to call "pithy articles, inciteful guides and breathtaking photos" for the coming year.

- "When are you lot going to grow up and get proper jobs?"

- "Let's hope you can come up with something more interesting next month, fur face."

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