There’s nothing wrong with ringing the changes as we enter a new year, but that doesn’t mean indulging in the past can’t be joyful too.
Aside from the usual slew of end-of-year quizzes, no shows could match the heart-warming nostalgia of Thursday’s Antiques Roadshow and the special Boxing Day edition of The Repair Shop.
In a week when many of us have been spending time with loved ones, both BBC1 offerings had us harking back to our favourite family keepsakes.
The Antiques Roadshow Christmas Special: Toys and Childhood looked at Britain’s most treasured collectables.
For me, it was like cadging a ride with Marty in the Doc’s DeLorean and going back in time to a place where everything feels warm and fuzzy.
The wife of a former artist who created the very first drawings of The Teletubbies for the BBC discovered his collection was worth around £80,000.
But it was hearing her talk so affectionately about his legacy that made her story so uplifting.
Presenter Fiona Bruce also took part in a challenge to work out which one of three, inch-high Star Wars Jawa figurines was worth an eye-watering £20,000.
Note to self: it was the one in immaculate packaging so always keep the boxes!
TV presenter Jonathan Ross also showed off his extensive private toy collection at his North London home.
Fiona was rendered virtually speechless by the size of it. “Is this healthy, do you think?” she asked, after browsing rows of neatly-stacked Mattel action figures and some slightly eerie Japanese transforming cyborgs (that means robots, to you and I).
But, as Jonathan explained, when he’s sat amongst his toys, he’s transported away from everyday life to a happy, safe place.
And it’s exactly that feeling you get watching these nostalgia shows. While Jonathan may have taken his love for toys to a different level, we’ve probably all got a cyborg equivalent lurking in a cupboard or proudly perched on a shelf.
And even the most hardened Grinch would have been swept up in the emotion of Boxing Day’s The Repair Shop special, hosted by Jay Blades.
One family was left in tears after their battered Father Christmas toy was repaired by Amanda and Julie.
To me, it looked more like Chucky from Child’s Play than Saint Nick but for the family, it was a poignant reminder of their Christmas-loving late father.
Sisters Jackie and Caroline also arrived at the barn with a tattered 1960s projector and a film of their late sister, Elizabeth.
Thanks to electronic whizz Mark’s handiwork, they were able to relive their family’s festive memories on the silver screen – and Elizabeth’s daughter Vicky could see moving images of her late mother as a child for the very first time.
I would much rather be watching this sentimental escapism during the holidays than yet another dark, depressing drama.
