[JMT1985]

I suppose that's the problem. It's hard to get used to it after so many years of the previous era, although to be fair, ITV and Channel 4 barely bothered even in those days simply because of the advertising revenue in the days leading up to Christmas Day.

That is right. But there were times when ITV did compete, such as 1978 when they poached Morecambe and Wise for example - ITV had always tried to be cheap and cheerful at Christmas, providing a basic festive feel without throwing too much cash to it - so basically regular shows with a bit of tinsel on it. 

Channel 4 were always one to largely ignore Christmas, as they were the alternative channel back then - now Channel 4 is more main stream than ITV 1 at times with shows like Bake Off on their schedules. Their new ident presentation looks restrictive for any festive variation, I wonder what they will do this year for Christmas presentation.