Ho ho ho, writes Wolverhampton Civic Hall’s Jonn Penney. What? I’m too early? There are still two weeks to go to Christmas?

Bah, humbug. And I thought people were getting festive already. The trees are up in our high streets, the stores are teeming with shoppers and there seems to be a grim determination by folk to spend their way out of trouble.

Credit crunch, credit schmunch – ’Tis the season to be jolly and the curtain has been lifted on festive entertainment at venues across the West Midlands.

Just down the road from our base here at Wolverhampton Civic Halls HQ, punters are in store for the delights of former Page Three starlet Linda Lusardi and her hubby, Sam Kane, who played Peter the hairdresser in Brookside and Sarah Platt’s internet groomer in Coronation Street.

I’m sure “delights” is the right word, curious as pantomimes sometimes are. Lusardi and Kane have one of the most unusual hobbies in showbusiness: they breed rabbits. In fact, it seems they are pretty much obsessed by animals.

Earlier this year, Linda wrote on her blog: “We have a new addition to our family. Thumper a miniature lop-eared rabbit and he is adorable. He lives in hutch in my son’s bedroom. We have to make sure Koko our little sausage dog doesn’t get in there when bunny is out running about. Koko would think it’s an early lunch. x x x.”

There was a time when Lusardi could have been mistaken for a Playboy bunny: now it seems she’s content to rabbit on about the furry critters at her ranch.

Happily, those fans of live music seeking more than arch “he’s behind you” jokes have plenty to look forward to too. December is the busiest month for live music as bands hit the road to play good-humoured shows to fans. And there is much to look forward to.

Birmingham hosts an absurdly eclectic mix of performers. The O2 will be the venue for gigs by Professor Green with Rizzle Kicks, Ordinary Boys, Lemonheads and The Wonder Stuff, while Only Men Aloud perform at Symphony Hall.

It may well be the only city in the world that can rush from the urban thrills of beat hustlers Rizzle Kicks to the sophisticated classicism of Only Men Aloud.

Here in Wolverhampton, we have a similarly mixed bag that includes Ocean Colour Scene, White Lies and Kate Rusby at the Civic, while the Wulfrun Hall hosts gigs by Adam Ant and The Saw Doctors.

For many locals, the two gigs that will leap out are The Wonder Stuff and Ocean Colour Scene, given their links to Stourbridge and Birmingham, respectively. There’s something quite special about playing a homecoming gig. The pressure is ramped up to the max, you know you have to perform well because the audience will be packed with family, friends and old schoolmates.

But, by the same token, once you hit the stage, you can really fly. The atmosphere of a hometown gig is more special than any other. When you read the dates at the start of a tour, the dates that always jump out the most are those on home soil.

Christmas is the live feast that precedes the famine of January and February. In those months, only the hardy hit the road to entertain. And so, early or not, it’s time to don Santa hats, start thinking about the mulled wine and make the most of the festive season.