It’s that time of the year again when you can stay up way past your bedtime (and even get to watch the Christmas edition of Kojak!) and indulge the senses in a bout of merry-making of a kind not seen since . . . well, last Christmas.

How many times have you woken up after a truly humungous knees-up and felt like your stomach had turned into the world’s most hyperactive tumble dryer, while your head pounded like a troupe of extra-terrestrial labourers were busy erecting scaffolding inside your cranium? Often, right?

And then, on top of that, you begin to feel the after-effects of standing one hour too long in the queue for those non-existent taxis. Yep, there’s no doubt it’s another dose of flu on the way and, blimey, you knew you should have exercised more restraint when the free pizza slices were handed out during the office party. One thing’s for sure: at this stage you don’t need to consult your Collins dictionary to find out the meaning of indigestion.

So here, in handy reader-friendly form is a special Christmas Survival guide. One word of advice: don’t get caught without the essentials.

WHAT A night – now what a morning! You know the story: you struggle out of bed, dehydrated and ragged after a night on the raz. Soon, it becomes all too apparent that Des Kelly has come during the night and installed a new carpet in your mouth.

Slowly the kitchen materialises in front of you and you stand there dazed and confused. Be honest – you don’t need a hug, you need a SQEEZ!

This month all your favourite pure fruit juices were relaunched by SQEEZ in a special new resealable pack. This is the first time such a pack has been available on the Irish market and will give you extra confidence in handling those dodgy mornings and offer long product freshness should you be unable to make it to the shops. Thanks to the new packaging, you will be be able to get more out of SQEEZ than ever before and give it the longevity usually associated with a vintage wine.

When you’ve scoffed far too much turkey and downloaded one slice of Christmas pudding too many, then have no fear because the health-restoring products of Smithkline Beecham will relieve indigestion and heartburn. For instance, there’s Andrews Antacid and Tums – both brands will get along famously with your taste buds and leave no unpleasant aftertaste. Then there’s Milk Of Magnesia: here’s one for all the family, when those festive parties have ground ever-so-painfully to a halt and you feel like something that’s just got stuck down the chimney. Milk Of Magnesia’s special liquid formulation makes it the fastest-acting tummy cure in the West. Also available in solid form, Milk Of Magnesia is a household name if ever there was one. And finally, Andrews Liver Salts are like mini Florence Nightingales. When your friends ask you ‘did you get healed?’, you’ll know what to say.

Andrews Liver Salts

Andrews Liver Salts, in other words, refreshes and revitalises your digestive system fast, to quickly relieve upset stomach and indigestion and, er, the multifarious symptoms of over-indulgence. At a higher dose it can also relieve constipation. Andrews Liver Salts is an instantly recognisable brand name that has been around ever since tummy trouble was invented in the days of yore. It is the No. 2 digestive remedy in grocery and No.1 in the effervescent sector. And watch out for its first-ever TV advertising campaign, coming up over the festival period.

There’s nothing worse than when you’ve got a hot date over the Christmas period with a delectable member of the opposite sex and you wake up with the most annoying cold that leaves you with the prospect of snivelling into your hanky all night. Bang go your romantic ambitions? Wrong. All you need is Beechams Hot Lemon, Lemon And Honey or the newly relaunched Blackcurrant, each with secret formula paracetemol contained within. Lemsip is as effective a way as any to give your nose, throat and chest a decent holiday this Christmas too!