Today, the British Pregnancy Advice Service announced that it is to provide free emergency contraception at several of their city-centre clinics in the run-up to Christmas.
The move is being supported by an advertising campaign, with the strapline ‘Santa only comes once a year... but that's all it takes!' and an image of Santa about to do a little bit more than just kiss under the mistletoe.
As the charity points out, in the run-up to Christmas people tend to get a bit carried away. A heady mix of festive spirit and alcoholic spirits (or beer, or wine) can lead to unintended consequences. Or to women simply forgetting to take their regular contraception.
Then there is the problem of accessing emergency contraception over the holiday period when practices, pharmacists and family planning clinics are closed.
So, from next week, women will be able to go to BPAS and get a free ‘Emergency contraception pack' after a consultation with a nurse. It all sounds very sensible to me.
Of course some people will object and claim that it increases the likelihood of women having unprotected sex, but research suggests this is not the case.
The Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care support advanced prescribing of emergency contraception. Its guidance says that randomised trials have shown that, for selected women, advance supply is safe and effective and may reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies without increasing the number of women having unprotected sex.
BPAS's plans made me wonder if anyone else was attempting to tackle other problems caused by Christmas excess. A cursory look round the net threw up another winning idea. Apparently female revellers in Torbay, Devon, who look like they might be struggling in their high heels, and therefore more prone to injury, are to be offered flip-flops to help them get home.
And, of course, all of the high street stores are now so desperate for our business they are slashing prices, which will clearly help protect our wallets.
Now, if someone could just come up with something to help us deal with the family stress associated with Christmas excess, that would be the best present of all. Any suggestions on this are welcome...