The beginning of December signals the start of a period of overindulgence in the lead-up to Christmas.
But there is no time to eat, drink and be merry for the Pompey squad, who have a hectic schedule of fixtures ahead.
There are still eight more games to be played before we can finally wave a welcome goodbye to 2020 – and seven of those have League One points up for grabs.
First up is a trip to Blackpool this evening, with Kenny Jackett relieved that Michael Jacobs is the sole player missing.
The Blues boss said: “Long may that continue. Michael’s the only one unavailable for this trip and he may be back training in the next week, which is good news.
“We don’t want to put a specific date on it, but he had some excellent games for us before receiving a bad tackle at Sunderland.
“Everyone else is fit and looking forward to the matches that are ahead for us – and there are some really big ones.
"During this very busy stage of the season, we are going to have to keep moving people around if we need to."
“The next one is the most important – and that’s Blackpool – but there are a lot of them coming up in December.
“We’ll need fresh energy and will be trying to take advantage of the five substitutes rule because it’s not just about the 11.
“During this very busy stage of the season, we are going to have to keep moving people around if we need to.
“We want to make up ground on some sides in the next few weeks and also try to push some others away.
“Our focus at the moment is on a hard game against Blackpool and then we’ll see what happens after that.”
Pompey’s next opponents made a slow start to the season, but have picked up in recent weeks and are 15th in the standings.
Jackett said: “They’ve recruited very well and – particularly in the front areas – are a really dangerous side.
“We know they’ll be wanting to climb the table and aim for the top six themselves, so I’m expecting a difficult game.
“It’s a big test for us, but the players are in good form at the moment and they’ve also been training well.