While Christmas traditionally falls on December 25, for darts fans, it officially starts when the first arrow is thrown at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world championships.
The 26th edition of the event will be the biggest and most competitive tournament to date, with the addition of new players and a new format.
Last year, Rob Cross, a former electrician from Kent, shocked the world by becoming the eighth man to win the title in his first year as a professional, beating the legendary Phil 'The Power' Taylor in the final.
Darts has grown from a sport considered just a 'pub game' to a worldwide phenomenon, with television audience increasing from about 200,000 to more than five million.
Only football heads darts in TV sports ratings in the UK.
Even if players have been below par all year, this is the one tournament where you expect everyone to lift their game to claim the biggest prize in the sport - the Sid Waddell Trophy.
Here are six reasons why you should watch the world championship…
The biggest tournament in history
Last year, 72 arrowsmiths competed at the Alexandra Palace, but a major overhaul has seen that number increase to 96, almost a quarter of whom will make their world championship debuts.
Darts stars from 28 countries will compete, including competitors from Lithuania and India, taking part for the first time.
The new format will see the top 32 players get a first-round bye, while 32 international qualifiers have been drawn against the 32 ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers.
Based on player rankings heading into the event, the early stages of the tournament could feature some thrilling matches.
Female competitors in a male-dominated sport
How often do you get to see males and females compete against one another at a world championship? The answer is rarely.
Yes, there are only two women in the draw, but that's still two more than most other sports, and what a way promote and grow women's darts by letting them compete on the big stage.
England's Lisa Ashton, a four-time British Darts Organisation (BDO) ladies world champion, and Russia's Anastasia Dobromyslova, a three-time world champion, won their respective tournaments to qualify for this event.
This isn't the first time women have competed, with Canada's Gayl King in 2001 and Dobromyslova in 2010 taking part, but the extended format will now see women feature every year for the foreseeable future.
Dobromyslova previously competed on the PDC circuit between 2009-10 and famously beat Vincent van der Voort at the '09 Grand Slam, while Deta Hedman competed regularly on the PDC circuit and more recently, Ashton has played on the Challenge Tour.
Ashton is in action on opening night against Jan Dekker, while Dobromyslova faces Ryan Joyce. Both are definitely winnable matches, as they fight to become the first female to beat a male at any world championship.
The Kiwi duo
Two of the 96 qualifiers are from New Zealand and they will chase a piece of history for Kiwi darts at the world champs.
Auckland's Cody Harris will take part for the second time, having secured his spot through the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. Last year, Harris won his qualifier, before losing to Ian White 3-1.
Joining him is Ashburton's Craig Ross, who will make his television debut in London.
Ross only learnt of his qualification a matter of weeks ago, after Tahuna Irwin was forced to withdraw through immigration complications.
Harris has been drawn against Martin Schindler and will face the German on opening night. Funnily enough, Schindler's darts are made in New Zealand.
If Harris wins, he will face last year's semi-finalist, Jamie Lewis.
Ross has drawn Spainiard Toni Alcinas in the opening round. A win would see him face third seed Peter Wright.
No Kiwi has ever made it to the second round at 'Ally Pally', with Bernie Smith arguably coming closest last year, when he had two match darts to beat Justin Pipe, but don't be surprised if that drought ends this time.
A new 180s record
One of the most exciting aspects of this sport is watching the darters bang all three of their arrows inside the treble 20.
Hearing the referees like Russ Bray and George Noble call out "One Hundred and Eighty" in their own unique styles, along with the roar of the crowd, adds to the occasion.
Watching on TV, you'd think this is a piece of cake, as players could probably achieve it with their eyes closed.
But stand in front of the dart board and it becomes so much harder than you realise.
The most 180s in a tournament was last year's 708, which beat the previous record of 654, set in 2016.
But you'd imagine, with more competitors and more games, that record would be shattered this year.
For individual match records, the 2017 final between Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen holds the record with 42.
Anderson landed 22 of those to claim the record for the highest by a single player. The same year, he took out the most in a tournament with 71.
The only thing that tops that is a nine-darter, but no-one has thrown one at the world championship since 2016.
The sport never disappoints, with more drama than Geordie Shore
Few things on this planet never disappoint - the World Darts Championship is one of them.
Unscripted drama is a big reason why people love sport and darts certainly offers that more than others.
Every leg offers something different and every missed dart changes a narrative to the match - and the closer the match, the more the pressure.
For example, rugby may have a tense final few minutes (like in the All Blacks vs England test), but darts is filled with nerve-shredding moments.
Hitting a winning double takes such precision and poise, when the lights are shining bright, the crowd is singing and chanting, and cameras are in your face.
Players can do nothing to affect one another (unless they cough), if things are going badly. No teammate will come along to save them, they simply just have to throw better to put their foes under pressure.
Darts can be cruel, it can be exhilarating and it can be everything in between - and that’s why you should be watching.
Tough to pick a winner
With more competitors than ever before, this makes picking a winner very difficult.
The new format sees several of the game's best and in-form players due to square off in the earlier rounds.
The top quarter of the draw features three former PDC winners - Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld - and one former finalist - Simon Whitlock - compared to the bottom half, which is far more open.
Here are my fearless predictions"
Quarter-finals
Michael van Gerwen beats Simon Whitlock
Gary Anderson beats Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith beats Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price vs Joe Cullen
Semi-finals
Gary Anderson beats Michal van Gerwen
Michael Smith beats Gerwen Price beats
Final
Gary Anderson beats Michael Smith 7-4 for his third title in five years
Ben Francis is a Newshub online sports producer.
