AS every child – and a fair few adults will tell you – it’s only nine more sleeps until Christmas; until turkey and trimmings, family and festive joy.

The flipside is that time is running out to make that mad dash to the shops.

Battling through the crowds, as I did on Saturday afternoon, you’d be forgiven for thinking every man and his dog was doing the same.

However, new figures tell a different story.

Last month, high street shopper numbers were down 4.2%. The biggest decline for nearly three years.

While there are various theories as to why this is the case, the root cause is clear enough – more and more of us are doing our shopping online or gravitating to retail parks where the whole family can be catered for in a single trip.

According to the Scottish Retail Consortium - who compiled the figures – November was the seventh month in a row in which town centres saw a drop in footfall.

Predictably enough, the outcome of this is that high street stores across Scotland are closing at a rate of five per week.

In the Glasgow region, this problem is particularly acute with the rate of attrition higher than in most other areas.

If we are honest about it, we know that closing down sales and boarded-up shops have become an increasingly common sight.

And as old favourites fade, destined never to return, it’s often the larger chains – coffee shops or takeaways – that remain.

Of course, retailers need to move with the times and consumers can hardly be blamed for opting for convenience.

But this doesn’t make the decline of the high street any easier to witness.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been campaigning across the country and have had the pleasure of visiting fantastic small retailers from Angus to East Lothian.

These businesses deserve our support, particularly at Christmas.

So why not plan ahead this weekend and travel an extra five minutes to somewhere different?

It could be the best festive decision you make.

At this time of year it’s easy to get wrapped up in buying and catering for our own family and friends.

But we shouldn’t forget that for many people across the City, Christmas is a difficult time of the year.

That’s why I am proud to back the Mission Christmas appeal, launched by Clyde 1 Cash for Kids.

By giving either online, by text or over the phone you can help Santa reach every chimney and make Christmas morning special for all our city’s children.

Please do consider supporting the appeal. It brings festive cheer to some of Glasgow’s most vulnerable young people.