Every home has a chief packer and organiser, the person who knows where the cooler lives, what fits in the car and the most efficient order to stow it all.
But this year many of Northern Ireland’s chief packers have a whole lot more to think about with pressure coming from the additional space needed for a new family member.
Because many of the 3.2 million dogs bought during lockdown landed in homes right here, bringing numbers of companion dogs in Northern Ireland to an estimated 700,000.
