Christmas cards dotted around Manchester's historic Opera House are emblazoned with the message "Panto has missed you" as theatregoers take their seat for the opening night of Aladdin.
And from the packed aisles here it appears the feeling is quite mutual.
The cast and crew on this dazzling production of Aladdin make sure we know exactly what it is we have missed, with a night of belly laughs, blockbuster musical numbers, brilliant dances and plenty of risque jokes and wordplay just for the adults.
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And with Alexandra Burke as the big star name, we also have a hefty dose of The X Factor too.
For Alexandra is in majestic form here as Scherezade, the Spirit of the Ring, belting out some of her biggest hits which are gamely shoe-horned into the action, and very glad we all are too.
For fans of her powerhouse voice, it's worth the ticket price alone to see her perform Hallelujah and Bad Boys (complete with those sassy signature dance moves).
In the second half we also see more of her brilliant dance skills that so impressed during her run on Strictly Come Dancing - in a hilarious dance-off with Wishee Washee, played by the returning comedian Ben Nickless, who is in just brilliant form yet again.
His energy is astounding in some of the show's most impressive slapstick scenes, and he gets the biggest laughs from the crowd with his cheeky jokes - with Salford, Didsbury, Boris Johson and 10 Downing Street all weaving their way into his gags to the delight of the adults in the audience.
For the kids there is all the magic you could want in a panto, with our hero Aladdin (Matthew Croke) taking his magic carpet on a ride before the interval, flying across the entire audience.
And in the second half baddie Abanazer (John McLarnon) transforms into the biggest snake you're ever likely to see on stage - with the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Rumi Sutton) doing her bit for Girl Power by being the one to slay the beast.
Indeed this is a true ensemble success of a panto, from the cast themselves to the production.
And special mention to the Fab-u-licious Widow Twankey (Ceri Dupree), who gets more outfit changes than Lady Gaga - indeed, she even turned into Gaga at one point in an amusing skit.
Even more impressive when the programme notes reveal that Ceri designed the staggering array of fashions that the audiences get to enjoy.
One of the downsides of the ongoing coronavirus restrictions is that we don't get to enjoy the traditional Opera House panto fun of some kiddies getting to go on stage with Wishee Washee for a bit of banter due to covid bubbles.
But we do get actual bubbles floating across the audience thanks to Widow Twankey - and be warned you might get splashed right in the face in the stalls (yes, I did thanks Wishee Washee) during one moment that the youngsters seemed to love.
However, if you thought the new mandatory mask-wearing edict would have an impact on the infamous noisy sweet rustlers of panto, then think again.
I don't think I've ever seen so many packets of Haribo and Maoam packed into one space at one time.
I actually started to wonder if eating sweets non-stop for two hours during the performance was seen by some as an excuse for not wearing a mask - because on Tuesday night less than half of adults were wearing one from what I could see in the stalls.
Theatre staff made repeated announcements during Tuesday night's show to remind people of the change in rules and that masks were required.
The Opera House said: "Our Front of House team are adapting as quickly as possible to the changes in regulations and we’re working as hard as possible to make sure messages on mask wearing are clear.
"We’re in constant conversation with our Front of House team on the best way to make sure measures are followed and our audiences are kept safe."
Let's hope audiences can stick to the rules over the Christmas run of this show - because it really is a panto treat not to be missed.
