There's only a couple of days left of 2022, and before long we'll be taking to the streets to belt out Auld Lang Syne and watch the fireworks as we ring in the start of 2023.
This year saw us make our way through three Prime Ministers with the departure of Boris Johnson and the very short run for Liz Truss, which left us closing out the year with current Tory leader Rishi Sunak. We also marked the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II and watched as her son, King Charles III, became monarch. The cost of living crisis has hit families across the UK hard as many are struggling to afford their bills as we look to the new year.
But amid the news that provoked outrage and sadness this year, The Mirror also continued to bring you stories on the lighter side, in the hopes of bringing some laughter to an otherwise gloomy landscape.
From the most bizarre baby names to "proof" time travel is real, here we look back at some of the weirdest - and funniest - stories we reported on in 2022.
The dad who stole a garden gnome
As far as arguments with neighbours go, this has to be one of the weirder ones.
We reported last month that an anonymous dad had confessed to stealing his neighbour's "tacky" garden gnome because it was making his five-year-old son cry with fear, and the sight of the red-hatted ornament had even made his son too scared to play in the front garden.
The dad decided the best course of action was to pinch the gnome and hide it behind some bushes, which left his neighbour so livid she threatened to call the police!
People online failed to rally behind the dad too, with many saying it was his job to teach his son about "irrational fears" and explain to him that a garden gnome is nothing to be frightened of.
One commenter wrote: "You don’t just touch other people's stuff and think that’s okay just because your kid is afraid of a stupid gnome."
You can read the full story here.
The couple who gave their baby an unfortunate name
We all know that people have different tastes in baby names, but sometimes, you just have to say something to try and stop an unsuspecting couple from making a huge mistake with the name they've picked.
And that's what happened with this story, which saw a woman burst out laughing at her sister's baby shower when it was revealed that she and her boyfriend wanted to combine their names - Ella and Sam - to come up with a unique moniker for their impending arrival.
So, what do you get when you combine the names? Samnella.
The mum-to-be's sister stopped in her tracks when she heard the name before asking: "Like the food poisoning?", which left her family absolutely fuming.
Commenters could barely contain themselves after reading the hilarious post, with one even quipping that "no child's name should sound like a bad chicken curry."
The full story can be found here.
The man who caused a fight over plane seats
Less funny and more bizarre now, as we look back at the man who forced a mum and her baby to get out of their plane seats and move - just so that he could take a nap.
The mum had initially nabbed the window seat for one of her two children, and when the man turned up, she asked if he would mind moving to the aisle seat of the next row so that she could sit between her two children during the flight.
But the man - who had booked the window seat - claimed he could only sleep if he was sitting next to the window, so booted the mum and her small child out of the seats to sit there himself.
Although the man's weird sleeping habits did make some people feel sorry for the mum, most people were on the man's side - as they said he had a right to sit in the seat he paid for.
Check out the full story here.
The photo that 'proved time travel is real'
Oh yeah, 2022 was the year we proved time travel is real.
Well, not really, but one picture that began circulating online definitely got people talking, after some claimed that a man in the image was holding a device that wouldn't be invented for decades.
The photograph was taken in 1943 and shows families relaxing on a beach in Cornwall, but one man seemed to be holding a modern-day smartphone - which definitely didn't exist in the 1940s.
The bloke was nicknamed the "texting time traveller", and social media users revelled in coming up with interesting theories as to what was in his hands.
Find out what the device really was in the full story.
The glitter row that ended in a call to the police
For our final trip down memory lane, we bring you another classic story of a row between neighbours, after one woman sent a Christmas card filled with glitter to her nightmare neighbour.
The woman had been at war with her neighbour for some time after they previously claimed the woman's Corgi puppy had left them "terrified for their safety" and called the police numerous times.
In an act of "revenge", the woman found a website online that sends people "glitter bombs" to people anonymously, and decided to send one to her neighbour - which ended in another visit from the police.
The woman said in her post: "I s*** you not a cop comes to my door, asks to come inside and then busts out laughing explaining he's here over a glitter Christmas card. He tells me I made his day and that was the funniest call he's ever had and leaves. Totally legal and great petty revenge."
You can discover what happened next by reading the full story.
What was your favourite story of 2022? Let us know in the comments!
