It looked for a moment that we might make it to the New Year without a Premier League manager being sacked, a rare occurrence in this day and age. Last season, six gaffers managers had got the chop by this time.
Alas, it was not to be with Neil Warnock biting the dust at Crystal Palace on Dec 27. He barely had time to open his Christmas presents before he got the news.
That first sacking was enough to get the ball rolling. Two days later Alan Irvine at West Brom was the next gaffer to be informed his services were no longer required. His place was snapped up by Tony Pulis, who had left Crystal Palace before the start of the season.
The third major move was not a sacking, but Alan Pardew decided it was time for him to part ways with Newcastle, preferring to take on a relegation battle at his old club Palace.
None of the departures were particularly surprising — even Pardew's — and according to newspaper gossip, a few more gaffers will do well if they survive the chop in the coming months.
According to bookmakers, leading the sack race at present are Hull City's Steve Bruce and Roberto Martinez at misfiring Everton, with Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers hot on their heels.
Also not feeling entirely comfortable must be Sunderland's Gus Poyet and Leicester City's Nigel Pearson, both needing a decent run of results.
At a first glance, Pardew's decision to move to a smaller club might seem a bit odd. But it makes sense. Despite doing fairly well at Newcastle, he has never been popular with the Geordie fans, most of whom are glad to see the back of him.
His future at Newcastle was always going to be in doubt, and there's a limit to how much abuse you can take from fans. But if he succeeds in keeping Palace in the Premier League, Pardew will cement his place at the club for several years.
Someone who offered a word of caution to Newcastle fans is former England star Gary Lineker. He tweeted: "Newcastle had a good manager who was under-appreciated. This may become more apparent in time. Be careful what you wish for."
It looks like they will find a replacement abroad after Steve McClaren ruled himself out as a contender, saying he was committed to Derby in the Championship.
For the time being, assistant coach John Carver will act as caretaker manager. There is no question about Carver's commitment to Newcastle. A local lad, earlier this week he commented: "I think this is the best club in the world. Whether it's the biggest or most successful it doesn't matter but, in my eyes, it's the best."
The departure of the unpopular Warnock at Palace after just four months in charge did not prompt any tears among fans.
"He could even get Barca relegated," suggested one fan about the widely travelled Warnock, who has managed 13 clubs.
Warnock himself probably knew it was coming. Throughout the recent 3-1 loss to Southampton he was serenaded by fans with "you don't know what you're doing." That's never a good sign.
The appointment of Pulis at West Brom went down well with Baggies' supporters.
He has built up a considerable reputation, especially with his efforts at Palace last season when he hauled them from the relegation mire to finish a creditable 11th, Palace's highest finish in the Premier League.
Pulis was also responsible for establishing Stoke City in the Premier League, despite a meagre budget.
The Welshman is a down-to-earth character, which is appreciated by fans. Upon joining West Brom, when asked if he minded being called "head coach", Pulis responded: "You can call me 'head bottle-washer' if you want — titles don't make a difference."
In his first match in charge of the Baggies he enjoyed a 7-0 win over Conference side Gateshead in the FA Cup. Encouraging though this might be, he knows that keeping his side in the top flight is a much bigger challenge.
While the sackings in the Premier League have been minimal so far, it is a very different story in the Championship which saw its 15th managerial casualty earlier this week with the departure of Neil Adams at Norwich City.
With Norwich in a respectable seventh place, Adams can consider himself a little unfortunate at being shown the door at Carrow Road. After a successful December which saw three wins, one draw and just the one defeat, Adams must be wondering what exactly he has done wrong.
Two of those wins were resounding victories too, a 5-0 defeat of Huddersfield and a 6-1 thrashing of Millwall. And the draw was a creditable 2-2 result at high-flying Derby.
The abrupt departure of Adams will have a few of the remaining managers in the division looking over their shoulders. Someone feeling a bit nervous at the moment is probably Stuart Pearce at ambitious Nottingham Forest.
Forest have slipped to 11th in the table, without a win in seven games. Adding to their woes last week they suffered a humiliating FA Cup defeat at League One side Rochdale. Pearce admits his team are lacking confidence and desperately needs a win or he could well find himself the Championship's 16th casualty.
One thing for sure is that most managers can sense when their time is up and there are probably some gaffers who have already packed their bags in anticipation of that lonely walk out of the door.